Here is a basic, very basic Army organizational chart. First, we will go over the Enlisted ranks, or the Soldiers. The word in "quotes" is what we call them in day to day operations. Below that is the abbreviation.

Here we have a chart of the enlisted ranks. Starting with the Private (Pvt.) that has no insignia to the Sergeant Major of the Army at the very bottom. From the rank of Pvt to Spc they are Soldiers. Once you become a Corporal or Sergeant you become a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) who leads Soldiers.

A little humor added to the enlisted ranks....

Now lets have a looksee at the Officer ranks.

Officers can be called by their rank but are also referred to their gender, "Sir" or "Ma'am".

The following is how a team, squad a platoon are formed.

We'll start with the team.

The basic Army team is made up of four Soldiers. Three of them will be junior enlisted with one team leader in charge. There does not have to be one of each rank in the team. This team leader is the first leadership position that an NCO will hold. Being an NCO as a team leader can happen as early as 2-3 years in some cases. Questions? MOVING ON!

Next is a squad. From here on out a team will be shown with just the Sgt rank. Just remember when you see the Sgt rank that it is annotating a total of 4 Soldiers.

The Squad leader (SSG) will have his own team as well. Basic math tells us that this is....at least (carry the one) quite a fair amount of Soldiers.

From this squad we move to a Platoon (Plt) You'll notice something new about the Plt. The addition of our first Officer. This Officer is a 1LT or 2LT and are known as the Platoon Leader (PL). Even though Lieutenants are fairly new (for the most part) they are still in charge. This is why a seasoned NCO is what is known as the Senior Enlisted Adviser. At the Platoon level they are known as the PSG and hold the rank of SFC. The SSG rank will be in place of the whole squad just like the last picture.

There will only be ONE officer. One Platoon leader. Both ranks are up there to show you that it can be "either, or". The PSG is right next to the Platoon leader as their adviser. The PL and PSG will not have their own squads BUT may share a team between themselves. That can vary. Too much math= ALOT more Soldiers.

To make this a least confusing as possible we will not talk about Head Quarters (HQ) elements that involve Soldiers like commo or the medics. Next up? A Company (Co), which consists of between 3-4 Platoons! A Cpt is the Company Commander and their senior enlisted Adviser is a 1SG. The Platoons will be annotated by only the PL ranks.

From here, things will escalate quickly. In order to save little time it will just be picture after picture. Basic things apply, the Commanding Officer (LTC followed by Col.) will be on the upper left and their Senior Enlisted Advisor (CSM) will be on the upper right. Majors will be shown below the LTC and Col as they do not serve in a command position, but on the staff that helps run the BN or Bde. The SGM will be next to the Majors and below the CSM as they help advise and run the staff. The only things that will change are the ranks at the bottom. From here we go to Battalion (BN) to Brigade (Bde).

There! Maybe I should have done that from the beginning. But, where is the fun in that? So, this was just a quick rundown of how our Army is organized. How massive it really is and (basically) what everyone does. And it all starts right....

Here