What This Field Means
The unit’s full official name or designation as supported by military records.
This is the principal formal name displayed for the organization. It gives veterans and researchers a precise designation to recognize while alternate spellings, abbreviations, nicknames, and former names remain connected without becoming duplicate units.
How to Read It Correctly
It is not a generic type such as “infantry battalion,” a list of several organizations, a nickname standing alone, or a historical designation that belongs in Former Designation. The wording should identify one organization at the represented time.
Example
375th Logistics Readiness Squadron.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[OfficialUnitDesignation]. Required canonical designation string for the represented unit identity. It must identify one organization rather than a generic unit type or mixed list.
Store the best-supported official designation as evidence presents it, preserving meaningful numbers, ordinals, service terminology, and punctuation. Do not silently modernize a historical name or expand an abbreviation unless the evidence supports the expansion.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | OfficialUnitDesignation |
| Column order | 3 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(1024) |
| Kind of information | Evidence-derived text |
| Cardinality | One stored value per Unit row. |
| 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 | 9184 |
| 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 Short Name — A shorter name, acronym, or familiar form veterans may recognize more quickly.
- Former Designation — An earlier official name used by the same supported unit lineage.
- Armed Service — The branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to which the unit belongs, or whether it is joint.
- Native Unit Type — The exact type of organization used by its own service, including specialized terms that may not exist in other branches.
- Primary Evidence — The principal retained source supporting the unit’s identity in this record.