Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure.
Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, independent or separate companies are organized for special purposes, such as the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters.
Historical background
The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph. For administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisting of 150 men, grouped into regiments of eight companies. Tactically, the infantry companies were organized into battalions and grouped with cavalry troops and artillery batteries to form brigades.From ancient times, some armies have commonly used a base administrative and tactical unit of around 100 men. An organization based on the decimal number system might seem intuitive. To the Romans, for example, a unit of 100 men seemed sufficiently large to efficiently facilitate organizing a large body of men numbering into the several thousands, yet small enough that one man could reasonably expect to command it as a cohesive unit by using his voice and physical presence, supplemented by musical notes and visual cues.
Furthermore, recent studies have indicated that humans are best able to maintain stable relationships in a cohesive group numbering between 100 and 250 members, with 150 members being the common number. Again, a military unit on the order of no more than 100 members, and perhaps ideally fewer, would perhaps present the greatest efficiency as well as effectiveness of control, on a battlefield where the stress, danger, fear, noise, confusion, and the general condition known as the "fog of war" would present the greatest challenge to an officer to command a group of men engaged in mortal combat. Until the latter half of the 19th century, when infantry troops still routinely fought in close order, marching and firing shoulder-to-shoulder in lines facing the enemy, the company remained at around 100, or fewer, men.
The advent of accurate, long-range rifle fire, repeating rifles, and machine guns necessitated highly dispersed combat formations. This, coupled with radio communication, permitted relatively small numbers of men to have much greater firepower and combat effectiveness than previously possible. Companies, however, continue to remain within the general range of 100–250 members, perhaps validating the premise that humans fight best in organizations of around 150 members, more or less.
While historically companies were usually grouped into battalions or regiments, there were certain sub-units raised as independent companies that did not belong to a specific battalion or regiment, such as Confederate States of America state local militia companies. However, upon activation and assimilation into the army, several of these independent companies would be grouped together to form either a battalion or a regiment, depending upon the number of companies involved.
More recent examples of separate companies would be the divisional support companies of a U.S. Army, Korean War-era infantry division and the divisional aviation company of a U.S. Army "Pentomic" infantry division. These companies were not organic to any intermediate headquarters, but rather reported directly to the division headquarters.
NATO
defines a company as "larger than a platoon, but smaller than a battalion" while being a "unit consisting of two or more platoons, usually of the same type, with a headquarters and a limited capacity for self-support." The standard NATO symbol for a company consists of a single vertical line placed above a framed unit icon. Member nations have stipulated the different names they will use for organizations of this size.| Belgium | Compagnie, escadron, or batterie |
| Bulgaria | Rota, or batareja |
| Canada | Company, squadron, battery, or flight |
| Croatia | Satnia, baterija, or sat |
| Czech Republic | Rota, baterie, or roj |
| Denmark | Kompagni, eskadron, or batteri |
| Finland | Komppania, or patteri |
| France | Compagnie, batterie, or escadron |
| Germany | Kompanie, Batterie, Staffel, Boot, or Inspektion |
| Greece | Lochos, pyrovolarchia, or ili |
| Hungary | Század or üteg |
| Italy | Compagnia, squadrone, batteria, autoreparto, or complesso minore |
| Lithuania | Kuopa, baterija, or grandis |
| Netherlands | Compagnie, eskadron, or batterij |
| Norway | Kompani, eskadron, batteri, or stridsgruppe |
| Poland | Kompania, bateria, or szwadron |
| Portugal | Companhia, bateria, or esquadrao |
| Spain | Compañía, batería, escuadrón, or subgrupo táctico |
| Romania | Companie, baterie, escadron, or grup tactic |
| Turkey | Bölük or batarya |
| United Kingdom | Company, squadron, battery, or combat group. |
| United States | Company, battery, or troop |
British Army
Rifle companies consist of three platoons and a company headquarters.Company-sized organisations in units with a horse-mounted heritage, such as the Household Cavalry, Royal Armoured Corps, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Army Air Corps, Special Air Service, Honourable Artillery Company and Royal Logistic Corps, use the term squadron instead of company, and in the Royal Artillery they are called batteries. Until after the Second World War, the Royal Engineers and Royal Signals had both squadrons and companies depending on whether the units were supporting mounted or foot formations.
The British Army infantry normally identifies its rifle companies by letter within a battalion, usually with the addition of a headquarters company and a support/heavy weapons company. Some units name their companies after regimental battle honours; this is commonly the case for composite units, for example the London Regiment with its Somme, Messines and Cambrai companies. The foot guards regiments use traditional names for some of their companies, for example Queen's Company, Left Flank, Prince of Wales's Company etc.
Royal Marines companies are designated by a letter that is unique across the corps, not just within their command. The Intelligence Corps, Royal Military Police and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers all have companies uniquely numbered across their corps.
The defunct Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps had companies; the Royal Corps of Transport had squadrons.
British companies are usually commanded by a major, the officer commanding, with a captain or senior lieutenant as second-in-command. The company headquarters also includes a company sergeant major normally holding the rank of WO2 and a company quartermaster sergeant of colour sergeant rank, the two most senior soldiers in the company.
The Honourable Artillery Company is in fact a regiment, not a company, in terms of organisation and size.
Canadian Army
In the Canadian Army, the company is the standard sub-unit organization for infantry and combat service support, as modelled after the British. A Canadian infantry battalion consists of three or four rifle companies identified by letter, a Combat Support Company, and an Administration Support Company. A notable exception is The Royal Canadian Regiment, which names its companies sequentially throughout the regiment from the Duke of Edinburgh's Company in the 1st Battalion to T Company in the 4th Battalion. Many regiments name their companies after battle honours or former units that make up the current regiment, for example:- 75th Company—The Toronto Scottish Regiment
- Victoria Company—The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
- Grenadier Company—The Royal Regiment of Canada
- No.2 Company-Canadian Grenadier Guards
As in the British Army, company sized units with a mounted heritage use the term squadron, and in the artillery they are called batteries.