What This Field Means
The immediate higher organization under which the unit is placed in this record.
This links the unit to the immediate higher unit represented in the current hierarchy. It helps a veteran move from a company to its battalion, from a squadron to its group or wing, and through other service-appropriate structures.
How to Read It Correctly
The parent is not automatically the administrative command, operational command, host installation, supported command, or historical parent for every date. One scalar parent cannot express the full time-varying command history.
Example
A squadron may point to its group, and a battalion may point to its regiment or brigade.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[ParentUnitID]. Nullable self-referencing foreign key to Unit.UnitID. It stores one parent summary and is not the complete time-varying administrative or operational command history.
When present, the value must be the Unit ID of an existing canonical parent record. Select the immediate evidenced organizational parent for the represented context and never create a circular self-reference.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | ParentUnitID |
| Column order | 21 |
| SQL data type | bigint |
| Kind of information | Foreign-key relationship |
| Cardinality | One stored value per Unit row. |
| Required | No; NULL is permitted |
| Database default | No database default |
| Key or relationship | Foreign key to USMIL-Unit.Unit.UnitID |
| 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 | 3852 of 9341 Unit records (41.24%) |
| Distinct nonblank values in the live table | 1108 |
| 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
A database NULL is permitted and means that no value is presently stored. It does not prove that the fact never existed, that the answer is no, or that the concept does not apply. Missing information must remain visibly different from a supported negative or inapplicable conclusion.
Connections to Other Fields
- Unit ID — The permanent record number used to keep this unit separate from every other unit in the guide.
- Subordinate Unit Count — The number of recognized subordinate unit records currently connected beneath this unit.
- Administrative Command — The service-side organization responsible for administration, readiness, personnel, training, and support.
- Operational Command — The command directing or employing the unit for an operation, deployment, exercise, or assigned mission.
- Historical Command Alignment — The higher administrative or operational commands associated with the unit during a particular historical period.