Group (military unit)

When the Royal Air Force (RAF) was formed in 1918 from a merger of the RFC and RNAS, an officer with the rank of colonel typically commanded a group.

By World War II, the groupes of the French Armée de l'Air usually comprised two escadrilles (but sometimes only one, or as many as four).

In the German Luftwaffe, the principal unit of action was the Gruppe (plural Gruppen); the equivalent of a French or USAAC/USAAF group.

From 1943 to 1945, RAF Bomber Command groups were composed of several stations (air bases) and were analogous to USAAF wings.

In the United States Air Force (USAF) a group consists of two or more squadrons, often functionally aligned within a wing.

Per AFI 38-101 Air Force Organization (21 April 2015) a group is a "level of command between wings and squadrons.

Groups bring together multiple squadrons or other lower echelon units to provide a broader capability."

Such groups may possess small supporting staff elements, such as standardization and evaluation or quality control, that are organized as sections.

"[citation needed] "An independent group has the same functions and responsibilities as a like-type wing but its scope and size do not warrant wing-level designation and associated overhead costs."

These groups, commanded by a colonel, do not have subordinate squadrons assigned and are not part of the Fleet Marine Force (FMF).

All of these entities maintain administrative and standardization control and are OF 5 (US pay grade O-6) captain commands roughly analogous to a USMC Marine Aircraft Group or USAF wing.

Officers in command of wing level units other than carrier air wings utilize the legacy title of "commodore" and are authorized to fly a command broad pennant from their headquarters ashore or when embarked aboard a warship as the senior officer present afloat (SOPA).

A CSG usually consists of one aircraft carrier with an embarked carrier air wing, one or two guided missile cruisers, a destroyer squadron of two or three guided missile destroyers, one or two attack submarines, and a logistics support ship, all under the command of an embarked flag officer at the OF6 (US pay grade O-7) or OF7 (US pay grade O-8) level.

Within armies and land forces, groups are units or formations that are roughly equivalent to regiments and are commanded by colonels.

In the Indonesian Army, the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) uses this term to identify the different divisions within the unit.