Battalion

Battalions are large units that are the main composition of regiments and brigades. Battalions are used by infantry elements in the army and marine corps.

Structure
A battalion's structure is generally the same in a rifles battalion or an armoured battalion. The battalions are structured as follows:

The command crew consists of the officer commanding (a lieutenant colonel), who is directly in charge of the battalion, the second in command (a major), who assists the commander of the battalion and the adjutant (a captain or major), who is essentially the third in command and is in charge of administration. Headquarters battalions will also contain the commander of the regiment (a colonel) and the second in command of the regiment (a lieutenant colonel).

The supply crew consists of the battalion quartermaster (a captain or major), who is in charge of supplies and distribution and the battalion quartermaster (technical) (also a captain or major), who is in charge of technical supplies. The enlisted part of the crew consists of the battalion sergeant major (a sergeant major), who is in charge of discipline and training, the battalion quartermaster sergeant (a warrant officer), who is the primary aid for the quartermaster and the regimental quartermaster sergeant (technical) (a warrant officer), who is the primary aid to the quartermaster technical.

The operations crew consists of the battalion medical officer (a captain or major), who is in charge of the medical elements of the battalion and sometimes the pioneering platoons too. There is also the battalion administrative officer (a captain or major), who is the primary aid to the adjundant and will usually be responsible for the handling of the artillery support platoons. The battalion intelligence officer (a lieutenant or captain) is in charge of intelligence gathering and is given command of the battalion intelligence platoon. Lastly is the battalion signals officer (a lieutenant or captain), who is in charge of communications for the battalion and is sometimes designated as an air liason officer.

Role
Overall, battalions have similar roles from corps to corps. All battalions are orangized into regiments, usually with four battalions per regiment. In a regiment, there will usually be one headquarters battalion, a reserve battalion and two rifles or armoured battalions. The headquarters battalion is usually an active battalion.

Sometimes, in the marine corps, one or two battalions will be used as onboard protection for a flotilla or squadron or ships in the navy.

Integration
Riifles battalions are composed of three infantry companies and a support company and armoured battalions are composed of four companies (usually two MBT companies, an MAAT company and a CSV company). There are one to four battalions per regiment. Also, a brigade will contain anywhere from one to six battalions. Battalions are numbered within their regiment.