What This Field Means
What the evidence says about whether two names or organizations belong to the same official lineage.
This states what official evidence says about continuity between unit identities or designations. It distinguishes true redesignation, succession, consolidation, split, and reconstitution from superficial resemblance.
How to Read It Correctly
Shared numbers, personnel, missions, locations, or traditions do not by themselves prove official lineage. Lineage also must not be confused with temporary parentage or command alignment.
Example
Redesignated from, consolidated into, split from, or no continuity established.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[LineageContinuity]. Required evidence-derived lineage conclusion related to the Lineage relationship ontology. The current field contains narrative conclusions and unresolved states.
Use the controlled relationship that the retained lineage evidence supports, identify both unit records, and preserve the effective event date. If sources conflict or continuity remains unresolved, use the corresponding disposition instead of choosing silently.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | LineageContinuity |
| Column order | 50 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(128) |
| Kind of information | Ontology-controlled classification with a scalar Unit-table summary |
| Cardinality | Unit table: one scalar summary per row. Ontology dimension: multiple; time-varying: true. |
| Required | Yes |
| Database default | No database default |
| Key or relationship | None |
| 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 | 2116 |
| Live profile measured | September 2, 2026, 20:43 UTC |
Allowed Values and Definitions
The complete active controlled vocabulary is listed below. The ontology is authoritative for normalized options. Narrative or legacy phrases found in the scalar Unit-table column are current data expressions, not additional approved options.
| Ontology property | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ontology dimension | Lineage relationship |
| Dimension number | 45 |
| Ontology definition | Predecessor, successor, redesignation, consolidation, split, reconstitution, or supported lineage. |
| Ontology cardinality | multiple |
| Changes over time | Yes |
| Active controlled options | 13 |
| Canonical option | Code | Plain-language definition | Technical definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | unknown | The evidence reviewed so far does not establish a value. | No supported value is asserted; this is an evidentiary state, not a positive classification. |
| Not applicable | not-applicable | This question does not apply to this kind of unit or relationship. | The dimension is intentionally inapplicable to the subject type; it is not missing data. |
| Unresolved | unresolved | The unit is known, but the available evidence does not yet settle this particular point. | Confirms that resolution remains open after review without asserting a competing value. |
| Needs review | needs-review | The retained evidence needs additional review before a reliable value can be shown. | Places the assertion in a review-required disposition rather than accepting a substantive value. |
| Source conflict | source-conflict | Reliable sources disagree, so the guide preserves the disagreement instead of choosing one silently. | Records an unresolved conflict among retained sources and prevents false canonical certainty. |
| Predecessor | predecessor | Predecessor identifies the earlier organization in an officially supported succession or lineage relationship. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'predecessor' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Successor | successor | Successor identifies the later organization in an officially supported succession or lineage relationship. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'successor' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Redesignated from | redesignated-from | Redesignated from means the present identity formally received an earlier designation within an evidenced continuity event. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'redesignated-from' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Redesignated to | redesignated-to | Redesignated to means the organization formally received a later designation within an evidenced continuity event. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'redesignated-to' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Consolidated into | consolidated-into | Consolidated into means the organization’s lineage or organizational identity was formally combined with another organization under an authorized action. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'consolidated-into' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Split from | split-from | Split from means the organization was formally created or separated from part of an earlier organization under an evidenced lineage action. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'split-from' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Reconstituted from | reconstituted-from | Reconstituted from means an organization was formally restored or reestablished from a previously constituted identity under official authority. | Controlled lineage-relationship code 'reconstituted-from' in ontology Dimension 45. It requires official continuity evidence connecting identified unit records and must not be inferred from similar names, numbers, missions, or locations. |
| Another official lineage relation | another-official-lineage-relation | Another official lineage relation is used when authoritative lineage evidence establishes a formal relationship not represented by the named standard choices. | Controlled catch-all code 'another-official-lineage-relation' in ontology Dimension 45. Use requires explicit source support; recurring concepts should receive a separately defined extension rather than accumulating as unexplained catch-all data. |
How the Live Unit Table Uses This Field
The scalar Unit-table column currently contains 2116 distinct nonblank expressions. The 20 most frequently used expressions are shown below; these are evidence-derived or legacy contents, not extra controlled options.
| Observed live expression | Live Unit records |
|---|---|
| Lineage review pending; SNDL identity fixed by current UIC | 1893 |
| Identity established from exact official DVIDS attribution; lineage review pending | 1636 |
| Canonical identity retained; designation changes do not create a new identity without lineage evidence | 1268 |
| Source-period identity established; predecessor, successor, and redesignation continuity require separate evidence | 953 |
| Formal Army lineage record; continuity after the source effective date is unresolved | 319 |
| Lineage review pending; current identity fixed by official service directory | 288 |
| Exact source-period identity; activation, inactivation, and redesignation endpoints unresolved | 165 |
| Exact official identity and lifecycle reviewed; source designation retained as alias where different | 136 |
| Identity established from exact official-source crosswalk; lineage review pending | 130 |
| Separate canonical organizational identity retained | 27 |
| Distinct commissioned cutter-command identity linked to its physical cutter | 24 |
| Preserved source-derived row; excluded after exact identity review. | 24 |
| Identity accepted; detailed activation, inactivation, and redesignation lineage remains open | 22 |
| Lineage is not inferred from the designator or report year; lineage review remains open | 22 |
| Individual source-period identity confirmed; lifecycle endpoints unresolved | 21 |
| Separate canonical identity retained | 21 |
| Separate canonical identity retained under exact official-source adjudication | 19 |
| Individually identified Fall 1972 deployed team; lifecycle outside the chart unresolved | 18 |
| Exact current official roster and retained identifier crosswalk | 18 |
| Separate canonical identity established by exact official-source designation | 17 |
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.
The controlled uncertainty values are deliberately different: Unknown means evidence has not established a value; Unresolved means the question remains open after review; Needs review identifies work still requiring evaluation; Source conflict preserves disagreement among retained sources; and Not applicable means the dimension does not apply to the subject.
Connections to Other Fields
- Predecessor Unit — The earlier unit identity officially connected to this unit’s lineage.
- Successor Unit — The later unit identity officially connected to this unit through succession, redesignation, consolidation, or another supported lineage event.
- Former Designation — An earlier official name used by the same supported unit lineage.
- 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.