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Military Map Symbol for a friendly infantry squad.]]

In military terminology, a squad is a small Military Unit led by a Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) that is subordinate to an Infantry Platoon . In countries following the British Army tradition ( Australian Army , Canadian Army , and others) this organization is referred to as a ''' Section '''. In most Armies a squad consists of eight to fourteen Soldier s, and may be further subdivided into Fireteam s.


Organization

In the United States Army , a squad is composed of two fireteams of four or five soldiers each. In the United States Marine Corps , a squad is typically composed of three Fireteam s of four Marines and a squad leader who is a junior NCO.


Chinese National Revolutionary Army to 1949

The Squad , 班, or section was the basic unit of the National Revolutionary Army , and would usually be 14 men strong. An infantry squad would ideally have 1 light machine gun and 10 rifles.


Leadership

A squad is led by an NCO known as a Squad Leader. His second in command is known as an Assistant Squad Leader. In Britain and the Commonwealth, these appointments are known as Section Commander and Section 2 i/c ("second in command"), respectively.

Typical ranks for squad leaders are:


Other military uses


A squad can also be an ad hoc group of soldiers assigned to a task, for example, a Firing Squad .

In the Canadian Army, the term "squad" can actually refer to a portion of a drill movement. This is generally used when a group of soldiers is learning a new drill movement, as it is easier to learn step-by-step, rather than all at once.


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