A section is a military sub-subunit. It usually consists of between 6 and 20 personnel. NATO and U.S. doctrine define a section as an organization "larger than a squad, but smaller than a platoon". As such, two or more sections usually make up an army platoon or an air force flight.
In the Australian, British and Canadian Armed Forces section is an equivalent to an infantry squad: the Canadian Army infantry section contains 2 four-Soldier assault group the Australian / British Army infantry section contains 2 four-Soldier fire teams the U.S. Army Infantry squad also contains 2 four-Soldier fire teams
In this regard, in a number of Slavic languages the morphological equivalent of the word "section" (a separate part of an organization; , , , , ) in military affairs also means squad. Similarly, the official English versions (Soldier's Guide) of the Finnish military handbook Sotilaan käsikirja have used the word "section" to describe the ryhmä sub-subunit despite said sub-subunit's size and role being closer to that of a NATO squad, with this wording persisting in the edition published after Finland's 2023 accession to NATO.
At the same time, in a number of Romance languages the phonetic analogue of the word "section" (, , , ) in military affairs means platoon or a sub-unit similar to a platoon.
In some air forces, a section is a unit containing three to four aircraft (if it is a flying unit) and up to 20 personnel. In the U.S. Space Force two or more guardians form a section.
Land forces
NATO military symbol NATO Map Symbols A section A mechanized infantry section a psychological operations section a light anti-tank section
U.S. Army in Chapter 2 of Army Doctrine Publication No. 3-90 provides the following definitions for army echelons: а fire team is a small military unit typically containing four or fewer Soldiers; a fire team is usually grouped by two or three teams into a squad or section а crew is a small military unit that consists of all personnel operating a particular system а squad is a small military unit typically containing two or more fire teams; in some cases, the crew of a system may also be designated as a squad
а section is a tactical unit of the Army and Marine Corps smaller than a platoon and larger than a squad; a section may consist of the crews of two or more Army systems, such as a tank section or several fire teams U.S. Army Field Manual No. 1-02.2 in Table 2-3 and NATO standard APP-06 in Table 1-8 provide the following symbols for these echelons: EchelonTeam / CrewSquadSection SymbolØ●●● In practice, the meaning of these symbols depends on the NATO member country. For example Table 2–3 in U.S. Army Field Manual No. 1-02.2 and U.S. designations in Annex B to APP-06 contain the note that Common English language definition also applies to symbol ●, “a small group engaged in a common effort or occupation” The Military English Guide v. 1.4, published by Swedish Defence University, makes no distinction between a section and a squad, designating them with the symbol ●●; a fire team is designated by the symbol ●
National designation for symbol ●● in NATO member armed forces: + Use ●● for units larger than a squad Denmark Sektion Portugal Secção Slovakia Sekcia TurkeyKol United Kingdom (No equivalent) United States Section + Use ●● for squad size units AlbaniaSkuadër BulgariaOtdelenie (Отделение) Canada Section Croatia Odred CzechiaDružstvo Estonia Jagu France Groupe Germany Gruppe HungaryRaj Latvia Komanda Lithuania Skyrius Luxembourg GroupeNorway Gruppe Poland Drużyna Spain Pelotón + Use ●● for other purposes France Patrouille Patrol (reconnaissance) Germany Rotte Pair (army aviation) HungaryKezelőszemélyzetCrew (armour, infantry) Italy Pattuglia Patrol (may range from squad to platoon)
Australian Army At the start of World War I, the Australian Army used a section that consisted of 27 men including the section commander, a sergeant.
During World War II, a rifle section comprised ten soldiers with a corporal in command and a lance-corporal as his second-in-command. The corporal used an M1928 Thompson submachine gun, while one of the privates used a Bren gun. The other eight soldiers all used No.1 Mk.3 Lee–Enfield rifles with a bayonet and scabbard. They all carried two or three No.36 Mills bomb grenades.
After World War II, and during the Vietnam War, a rifle section consisted of ten personnel comprising a command and scout group (three people – two sub-machineguns/M16A1 and a L1A1 SLR); a gun group (three people – an M60 machine gun and two L1A1 SLRs) and a rifle group (four people – L1A1 SLRs). The section was later reduced to nine men, and consisted of the section commander, a two-man scout group, the section 2IC and two other men in the gun group, and a three-man rifle group; the section commander would usually move with the latter.
Under the new structure of the infantry platoon, Australian Army sections are made up of eight men divided into two four-man fireteams. Each fireteam consists of a team leader (corporal/lance-corporal), a marksman with enhanced optics, a grenadier with an M203 grenade launcher and an LSW operator with an F89 Minimi light support weapon.
