What This Field Means
The connection between the unit record and the broader record for the same real-world organization.
Entity ID connects the unit-specific record to the site’s broader representation of the same real-world organization. That connection allows names, evidence, relationships, and other facts held outside the Unit table to resolve to one canonical subject.
How to Read It Correctly
Entity ID is not another name for Unit ID. Unit ID identifies the row in the military-unit table; Entity ID identifies the subject in the shared ontology used by many kinds of records.
Example
A unit and its aliases can share one canonical entity identity without creating duplicate organizations.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[EntityID]. Required foreign key to the canonical ontology Entity record. It allows unit facts to coexist with names, relationships, evidence, and other entity-level facts.
The value is required and must already exist in the ontology Entity table. One unit row should point to the canonical entity for that organization, not to an alias, source document, installation, or physical vessel.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | EntityID |
| Column order | 2 |
| SQL data type | bigint |
| Kind of information | Foreign-key relationship |
| Cardinality | One stored value per Unit row. |
| Required | Yes |
| Database default | No database default |
| Key or relationship | Foreign key to USMIL-Ontology.Entity.EntityID |
| Database check constraint | ([CurrentStatus]=N'Planned' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Status unknown' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Historical' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Inactive' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Current') |
| Live population | 9341 of 9341 Unit records (100%) |
| Distinct nonblank values in the live table | 9341 |
| Live profile measured | September 2, 2026, 20:43 UTC |
Allowed Values and Definitions
No preset menu applies to this field. It stores an identifier, relationship, measurement, date, timestamp, or evidence-derived narrative. Valid content is governed by the SQL type, key relationship, nullability, retained evidence, and the field-specific recording rule above. A list of observed contents would be data, not a list of allowed options.
Missing, Unknown, and Conflicting Information
This column cannot be NULL in the Unit table. When the underlying fact is incomplete, the record must use an allowed explicit disposition or a supported evidence-derived statement. Required storage does not mean that every historical fact is known, and it never authorizes a guessed value.
Connections to Other Fields
- Unit ID — The permanent record number used to keep this unit separate from every other unit in the guide.
- Official Unit Designation — The unit’s full official name or designation as supported by military records.
- Primary Evidence — The principal retained source supporting the unit’s identity in this record.
- Unit Confidence — How certain the guide is that the unit identity and its major claims are correct.