Regiment
By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel.
Later, it was customary to name the regiment by its precedence in the line of battle, and to recruit from specific places, called cantons.
Organisation and numbers did not follow any standardised pattern between or within armies during this period, with the only common factor being that each regiment had a single commander.
[5] By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, each under the command of a colonel.
[7] On campaign, these numbers were soon reduced by casualties and detachments and it was sometimes necessary to amalgamate regiments or to withdraw them to a depot while recruits were obtained and trained.
With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification.
Prior to World War I, an infantry regiment in the French, German, Russian, and other smaller armies would comprise four battalions, each with a full strength on mobilization of about 1,000 men.
As far as possible, the separate battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized and campaign as a 4,000 strong linked group of sub-units.
A notable exception to this practice was the British line infantry system where the two regular battalions constituting a regiment alternated between "home" and "foreign" service and seldom came together as a single unit.
This flows historically from the colonial period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous, but is easily adapted to a number of different purposes.
The system presents difficulties for military planners, who must deal with the problems of trying to keep soldiers of a regiment together throughout their careers and of administering separate garrisons, training and mess facilities.
The regimental community of serving and retired members often makes it very difficult for planners to restructure forces by moving, merging or re-purposing units.
Generally, the regimental system is found to function best in countries with small-to medium-sized military forces where the problems of administering vast numbers of personnel are not as prevalent.
The regimental system works particularly well in an environment in which the prime role of the army consists of small-scale police actions and counterinsurgency operations, requiring prolonged deployment away from home.
This is particularly relevant to British experience during the days of the empire, where the army was virtually continuously engaged in low-intensity conflict with insurgents, and full-scale warfare was the exception rather than the rule.
On the other hand, recruitment from a single community can lead to a concentrated and potentially devastating local impact if the regiment takes heavy casualties.
Further, the regimental system offers the advantage of grouping like units together for centralized administrative, training, and logistical purposes, thereby creating an "economies of scale" effect and its ensuing increased efficiency.
This is achievable partially because of the Marines mission adaptability, flexibility, philosophy, shared culture, history and overall esprit de corps, which allows for near seamless interoperability.
In Canada, the regiment is a formation of one or more units; existing almost exclusively for reasons of heritage, the continuance of battle honors and esprit de corps.
It was modelled after two legendary fighting groups, the intelligence gathering American Alamo Scouts and the combat ready US Army Rangers.
Like the Scout Rangers, members of the Special Forces Regiment of the Philippine Army are also highly trained in counter-insurgency operations.
Due to its specialization in counter-terrorism operations and its formation with the assistance of American advisers, the Light Reaction Regiment has been sometimes referred to as the Philippines' Delta Force.
[14] The Motor Rifle Regiment was one of the basic tactical units within the Soviet Ground Forces, totaling around 2,500 officers and other ranks.
By the late 1980s, it consisted of a regimental headquarters in command of three Motor Rifle Battalions, each numbering around five hundred personnel and equipped with either BMP infantry fighting vehicles or BTR armoured personnel carriers, and one Tank Battalion, typically consisting of thirty-one T-64, T-72 or T-80 tanks, although older models were present in units outside the European theater.
15., War Department, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, May 4, 1861: The President of the United States having called for a Volunteer Force to aid in the enforcement of the laws and the suppression of insurrection, and to consist of thirty-nine regiments of infantry and one regiment of cavalry, making a minimum aggregate of (34,506) thirty-four thousand five hundred and six officers and enlisted men, and a maximum aggregate of (42,034) forty two thousand and thirty-four officers and enlisted men, the following plan of organization has been adopted, and is directed to be printed for general information.In 1890, the number of companies in a regiment was reduced from the traditional ten to only eight, as the end of the Indian Wars became evident and troop reductions became in order.
In the 20th century, by using modern industrial management techniques, the Army was able to draft, assemble, equip, train and then employ huge masses of conscripted civilians in very short order, starting with minimal resources.
CARS uses the Army's traditional regiments as parent organizations for historical purposes, but the primary building blocks are divisions, brigades, and battalions.
[23] These organizations were intentionally temporary as the USMC did not usually maintain standing forces larger than company size, but rather created "task units" on an "as needed" basis.
Current Marine infantry, field artillery, and combat logistics battalions are organized into regiments, commanded by a colonel.
Each of these two types of regiments contain a headquarters company and varying numbers and types of logistics battalions and separate logistics companies, depending upon whether the regiment's primary mission is to provide direct support to (1) a regimental combat team (RCT) or a Marine amphibious unit (MEU), or (2) provide general support across the Marine expeditionary force (MEF), including intermediate ground logistics support to Marine aviation units.
