I've never understood the numbers associated with military units

[birdlike 0]

Can anyone help me understand why we have these military units like the "82nd Airborne," or the "507th Parachute Infantry Regiment"?

Where on earth do those numbers come from? Were there 506 parachute infantry regiments before the current one, or something??

Is there a naming convention that they follow, and this is just part of it?

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

[CSpenceFLY 1]

They could tell you but then they would have to kill you.

[Gawain 0]

Believe it or not, in the case of the Army, they were numbered in the order they were created. There are of course gaps in the sequence.

Most of these gaps were created during the deactivation after WWII. The Army had divisions numbering up to 106th at the time.

That covers the divisions. Regiments is a whole different story. They, like 506th Infantry (Band of Brothers, Currahee) for example used to be created in similar fashion, but there hasn't been a sequence since before the Civil War.

In case you're wondering, from biggest to smallest:

Army
Corps
Division
Brigade or Regiment
Battalion
Company
Platoon
Squad
Fire team

So, I could say I'm with 1/506 IN 101 ABN, meaning 1st of the 506th, 101st meaning, 1st Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT)...clear as mud right?

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Amazon 7]

You could go join and serve for a few years.. it gets a lot clearer when you use something while you are participating.

[Gawain 0]

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You could go join and serve for a few years.. it gets a lot clearer when you use something while you are participating.

Just as long as it's not the Air Force...



*runs away*

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[VectorBoy 0]

Just as long as it's not the Air Force...



*runs away*

Why not the Air Force? They can practically guarantee you won't get killed,.... unless you party too hard. And their girls bathe every day.

[Gawain 0]

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Why not the Air Force?

Dude...Jeanne's retired USAF, and I'm Army...just a little inter-branch rivalry. I like the chair-force...er...I mean Air Force.

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They can practically guarantee you won't get killed

You might want to get up to speed a bit.

I know of four from T-38 incidents and a crew from a B-52 incident in the past 6 months alone.

Anything in the military is inherently a more dangerous job than their "civilian" counterpart.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[aresye 0]

Hehe, just on my training flights alone, I've downed my helo by catching something wrong with it prior to startup, after it's already been signed off safe for flight by maintenance. Happened at least 3 times so far.

Then when we do get flying, screws and bolts fall off the ceiling fairly often, and on some occasions, we'll have hydraulic fluid leak out of somewhere. My most recent flight, I grabbed my helmet bag, and realiized there was some reddish fluid on it. Turns out that's main transmission fluid. Yea!

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[VectorBoy 0]

You might want to get up to speed a bit.