The Colonial Army, while similar in style to the Colonial Fleet, is a different branch of the Armed Forces, and as such has a slightly different organisation and ranking system to the Fleet. These are detailed below.
As with all things, the Army is organisation along certain lines to allow it be to be flexible in battle. While not comprehensive, the following is a rough guide to the layout of the Colonial Army.
The basic building block of the Army is the squad. A squad consists of 8 men and contains 1 corporal and 1 sergeant. The sergeant is in overall charge of the squad, but in case the squad is broken down into smaller units, the corporal can take charge of this.
With vehicles units, a squad is one vehicle.
A Platoon is made up of 3 normal squads and an additional headquarters squad. It is commanded by a Lieutenant. A platoon is 32 men.
With vehicle units, a platoon is composed of 4 vehicles.
The next sized unit is the company. A typical company contains 3 platoons and 1 headquarters squad. It is generally 104 men, and is led by a Captain.
A vehicle company is 14 vehicles. An additional vehicle is always added the company headquarters squad.
The Phalanx formation is 4 companies and an attached headquarters platoon. An all infantry phalanx would be 456 men, and led by a Major. Phalanxes though, are rarely composed of the same companies. It would be more common to have one or two infantry companies with attached artillery or vehicle companies for hard-hitting support.
A Legion is composed of several phalanxes. The average is 10, but it varies from 5-15 depending on available strength. A Legion is effectively the largest formation that is sent into battle at one time. It is run by Lieutenant General with a Colonel as an executive officer, and in addition to the phalanxes, also contains a headquarters company. A legion, like a phalanx, is never composed of one type of unit and will usually contain the full range of tank, artillery, heavy weapon, scout and infantry phalanxes. The most common type of unit within the legion will give the legion its type, so for example, a legion composed mainly of tanks will be classified a tank legion.
An Army is simply a collection of legions. It is mainly a formation on paper only, as while all the troops will usually be present, they will not be present in one place usually, and may even be scattered across several planets. An army is commanded by a general who will have their headquarters company somewhere.
These formations only list combat troops. Formations of Company or larger size will usually contain non-combat troops such as admin staff, cooks and other support personnel.
The following ranks are in use within the Army.
A recruit is a soldier on basic training. At this stage they learn the basic arts of war, survival and their common enemy, the Cylon. This is often a gruelling point for the soldier to be, and many find that they just can not stand the training or the constant abuse hurled at them by their training staff.
A private is the official term for a properly enlisted and trained soldier of the Army. Dedicated and senior privates can achieve the state of Private, 1st Class, but this is not an actual rank and will in no way impede the soldiersŐ ability to advance.
Privates are trained in many different roles in the Army, and while all know how to fight, some are cross-trained in other areas. For example, the basic private is a rifleman, but there are snipers - trained in long distance shooting at difficult targets, heavy weapons infantry who are trained in the use of weaponry heavier than the standard laser rifle, and so on. In addition, the Army covers a wide range of occupations, ranging from vehicle driver and tanker, to artilleryman and scout, and these all require different training regimes.
Corporal is the first of the non-commissioned ranks, and thus the first of the ranks able to lead troops, although in a combat situation a corporal will only be responsible for half a squad, and usually under the watching eye of the senior sergeant. There are several grades of corporal - leading and senior, but like most grades within a rank, gaining these are not required to be able to advance to the rank of sergeant.
A Corporal of any type has one gold rank pin.
Often considered the backbone of any army, the sergeant is the highest non-commissioned rank. It is generally up to them to do the actual leading of troops into combat itself, as their take their squad into combat. Most sergeants take the time to constantly hone their troops to keep their skills sharp, and while they do tend to do a lot of shouting at their squad mates, they always have an ear open to the needs of their soldiers should it be needed, knowing that they are the ones who have to fight and die with the troops, not the generals who simply send the troops into action.
A Sergeant has two gold rank pins to denote their status.
The first of the actual commissioned officer ranks, a lieutenant is in charge of a platoon of troops, usually the smallest actual organisation sent into the field of combat. Nearly all officers - especially those who have seen combat - have passed through the lieutenant rank at one point.
A Lieutenant has three gold rank pins to denote their position.
The Captain is in charge of a company of troops, and usually the lowest ranking office when troops are being shuttled across the stars by the Fleet. Unlike some other nations, Army Captains do not get a brevet rank of Major when being carried in Fleet ship.
A Captain has one silver rank pin to signify their rank.
The Major is the start of the Staff ranks. These are ranks, which are generally more administrative than they are actual combat ranks. Being the commander of a Phalanx of troops, a Major is expected to lead from the rear rather than the front lines, but newly appointed Majors tend to situate their headquarters nearer the front so that they can still see some action.
A Major carries two silver rank pins.
The rank of Colonel is often considered to be a bad rank, especially for combat orientated people. Being a Colonel means that, officially, you do not command any troops. Instead they are the executive (read administrative) officers for the Lieutenant General who commands the Legion of troops. Colonels in the Army generally have an unfair and (usually) unwarranted bad reputation. To be a Colonel is to be considered to have been "kicked up stairs" and placed out of harms way, especially as they do not lead any troops anymore. And itŐs fair that a lot of Colonels do not like the position because of it. But most Colonels have gained their position by hard work and earned their position, and it is an ideal stepping-stone to the next rank of General. It is also true though, that some Colonels are looking for any excuse to be able to lead their troops into action again.
A Colonel carries three silver rank pins.
The General is the highest rank within the Army, and they commander the actual armies that comprise the Colonial Army. It is very rare to actually see a general on the battlefield, as they are almost exclusively staff roles, but as most generals have worked their way up the ranks, it is not unheard of to actual hear of a general who commanded their men from the front lines. This is frowned upon by the High Command though.
There are several grades to the rank of general, the only difference is in seniority. There is only one General of the Armies though, and it is he who has ultimate responsibility for the actions of the Army. He is answerable to the President of the Council of Twelve only.
A General carries three silver rank pins and in addition usually has a more ornate helmet and uniform to denote their position.
Rank pins are carried on the collar, and both sides carry the same amount of rank pins, thus a Corporal has one rank pin on each side of their uniform. Unlike the Fleet, the Army uses the same pattern for their rank pin, and it does not change depending on location or unit served.