Army Chain of Command

In an organization we report to our immediate superiors, who in turn report to their managers and this chain goes all the way to the CEO or the Managing Director of the company. We follow a hierarchy, a pyramid like structure and although the CEO may have many advisers, it is he who decides what course of action has to be taken. The US army also has its own military rank structure. You can think of the President of the United States as the CEO, with many high-ranking officials as advisers. The army chain of command has the soldier as the basic or the building block. A group of soldiers organized together is known as a squad.

Organization of US Army

• Squad: A squad is made up of 9 to 10 soldiers. A Sergeant or a Staff Sergeant commands the squad.
• Platoon: A platoon has typically 16 to 45 soldiers. It is commanded by a Lieutenant with a NCO as Second in Command.
• Company: It is made up of around 62 to 190 soldiers. It is commanded by a Captain with a First Sergeant as commander's NCO assistant. Three to five platoons together make up a company.
• Battalion: A battalion is made up of around 300 to 1000 soldiers. It is led by a Lieutenant Colonel with a Command Sergeant Major as principal NCO assistant. Four to six companies combined together make up a battalion.
• Brigade: A brigade is responsible for managing two to five battalions. 3000 to 5000 soldiers combine together to make up a brigade. It is commanded by a Colonel and a Command Sergeant Major as Senior NCO.
• Division: Brigades combined together make up a division. It has roughly around 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers and is commanded by a Major General.
• Corps: Two or five divisions constitute a Corps and it has around 20,000 to 45,000 soldiers. A Lieutenant General is in command of the Corps.
• Army: An army is a combination of two or more Corps. It has typically more than 50,000 soldiers.

Army Chain of Command List

Designation	Person in-charge
Commander-in-Chief	Barack H. Obama
Secretary of Defense	Leon Panetta
Secretary of the Army	John McHugh
Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff US Army	Admiral Martin Dempsey
Army Chief of Staff	General Raymond Odierno
TRADOC Commander	General Robert Cone
Accessions Command Commander	LTG Benjamin Freakely
Cadet Command Commander	Major General James McDonald
4th Brigade Commander	Col. Ronald P. Elrod
Sergeant Major Of The Army	SMA Raymond F. Chandler
TRADOC CSM	CSM David M. Bruner
Accessions Command CSM	CSM John Troxell
Cadet Command CSM	CSM Hershel L. Turner
4th Brigade CSM	SGM Steven F.Ziebarth

The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the chain of command in the army. An effective chain of command ensures that the army is prepared for any eventuality. Also, the people holding these important designations have been given individual powers so that there is no ambiguity about the power structure. The different US army ranks have specific roles and responsibilities. The US army chain of command is well structured and one of the best in the world. I hope this article will help you get an insight into the hierarchy in the US army.