Group

ORBAT Construction: Element Specific Standards

The purpose of this content is to provide policy guidance on the construction of ORBAT and the rules by which ORBATs are approved. It's important to note that these policies may be an extension of other policies, or impacted by them.

These policies are designed to cover the majority of encountered questions in ORBAT construction, although for flexibility we acknowledge that not all circumstances will be covered. In this instance, as with other policies FM/BP-859 - Doctrine Authority applies and FM/BG-614 - Operations Command (OC) is the relevant Command Unit Authority.

See FM/C149 - The UNITAF Way for more information on doctrine and what happens if a specific instance is not covered by this section.

• Consists of 4-6 people
• Lead by a fireteam leader or the squad leader
• Must be part of a squad

• Consists of 8–15 people (excludes attached elements)
• Composed of 2–3 fireteams
  • Minimum of 2 fireteams
  • Maximum of 2 fireteams when multiple squads are present
  • Maximum of 3 fireteams if operating as a single squad
• Maximum of 4 elements
  • Fireteams and integrated vehicles combined
  • Attached elements are not counted
• Led by a Squad Leader
  • When a squad has 10 or more members (2 fireteams of 4–6 members), the Squad Leader must have at least 1 person under their direct command as a buddy
  • the Squad HQ element can include a maximum of 3 personnel
  • When a squad has 8–10 members, the Squad Leader does not require a buddy
• Permitted Squad HQ roles include*
  • Up to 1 Squad Leader or Squad Commander
  • Up to 2 Radio Operator
  • Up to 1 Squad Medic
  • Up to 1 Joint Fires Observer or Forward Observer
  • Up to 1 Forward Air Controller
  • Up to 1 Designated Marksman
  • Up to 2 Combat Engineer or EOD
  • Up to 2 UAS Operator roles or equivalent
  • Up to 1 Rifleman
  • Up to 2 Ammo Bearer
  • Up to 2 Interpreter
  • Up to 1 Driver or Crewman, if the Squad HQ operates within a vehicle
  • Any Leadership Observer where required by policy in line with that policy.
• Extra elements may be attached such as vehicles

*Should the deployment be Special Forces, any SF variant of the same role is permitted.

• Consists of 2-8 people
• Lead by an infantry team leader
• No fireteams, everyone under the command of the infantry team lead

• Consists of 26–64 people (includes attached elements)
• Composed of 2-4 squads/infantry teams
• Lead by a platoon leader or commander
• Platoon HQ element may consist of a maximum of 4 extra people under direct command of the platoon leader or commander*
  • Up to 1 Platoon Commander or Platoon Leader
  • Up to 1 Platoon Sergeant
  • Up to 2 Radio Operator or Communications Specialist
  • Up to 1 Platoon Medic
  • Up to 2 Joint Fires Observer or Forward Observer
  • Up to 2 Forward Air Controller
  • Up to 2 UAS Operator roles or equivalent
  • Up to 2 Combat Engineer, Support Engineer or EOD Specialist
  • Up to 2 Interpreter
  • Up to 1 Rifleman or Ammo Bearer for security purposes
  • Up to 1 Driver or Crewman, if the Platoon HQ operates within a vehicle
  • Any Leadership Observer where required by policy in line with that policy.
• Extra elements (like a vehicle section) may be attached

*should the deployment be special forces, any SF variant of the same role is permitted.

• Composed of 2-4 platoons
• Lead by a company leader
• May have 4 extra people under direct command of the company leader
• Extra elements (like a vehicle section) may be attached

• A single light vehicle can be integrated into a fireteam
• A single AFV or light vehicle can be integrated into a squad as a separate element
• MBTs cannot be integrated

• Can be subordinate to a company, platoon or the highest ranked element on the ORBAT
• Consists of 1-4 vehicles
• Lead by a vehicle section commander

• Can be subordinate to a company, platoon or the highest ranked element on the ORBAT
• Lead by a logistics support chief
• Consists of 2-5 people

• Can be subordinate to a company, platoon or the highest ranked element on the ORBAT
• Lead by a MERT officer
• Consists of 2-5 people
• Must be airborne

• Lead by a pilot
• Contains only the crew of a single aircraft

• Can be subordinate to:
  • A mortar/artillery platoon
  • A company, platoon or squad
• Lead by a mortar/artillery section leader or a mortar/artillery gunner
• Consists of 2-5 people

• Composed of 2-4 mortar/artillery sections
• Can be subordinate to a company, platoon or the highest ranked element on the ORBAT
• Lead by a fire support chief
• Consists of 1-3 people

• SF teams follows the same rules as FM/BP-1378 - Fireteam composition, except the roles are replaced with their SF equivalent
• SF squads follows the same rules as FM/BP-1379 - Squad composition, except the roles are replaced with their SF equivalent

• A sniper team can be subordinate to a company, platoon, squad, or the highest-ranked element on the ORBAT.
• A sniper team must operate as its own independent element, led by the spotter.
• The team consists of two personnel: a spotter and a sniper.