NationStates Jolt Archive

Armies are usually divided into armies, corps, divisions, so on and so forth, whereas Navies are divided into fleets, groups, et. al. What are air forces 'divided' into? And how many aircraft are in each 'group,' or whatever they're called? Likewise, what are the Marines 'divided' into? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and please excuse my ignorance pertaining to military matters. Thanks a lot!

Well, I don't know the exact divisions of the U.S. Air Force but it runs something like:

Air Force to Bases and then to Squadron level... I think squadrons also form larger divisionary formations but I'm not sure what they're called in the United States. Squadrons have anywhere from 10 to 15 aircraft most of the time.

Well, I don't know the exact divisions of the U.S. Air Force but it runs something like:

Air Force to Bases and then to Squadron level... I think squadrons also form larger divisionary formations but I'm not sure what they're called in the United States. Squadrons have anywhere from 10 to 15 aircraft most of the time.

Thanks! :)

I use flights (12 aircraft), squadrons (24 aircraft), sections (48 aircraft), and the last unit is the wing which contains 96 aircraft. I based mine somewhat on the U.S. Airforce, but I switched the names around a bit.

As for the marines I use a standard of 21,000 marines per division. Three marine divisions put together form a Marine Expeditionary Unit. That's my system to keep everything in check.

The Marine Corp is divided in the same manner as the army, while the Airforce is divided into squadrons.

Thanks a lot, guys! :)

My organization:

Half Squadron: 6
Squadron: 12
Wing: 10 squadrons
Air Armada: 10 wings
Air Force: 12 Air Armadas

Also I would recommend using google to find the amount of aircraft per formation. I remember finding a site that had all the information I used to form up my airforce. Lost the site though.

The general structure of the RAF (at least, to my best knowledge, may be different), goes something like this:

Flight
Squadron
Wing
Group

Traditionally, a flight is 3 (?) Aircraft, and is essentially a sub-section of a squadron, used for smaller missions. Kind of like a platoon in an Army company. A Squadron usually has 12 active aircraft, although it most likely has a number in reserve. A Wing is made up of a few squadrons, this number varies I believe, but I think it is somewhere around 5 Squadrons. A Group is more a division of Britain than a cohesive unit. A bit like dividing up military command for the North, South, East, West, etc, of a country.

Thanks again!

Tag - for future reference!

What stops you from creating your own terms, or even changing the number of aircraft in your squadrons? I see no need to adhere to real life designations; the convenience it offers is minimal, IMO.

But of course, you organize your military however you like.

I'm going to slap myself! I was in the CAP (Civil Air Patrol) so I should know all of this stuff..meh, the airforce never really interested me.

What about the National Guard? What is it divided into?

Flight (4 aircraft)
Squadron (12 aircraft)
Wing (72 aircraft)
Group
Air Force

Group and Air Force sizes are entirely up to you, but try to keep it in the low thousands for an Air Force. Wing sizes might also vary depending on what kind of formation it is, although I tend to keep a static 72 no matter what. One more thing, when I say Air Force, I mean it like the AF equivilant to a field army.

You can pretty much make up whatever divisions you choose, although most people prefer the US or UK Air Forces as a model.

The smallest self-contained Air Force unit is usually the Flight (or Section), followed by Squadron, Group, and Wing.

Navies are typically designed using the US Navy model: Ships of similar types are grouped into Squadrons (DesRon = Destroyer Squadron, SubRon = Submarine Squadron, etc), especially for smaller vessels. Larger ships (which require escort vessels to defend them) are usually combined into Groups (CarGru = Carrier Group, SAG = Surface Action Group, etc). The primary US Navy division above this size is the Fleet (2nd Fleet, 5th Fleet, 6th Fleet, 7th Fleet), which are responsible for different geographic areas. Fleets are usually combined into Forces or Area Commands (Atlantic Command {which includes everything west of the east coast of Africa to the east coast of North and South America}, Pacific Command {everything else}).

These are just a couple of examples, but you're better off setting up something that you find easy to work with.


TEO

Thanks for the help, everyone! :)

The Division of the Air Force is as Follows (USAF Example): Top Down and Chain of Command Included -

1. Department of the Air Force - Secretary of the Air Force (Civilian)
Chief of Staff, Air Force (Military, 4 Star General reports to SecAF)
2. Major Commands - Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Combat Command (ACC) - All are lead by a 4 Star General who Reports to the CSAF
3. Numbered Air Forces - Each MAJCOM has any number of numbered Air Forces at its disposal. Usually, they are lead by a 2-4 Star General.
4. Wing - Base Level Operation. Reports to a Larger Air Force which is comprised of numerous Wings. Each Wing is lead either by a Colonel or a General
5. Group - Usually, there are four Groups per Wing, each comprised of numerous squadrons. The Groups are usually Logistics, Maintenance, Support, and Operations. Each Group is lead by a Colonel or Lt Colonel
6. Squadron - Comprised of numerous flights, usually lead by a Major or Lt Colonel
7. Flight - Smallest Operational Level. Lead by a Leiutenant through Captain. Also comprised of Enlisted Staff. Comprised of various shops or sections.