Units

All ninja forces organize themselves into units to better coordination their actions. Over the years, the units have largely standardized themselves among the various hidden villages.

Organizational Units

Organizational units are those that group similar units together under on chain of command. They do not generally see use in the field.

Corps

The largest organization unit in a hidden village, the Corps is the most general grouping of forces. Many villages have corps for administrative tasks, military police, medical, training, combat, and special operations.

In Konoha, there is the Administrative Corps, Konoha Military Police Corps, Medical Corps, Training Corps, Combat Corps, and ANBU Corps.

Division

These are more specific units that subdivide a Corps. A Corps typically has two to three divisions within it.

For instance, a Combat Corps might have offensive, defensive, and reconnaissance divisions within it.

Battalion

The smallest organizational unit within a hidden village. Battalions are specialized groups, subdividing a division. Divisions typically consist of 0-7 Battalions.

For example, a recon division may have Search and Retrieve, Infiltration, Reconnaissance, and Capture & Interrogation battalions.


Field Units

The units that are actually used in the field in combat. Due to the nature of combat, field units have an upper limit in size to ease command & control issues.

Platoon

A platoon is the largest field unit for a hidden village. It consists of numerous cells, teams, and/or squads brought together for a single task. A platoon normally consists a minimum of 4 cells (16 people) and a maximum of 21 cells (84 people).

In ANBU, a platoon is usually referred to as a "Wolf Pack" and consists of from 3-4 lone operatives up to 4 full teams for a total of 24 ANBU (though typically a max of 16).

Squad

The second largest field unit, a Squad consists of 8-12 people. The 12-man squad is the standard unit size for STC shinobi and can be deployed where ever needed, from border patrol to guard duty. Some squads are ad hoc and are not permanent. The only squads given combat designations are permanent ones such as STC squads. ANBU squads are 2 6-man teams, 3 4-man teams, or 6 2-man teams.

Combat Search and Rescue squads typically consists of a SAR cell, one to two combat cells, and possibly a medic cell.

Team

A generic designation for the smallest field unit.

Cell
The most frequently seen team size, it is a 4-man unit. Often seen with genin teams, where a Jounin leads three Genin. These cells often last far into a ninja's career.

Team
Generic term for the unit type. Typically ad hoc grouping of three to seven people, though normally 4-6, that forms to handle a specific mission and is not expected to last after completion. Often used to refer to Cells, causing that term to fall out of general use.

ANBU Operations Team
A 6-man team consisting of a team leader, a lieutenant, and four other ANBU.

ANBU Assassination Team
Assassination Teams operate on the 4-man cell. Should more manpower be needed, they can add two people and switch to the Ops style team set-up.

ANBU Team
Nearly all ANBU teams use the 4-man cell. This includes the Hunter Nin Battalion, MSC Battalion, and non-specialized teams.

Intel Team
Intel teams varies from three to six as missions require, though "permanent" teams are usually the 4-man cell. CFS Battalion and IA Battalion uses two-man teams, while Jutsu R&D Battalion and non-specialized teams typically use the 4-man cell.

Demolitions Team
Demolitions Teams are 2-man units that are normally attached to another unit when needed.

Designations

Squad and Team designations are important, as they determine the type of training a team receives and the typical missions that are assigned to the team. The designation also determines which Corps the team is placed in.

Non-Combat Designations

Non-combat Operations are primarily the support positions. Instructors, proctors, medics, vets, librarians, couriers, administrators, lawyers, auditors, and so forth. STC units typically make up the bulk of these designations, rather than the elite cells.

Combat Designations

Combat Operations1 have three subcategories. STC squads can have any designation except "Capture/Interrogate."

The first is Offensive operations.

  • "Combat" - Standard combat teams. This is the catch-all designation for any team not given a specific one. Teams that work well tactically are designated "Tactical".
  • "Heavy Combat" or "Assault" - Heavy Combat and Assault teams are designed to act as shock troops, going where the hardest fighting is occurring and leading attacks on fortifications. Assault teams differ from Heavy Combat teams in that their skills are geared towards breaking fortifications better.
  • "Free Response" - Free Response teams are jack-of-all-trade squads that are sufficiently strong and skilled to be rapidly deployed anywhere to deal with the situation or hold things together until a better specialized unit can arrive to take over.

The second subcategory is Reconnaissance operations.

  • "Reconnaissance" - Standard scouting team. They go, find the enemy, and gather information about them to bring back.
  • "Search and Retrieve" - These teams work well at tracking and locating items or people and getting them back.
  • "Infiltration" - These are stealth oriented teams that slip in and out of locations without being seen as they carry out missions.
  • "Capture/Interrogate"2 - These teams are field interrogation teams. They capture targets and extract information out of them without needing to come back to give to the T&I ANBU battalion.

The final subcategory is Defensive operations.

  • "Escort" - Escort squads are best at escorting people and material against attackers.
  • "Defense" - Defense squads are best at fighting defensively or have an emphasis on defensive jutsu.
  • "Construction"3 - Construction squads are responsible for rapidly building and repairing structures - including forward bases and defensive positions, possibly while under fire.

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