What This Field Means
The unit level used by its own service, such as company, battalion, squadron, wing, fleet, or delta.
This records the organizational level in the terminology of the unit’s own service: company, battalion, squadron, group, wing, fleet, delta, district, joint task force, and related forms. It allows the site to respect real service structures.
How to Read It Correctly
Native Echelon is not a universal size ranking. A squadron, battalion, and ship command cannot be assumed equal merely from their titles, and the field does not replace Normalized Unit Scale.
Example
Battalion and squadron are native terms from different organizational systems.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[NativeEchelon]. Required service-native echelon summary mapped to the Native echelon ontology. It is distinct from normalized cross-service scale.
Use the controlled native echelon value that the evidence supports. If a specialized service title has no named value, use the supported catch-all and preserve the exact type in Native Unit Type.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | NativeEchelon |
| Column order | 19 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(256) |
| 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 | 338 |
| 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 | Native echelon |
| Dimension number | 23 |
| Ontology definition | Preserves the official service echelon term. |
| Ontology cardinality | multiple |
| Changes over time | Yes |
| Active controlled options | 21 |
| 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. |
| Squad | squad | A squad is a small service-defined tactical element, normally subordinate to a platoon or comparable organization. | Controlled native-echelon code 'squad' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Company | company | A company is a service-native unit level commonly subordinate to a battalion; exact size and function depend on branch and type. | Controlled native-echelon code 'company' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Battalion | battalion | A battalion is a service-native command level commonly composed of companies, batteries, troops, or comparable elements. | Controlled native-echelon code 'battalion' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Brigade | brigade | A brigade is a service-native formation commonly composed of battalions and capable of commanding combined or specialized operations. | Controlled native-echelon code 'brigade' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Division | division | A division is a major service-native formation normally containing multiple brigades or comparable subordinate commands. | Controlled native-echelon code 'division' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Group | group | A group is a service-native echelon whose place and size vary by service, often controlling squadrons, battalions, or specialized units. | Controlled native-echelon code 'group' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Wing | wing | A wing is a senior aviation or aerospace-oriented service echelon commonly containing groups, squadrons, or comparable units. | Controlled native-echelon code 'wing' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Numbered air force | numbered-air-force | A numbered air force is an Air Force echelon above wings that provides operational or component-level command for assigned forces. | Controlled native-echelon code 'numbered-air-force' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Fleet | fleet | A fleet is a senior naval command responsible for maritime forces within a geographic or functional scope. | Controlled native-echelon code 'fleet' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Delta | delta | A delta is a Space Force organizational echelon used to align mission-focused squadrons and related functions. | Controlled native-echelon code 'delta' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| District | district | A district is a geographically organized command echelon used by services such as the Coast Guard for regional responsibility. | Controlled native-echelon code 'district' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Joint task force | joint-task-force | A joint task force is a temporary or continuing joint organization formed to accomplish a specific mission under a joint commander. | Controlled native-echelon code 'joint-task-force' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Regiment | regiment | A regiment is a service-native formation whose modern command, administrative, and lineage functions vary substantially by branch and unit type. | Controlled native-echelon code 'regiment' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Squadron | squadron | A squadron is a service-native unit level used across aviation, cavalry, maritime, space, and support communities with service-specific structure. | Controlled native-echelon code 'squadron' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Battery | battery | A battery is a company-level organization used principally in artillery and air-defense structures. | Controlled native-echelon code 'battery' in ontology Dimension 23. It preserves the service’s own organizational terminology and does not assert a universal personnel size or cross-service equivalence. |
| Another native echelon | another-native-echelon | Another native echelon preserves an officially supported service level that is not represented by the named standard echelons. | Controlled catch-all code 'another-native-echelon' in ontology Dimension 23. 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 338 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 |
|---|---|
| Squadron | 1061 |
| Ship command | 861 |
| Group | 702 |
| Battalion | 652 |
| Center | 546 |
| Brigade | 535 |
| Detachment | 511 |
| SNDL activity | 406 |
| Command | 386 |
| Wing | 349 |
| Division | 272 |
| Company | 271 |
| Regiment | 238 |
| Task Force | 197 |
| Fleet | 171 |
| Corps | 154 |
| Station | 100 |
| Activity | 94 |
| District | 93 |
| Team | 83 |
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
- Native Unit Type — The exact type of organization used by its own service, including specialized terms that may not exist in other branches.
- Normalized Unit Scale — A broad comparison level that helps relate differently named organizations across the services.
- Service Unit System — The service-specific organizational system in which the unit’s type and level make sense.
- Parent Unit — The immediate higher organization under which the unit is placed in this record.
- Organization Class — The broad institutional form of the organization, such as a command, school, center, company, or defense agency.