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Military & Defence vocabulary · Units & Organisation

Unit

Meaning in military & defence, with examples

/ˈjuːnɪt/nounCore term

In military & defence, unit means: Any organised group of military personnel with its own commander and role, from a small team up to a large formation.

In Turkish: birlik

How it is used

A very general word: you join, command, inspect or deploy a unit. Specific words describe its size (platoon, company, battalion). Also common in phrases such as support unit, medical unit and unit commander.

Example sentences

  1. Each unit must submit its training report by the end of the month.

  2. After the course she was posted to a medical unit in the capital.

Common collocations

  • military unit
  • unit commander
  • support unit
  • join a unit
  • be posted to a unit
  • battalionA unit of several hundred soldiers, made up of three to five companies and usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel.
  • companyA unit of roughly 80 to 250 soldiers, made up of several platoons and usually commanded by a captain or a major.
  • platoonA unit of about 20 to 50 soldiers, formed of several squads or sections and normally led by a lieutenant with a platoon sergeant.
  • headquarters (HQ)The place, and the staff working in it, from which a commander directs a unit, a formation or a whole organisation.
  • commanderThe officer in charge of a unit, ship, base or operation, who has the authority and responsibility to make decisions and give orders.

More terms: Units & Organisation

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