What This Field Means
Whether the unit acts as an independent command or as a subordinate part of another organization.
This explains whether the organization functions as an independently identifiable command or as a subordinate element whose identity depends on a larger unit. It is important when deciding whether a team, detachment, office, or component deserves its own canonical record.
How to Read It Correctly
Independence does not mean political autonomy or freedom from all higher command. Every military organization can be subordinate while still having a separately recognizable organizational identity.
Example
Independent command, subordinate group, or task-organized element.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[UnitIndependence]. Evidence-derived structural independence classification. It describes organizational relationship, not legal sovereignty or operational freedom.
Record the structural conclusion supported by evidence, including qualified or task-organized forms when necessary. Do not infer independence simply because a source prints a name on its own line.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | UnitIndependence |
| Column order | 7 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(64) |
| 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 | 358 |
| 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
- Parent Unit — The immediate higher organization under which the unit is placed in this record.
- Command Status — Whether the organization has its own command identity and what kind of command it is.
- Unit Identity Class — The kind of independently recognizable military identity represented by the record, such as a unit, command, formation, or task organization.
- Census Eligibility — Whether the record is counted as a distinct U.S. military unit rather than an alias, excluded organization, or non-unit.
- Organic Composition — The people or subordinate organizations that belong to the unit by its normal design rather than by a temporary assignment.