Typical fire team structure: Position Armament Team leader F88 Steyr Marksman F88 Steyr w/enhanced optic (e.g. 3.4× Wildcat) Grenadier F88 Steyr w/M203 under-barrel grenade launcher Machine gunner F89 Minimi
British military A section in the British Armed Forces is equivalent to a NATO squad, and the British Army has no organization equivalent to a NATO section.
British Army rifle, Lewis gun, and bomber sections (World War I) The February 1917 document Instructions for the Training of Platoons for Offensive Action described the following section organisations as being "suitable" for an infantry platoon that had thirty-six other ranks: One section of bombers, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include two bayonet men and two bombers) One section of Lewis gunners, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include the Lewis Gun No. 1 and No. 2) One section of riflemen, with one NCO and eight other ranks (with the men being split up into "picked" shots, scouts, and bayonet fighters) One section of rifle bombers, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include four bomb firers)
All of these men were to be equipped with a Lee-Enfield rifle (except for the Lewis Gun No. 1) and to have bayonets fixed (except for the Lewis Gun No. 2 and rifle bombers if using a cup discharger). Most men were to carry at least two Mills bombs; in the bomber section, each designated bomber carried five bombs and the other men at least ten bombs each, while each man in the rifle bomber section carried at least six of the Mills bomb's rifle grenade variant. The Lewis gun section as a whole carried thirty magazines with which to feed that weapon.
British Army rifle and Lewis gun sections (Interbellum) Immediately after the First World War, the odd-numbered sections of an infantry platoon were designated as rifle sections while even-numbered sections were designated as Lewis gun sections. Both types of section consisted of an NCO and six other ranks. The rifle section was armed with Lee-Enfield rifles, Mills bombs (one each for the first three other ranks), and smoke grenades (one each for the first three other ranks, two each for the next three other ranks who also had one grenade discharger each). The Lewis gun section had one other rank armed with the eponymous machine gun and another carrying the spare parts bag; both of these other ranks also carried revolvers. The remaining members of the Lewis gun section carried Lee-Enfield rifles and a varying number of magazines for the Lewis gun (the section commander and the other rank with the Lewis gun carried one magazine each, the other rank with the spare parts bag carried two magazines, and the remaining other ranks carried four magazines each). In the mid-1930s, the two separate types of section were done away with and the infantry platoon's sections were organised similarly to how they would be organised during the next world war (see below). Cited in
British Army rifle section (World War II) The rifle section of a Second World War-era infantry platoon was generally formed of a corporal as the section commander, a lance corporal as the section 2iC from April 1943 onwards, and a varying number of private soldiers depending on the year of the war. The corporal variously carried a Lee-Enfield rifle, a Thompson submachine gun, or a Sten submachine gun, again depending on the year of the war, one private was the section gunner with a Bren light machine gun, and all other section members were armed with Lee–Enfield rifles. At the onset of hostilities in 1939, the section consisted of the section commander, one Bren gunner and his assistant, and five riflemen for a total of eight men; in 1940, this was increased to ten men.An Infantry Battalion (Higher Establishment), ref II/1931/12F/1, notified in Army Council Instructions 10th April 1940 A typical section as of 1944 was divided into a 'rifle group' consisting of the section commander and six riflemen, and a 'gun group' consisting of the section 2IC and gun controller, the section gunner or Bren No. 1, and the Bren No. 2 carrying a spare barrel for the Bren gun; the six riflemen each carried two Bren magazines and a bandolier with a further fifty rounds, the Bren No. 2 carried five magazines, and the other two members of the gun group carried four magazines for a total of a thousand rounds of ammunition for the Bren. Three sections together formed a platoon, with two being forward sections and the third being a reserve. Section tactics were designed with a view to bringing the section machine gun to bear on the enemy and providing support to it; once the gun group had suppressed the enemy ("winning the firefight"), the rifle group would assault and destroy the enemy position with the gun group providing fire until the last safe moment.
British Army carrier platoon section A Universal Carrier platoon as of 1940 consisted of three sections, with each of these consisting of three Carriers (the first containing a sergeant and two privates, the second and third containing a corporal and two privates). Section armament, in addition to the men's personal weapons, consisted of three Bren guns (one per Carrier) and one Boys anti-tank rifle. The 1941 platoon organisation added a fourth section, and armament was modified to include grenades "if necessary" and a two-inch mortar in the second Carrier; the anti-tank rifle was standardised as being the secondary weapon of the third Carrier. The 1943 platoon organisation replaced the anti-tank rifle with a PIAT, added a fourth private to each Carrier, and also added one motorcyclist per section to serve as an orderly.
The 1941 platoon organisation also featured a motorcycle section consisting of eight standard motorcycles and four motorcycles with Bren-equipped sidecars; personnel from this section were supposed to be interchangeable with the Carrier sections. This particular section was eliminated from the 1943 organisation.
British Army rifle section (Cold War)