What This Field Means
How certain the guide is that the unit identity and its major claims are correct.
This tells readers how strongly the retained evidence supports the unit identity and major conclusions. It keeps probable, disputed, conflicting, rejected, and still-unresolved records visibly different from confirmed ones.
How to Read It Correctly
Confidence is not a numerical probability, source count, or judgment about the unit’s military quality. It evaluates the reliability of the database conclusion, not the organization itself.
Example
Confirmed, probable after review, disputed, or conflicting.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[UnitConfidence]. Required confidence summary related to the controlled Confidence/conflict-state vocabulary. Current stored values include legacy qualified variants.
Use the controlled confidence or conflict state that matches the evidence review. Qualified legacy phrases in the current scalar column should be normalized through the ontology while their original evidence and reasoning remain retained.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | UnitConfidence |
| Column order | 54 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(64) |
| Kind of information | Ontology-controlled classification with a scalar Unit-table summary |
| Cardinality | Unit table: one scalar summary per row. Ontology dimension: single; 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 | 12 |
| 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 | Confidence / conflict state |
| Dimension number | 56 |
| Ontology definition | Confirmed, probable, disputed, conflicting, unresolved, or rejected while preserving conflict visibility. |
| Ontology cardinality | single |
| Changes over time | Yes |
| Active controlled options | 10 |
| 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. |
| Confirmed | confirmed | The retained evidence supports the identity and stated conclusion. | Accepted confidence state with sufficient authoritative evidence and no unresolved identity conflict. |
| Probable | probable | The evidence points strongly to the conclusion, but confirmation is incomplete. | Probabilistic acceptance state below Confirmed; remaining uncertainty must be retained visibly. |
| Disputed | disputed | The identity or claim is challenged by credible contrary evidence. | Confidence state for a materially contested assertion that cannot be represented as settled. |
| Conflicting | conflicting | Retained sources make incompatible claims. | Conflict state preserving mutually inconsistent evidence pending resolution. |
| Rejected | rejected | Review determined that the proposed identity or claim should not be accepted. | Terminal negative confidence disposition; evidence remains retained for auditability. |
How the Live Unit Table Uses This Field
All 12 distinct nonblank expressions currently stored in the scalar Unit-table column are shown below.
| Observed live expression | Live Unit records |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | 9236 |
| Confirmed duplicate | 69 |
| Probable after review | 23 |
| Confirmed identity; lifecycle unresolved | 4 |
| Confirmed current identity | 2 |
| Confirmed Army task-organization identity | 1 |
| Confirmed capability class; not an eligible individual unit | 1 |
| Confirmed foreign identity | 1 |
| Confirmed identity; terminal lifecycle unresolved | 1 |
| Confirmed source-period identity; lifecycle unresolved | 1 |
| Confirmed U.S. identity | 1 |
| Confirmed with one retained chronology conflict | 1 |
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
- Primary Evidence — The principal retained source supporting the unit’s identity in this record.
- Evidence Authority — Why the supporting source is considered reliable enough to establish or describe the unit.
- Census Eligibility — Whether the record is counted as a distinct U.S. military unit rather than an alias, excluded organization, or non-unit.
- Lineage Continuity — What the evidence says about whether two names or organizations belong to the same official lineage.
- Process Version — The documented research or review method that produced the present record.