Distribution of soldiers in the US Army?

Question

There are 500k active troops in the US Army. There are 37 combat brigades. Assuming about 5000 soldiers in each brigade, there are only ~175k troops in combat brigades. Where is everyone else? And what units are they in?

I know there are thousands of personel in different areas such as the Army Corps of Engineers, Materials Command, Training Command, etc. but doesn't the combined manpower of these areas amount to single digit thousands?

So where are the rest of the troops?

Answer 1

The Brigade Combat team structure is based on a 3500 personnel mark, however, 50% of those personnel are not trigger pullers (Armor, Infantry or Artillery).

The Army (entire force structure) has approximately 205K worth of slots to the Combat Arms (its almost equal between the AC and NG with 1 battalion of USAR) or almost 22% of the authorized end strength.

Without getting into all of the specifics for example the Transportation Corps is authorized approximately 48K of personnel. There is nearly 100K worth of slots in TDA functions which explains the shift from green suiters to contractors.

Hope that answers your question

Answer 2

I read somewhere that the ratio was 6 to 1 in WWII. Have never seen a number on any other conflict.

Military Support for equipment repair is "direct" when embedded into the unit and "general" when it is a rear area dedicated maint. activity. The guy's to the rear do the more complex or time consuming stuff. After that the military is a community just like any other. All needs must be met. Actual combat troops are the smaller number when doing a head count. That does not mean that 11B or C is the only guy shooting or in harms way though.

An Army of 1 is person doing their job well so the next person can do theirs just as well.

SSG US Army 73-82

Answer 3

You're also not counting a lot of stuff lke artillery, aviation, MPs, combat engineers, special operations... people that ARE in the fight, but aren't necessarily counted as part of a traditional brigade combat team. For that matter, most of the fighting that gets done these days is by people driving trucks and escorting convoys. What moron would choose to attack your strongest offensive combat units when they can go after your softer targets. It's quite misleading to break down the order of battle the way you are trying to do.

Answer 4

There are numerous non-combat areas, some of which you mentioned.

But there aren't always 5000 men in a brigade. Not to mention the new brigade-based structure of the US Army isn't complete yet, some soldiers serve in independent Groups and Regiments, and there are plenty of dedicated support and non-combat brigades.

Answer 5

Overseas, in each embassy, recruiting, on special duty. There are also alot of units that for the maintain and welfare of the post. Military police, laundry, supply, vehicle maintenance and repairs, training commands. You are thinking that combat is the only units, which is very wrong. Each post has a mission. Some posts have specific duties. Others have backup responsibilities and are used to defend within this country. The unit I was in went to the funeral of LBJ. We camped out in the back 40 for a month. The best were used for the ceremonies. I hope this helps your understanding of the military.

Answer 6

If you study the organization of almost any modern military structure, almost any country, you would be shocked. A quick guess is that the ratio of support to combat personel is close to 10 to 1. I'm not stating that as fact, because those figures are hard to come by with out security clearance. But more than 5 to one is a certainty. 10 to one is quite possible, and, most likely.