Military organization

Military organization is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarchical forms (see Modern hierarchy for terminology and approximate troop strength per hierarchical unit).

In some countries, paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often emulate military organizations, or use these structures.

History

The use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. The Roman Army was organized into legions, each comprising around 5000 soldiers and led by a legate. Each legion was further divided into centuries which were led by centurions.

In modern times, executive control, management and administration of military organization is typically undertaken by governments through a government department within the structure of public administration, often known as a ministry of defence or department of defense. These in turn manage military branches that themselves command formations and units specialising in combat, combat support and combat-service support.

Executive control, management and administration

The usually civilian or partly civilian executive control over the national military organization is exercised in democracies by an elected political leader as a member of the government's cabinet, usually known as a minister of defence.