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A Canadian infantry battalion consists of three or four rifle companies identified by letter (A Company, B Company, etc.), 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 ...
The use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. [citation needed]In modern times, executive control, management and administration of military organization is typically undertaken by governments through a government department within the structure of public administration, often known as a ministry of defence or department of defense.
When a regiment has only one battalion, the battalion may have exactly the same name as the regiment. For example, The North Saskatchewan Regiment is the only battalion in the administrative regiment of the same name. When there is more than one battalion, they are distinguished by numbers, subsidiary titles or both.
Naming conventions of units differ for traditional British historical reasons, creating a significant opportunity for confusion; an infantry battalion is equivalent to a cavalry regiment. An infantry regiment is an administrative and ceremonial organisation only, and may include several battalions.
Confusingly, the terms "regiment" and "battalion" were used interchangeably at this time; it was not until later that a battalion was defined as a sub-unit of a regiment. The regiment fulfilled both administrative and tactical functions and was the principal maneuver unit of the US Army until being superseded in the 20th century by the division .
Rather, battalions and squadrons maintain regimental affiliations in that they are called (for example), 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry (Regiment is implied) and is written 1–8 Inf. In this case, there is no regimental commander, and the battalion is organized as part of a brigade for combat.
A Marine division has instead a headquarters (HQ) battalion commanded by a colonel. The HQ battalion consists of the division headquarters command and general staff ("G" sections), battalion headquarters command and executive staff ("S" sections), a headquarters company (including the division band), a communications company and a truck company.
NATO defines a battalion as being "larger than a company, but smaller than a regiment" while "consisting of two or more company-, battery-, or troop-sized units along with a headquarters." [ 5 ] The standard NATO symbol for a battalion represented by a pair of vertical lines above a framed unit icon. [ 5 ]