Laughs parade Horse Cavalryman

“What is a cavalryman, sergeant?”

“Oh, a cavalryman is an old timer who remembers when horse power was a horse.”

Visions

“What’s wrong with you, Private Bridges?”

“I’m sick, sir. Have visions.”

“What visions?”

“I kept seeing MP’s at every street corner when I was in town last weekend. Terribly nervous.”

“Well, here’s my advice, Private. When you leave the unit’s line next time have a pass with you.”

MP = Military Policeman

You, and You

“I want two volunteers for some fatigue duty. What? – No volunteers from the squad?”

“Nobody, sergeant.”

“You, men, don’t know yet Army ways – if there are no volunteers they are called for. You, and you.”

Answers (ex. 8, 9): 1. who/whom; 2. who/whom; 3. how; 4. what; 5. how; 6. what; 7. what; 8. why; 9. where; 10. how long; 11. which; 12. where; 13. why; 14. who; 15. what; 16. which; 17. how; 18. whose; 19. which; 20. who/whom; 21. when; 22. how much/which/what; 23. how long; 24. why; 25. what colour.

UNIT 26:

Armed forces of foreign countries

Lesson 6

An infantry battalion in the british army

1.

In this exercise we’ll concentrate on the words and word combinations to be sure you know what they mean. Glossary: units.

1	battalion	a large body of troops ready for battle, especially an infantry unit forming part of a brigade
2	unit	a group within an armed force or police force, whose members fight or work together or carry out a particular task
3	division	a group of army brigades or regiments
4	brigade	one of the groups which an army is divided into
5	section	a subdivision of an army platoon
6	company	a group of soldiers that is usually part of a battalion or regiment, and that is divided into two or more platoons
7	platoon	a small group of soldiers, usually one which is commanded by a lieutenant
8	corps	a part of the army which has special duties.
9	fire team	consists of an NCO and three soldiers
10	battlegroup	a military force created to fight together, typically consisting of several different types of troops

2.

Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.

An infantry battalion in the british army

With a total strength of 625 officers and men, the battalion is the basic tactical unit in the infantry and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel, known as the Commanding Officer or CO. The battalion comprises the Battalion Headquarters (HQ) Company, a Support Company and three rifle companies. The CO commands from the HQ Company, which provides the battalion’s administration, command and logistic elements. The Support Company comprises the battalion’s fire support assets and is equipped with mortars, anti-tank weapons and machine guns.

Each rifle company is commanded by a major, known as the Officer Commanding or OC, and consists of a Company HQ and three rifle platoons. Platoons are numbered in sequence, for example A Company consists of 1, 2 and 3 Platoons and B Company comprises 4, 5 and 6 Platoons. Each platoon comprises a Platoon HQ and three sections. Each section has a strength of eight men and is divided into two fire teams known as Charlie and Delta. A fire team consists of an NCO and three soldiers.

During wartime or on any kind of operation, the Battalion is task-organised for a specific mission and becomes a battlegroup. The battlegroup is made up of the Battalion HQ Company, Support Company and one or more rifle companies plus attached elements from armour, engineer or aviation units. On operations, the battlegroup is assigned to a brigade, which is made up of three or four battlegroups, plus artillery, aviation and support elements. The brigade forms part of a division, which is made up of three or four brigades with a total strength of about 15,000 soldiers.

NOTE:

UK	US
section	squad
battlegroup	battalion task force

In the US a section is a unit between a squad and a platoon.

3.	Put the units in order from the smallest to the largest.

battalion	brigade	company
division	section	platoon

4.	Complete the chart.

	organisation	strength	composition	commmander
formations	division	15,000	3-4 brigades	major general
	brigade	5,000	3-4 battlegroups	brigadier
UNIT		625	HQ Company and Support Company + 3 companies
sub-units	company	100	Company HQ + 3 platoons
		28	PI HQ + 3 sections	lieutenant
	section		2 fire teams	corporal
		4	1 NCO and 3 men	corporal / lance corporal

5.	Answer the questions.

1. What is the difference between the terms OC and CO?

2. How many rifle platoons are there in the battalion?

3. What is the difference between a battlegroup and a battalion?

6.	Study the examples and then label them. Use the words from the box.

equipment

composition

strength

command

1. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel.

2. Each section has a strength of eight men.

3. A brigade is made up of / consists of / comprises three or four battlegroups. The Support Company comprises the battalion’s fire support assets. On operations, the battlegroup is assigned to a brigade.

4. The Support Company is equipped with mortars, anti-tank weapons and machine guns.

7.	Write a description of your unit.

8.	Study the examples and then complete the text.

Examples.

I work at the Battalion Headquarters Company and I run / manage the battalion stores.

I’m responsible for training. I supervise / control the work of a section of clerks.

I report to / am responsible to lieutenant Price, the Platoon Commander.

I also deal with / handle orders for spare parts for vehicles.

Our area of responsibility includes casualty reporting and prisoner of war registration.

Text.

The Battalion Adjutant works in the first section (S1) of the battalion headquarters. The Adjutant (1) ____ the CO. He / she (2) ____ the battalion office and (3) ____

The work of the military clerks in the office. The Adjutant’s (4) ____ also includes supervising public affairs activities, writing up the CO’s daily orders and (5) ____ discipline problems in the battalion.

deal with

report to

manage

supervise

responsibility