Under the Triangular Division organization plan in 1939 rifle squads were no longer organized into sections. In 1891, the US Army officially defined a rifle 'squad' as consisting of 'seven privates and one corporal.' The US Army employed the eight-man rifle squad through WWI and until the late 1930s under the Square Division organizational plan, in which sergeants continued to lead sections consisting of two squads. or even a 'senior' private (there being many long-service, or 'professional,' privates until the post-WWII era). The smallest tactical sub-unit being the section, which was also known as a half-platoon (the platoon itself being a half company).ĭepending upon the time period, the squad 'leader' (not an official position title until 1891) could be a sergeant (the sergeant, in sections with only one corporal, led the section's first squad, while the lone corporal served as assistant section leader and led the section's second squad), a corporal (in sections with two corporals), a lance corporal (a rank the Army had in varying numbers and conditions from at least 1821 until 1920), a private first class (PFC) (the rank existing since 1846 but not earning its one chevron – taken from the abolished lance corporal rank – until 1920). Historically, a 'squad' in the US Army was a sub-unit of a section, consisting of from as few as two soldiers to as many as 12 and was originally used primarily for drill and administrative purposes (e.g., billeting, messing, working parties, etc.). Names of squads in NATO member armed forces The standard NATO symbol for a squad consists of one single dot ( 1.4 Chinese National Revolutionary Army.

1.2.4 Fire service in the United States.

Men of war assault squad 1 german medic