Section (military unit)

British Army rifle, Lewis gun, and bomber sections (World War I)

The February 1917 document Instructions for the Training of Platoons for Offensive Action described the following section organisations as being "suitable" for an infantry platoon that had thirty-six other ranks:

• One section of bombers, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include two bayonet men and two bombers)
• One section of Lewis gunners, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include the Lewis Gun No. 1 and No. 2)
• One section of riflemen, with one NCO and eight other ranks (with the men being split up into "picked" shots, scouts, and bayonet fighters)
• One section of rifle bombers, with one NCO and eight other ranks (to include four bomb firers)

All of these men were to be equipped with a Lee-Enfield rifle (except for the Lewis Gun No. 1) and to have bayonets fixed (except for the Lewis Gun No. 2 and rifle bombers if using a cup discharger). Most men were to carry at least two Mills bombs; in the bomber section, each designated bomber carried five bombs and the other men at least ten bombs each, while each man in the rifle bomber section carried at least six of the Mills bomb's rifle grenade variant. The Lewis gun section as a whole carried thirty magazines with which to feed that weapon.

British Army rifle and Lewis gun sections (Interbellum)

Immediately after the First World War, the odd-numbered sections of an infantry platoon were designated as rifle sections while even-numbered sections were designated as Lewis gun sections. Both types of section consisted of an NCO and six other ranks. The rifle section was armed with Lee-Enfield rifles, Mills bombs (one each for the first three other ranks), and smoke grenades (one each for the first three other ranks, two each for the next three other ranks who also had one grenade discharger each). The Lewis gun section had one other rank armed with the eponymous machine gun and another carrying the spare parts bag; both of these other ranks also carried revolvers. The remaining members of the Lewis gun section carried Lee-Enfield rifles and a varying number of magazines for the Lewis gun (the section commander and the other rank with the Lewis gun carried one magazine each, the other rank with the spare parts bag carried two magazines, and the remaining other ranks carried four magazines each). In the mid-1930s, the formal separation between the two types of section was abolished, with all of the infantry platoon's sections being scaled to operate as a rifle section or a light machine gun section depending on the company commander's orders; additionally, one other rank per section was nominated to be second-in-command.

British Army rifle section (World War II)

The rifle section of a Second World War-era infantry platoon was generally formed of a corporal as the section commander, a lance corporal as the section 2iC from April 1943 onwards, and a varying number of private soldiers depending on the year of the war. The corporal variously carried a Lee-Enfield rifle, a Thompson submachine gun, or a Sten submachine gun, again depending on the year of the war, one private was the section gunner with a Bren light machine gun, and all other section members were armed with Lee–Enfield rifles. At the onset of hostilities in 1939, the section consisted of the section commander, one Bren gunner and his assistant, and five riflemen for a total of eight men; in 1940, this was increased to ten men. A typical section as of 1944 was divided into a 'rifle group' consisting of the section commander and six riflemen, and a 'gun group' consisting of the section 2IC and gun controller, the section gunner or Bren No. 1, and the Bren No. 2 carrying a spare barrel for the Bren gun; the six riflemen each carried two Bren magazines and a bandolier with a further fifty rounds, the Bren No. 2 carried five magazines, and the other two members of the gun group carried four magazines for a total of a thousand rounds of ammunition for the Bren. Three sections together formed a platoon, with two being forward sections and the third being a reserve. Section tactics were designed with a view to bringing the section machine gun to bear on the enemy and providing support to it; once the gun group had suppressed the enemy ("winning the firefight"), the rifle group would assault and destroy the enemy position with the gun group providing fire until the last safe moment.

British Army carrier platoon section

A Universal Carrier platoon as of 1940 consisted of three sections, with each of these consisting of three Carriers (the first containing a sergeant and two privates, the second and third containing a corporal and two privates). Section armament, in addition to the men's personal weapons, consisted of three Bren guns (one per Carrier) and one Boys anti-tank rifle. The 1941 platoon organisation added a fourth section, and armament was modified to include grenades "if necessary" and a two-inch mortar in the second Carrier; the anti-tank rifle was standardised as being the secondary weapon of the third Carrier. The 1943 platoon organisation replaced the anti-tank rifle with a PIAT, added a fourth private to each Carrier, and also added one motorcyclist per section to serve as an orderly.

The 1941 platoon organisation also featured a motorcycle section consisting of eight standard motorcycles and four motorcycles with Bren-equipped sidecars; personnel from this section were supposed to be interchangeable with the Carrier sections. This particular section was eliminated from the 1943 organisation.

British Army rifle section (Cold War)

The 1950s initially had no meaningful changes to the infantry section and its armament save for the rifle group gaining a seventh man (for a total of eleven men per section) and the issue of Lee-Enfield-launched No. 94 anti-tank grenades, but later saw the replacement of .303in weapons with new models chambered for 7.62mm NATO, as well as a shift from the magazine-fed Bren to the belt-fed L7A1 (later L7A2) general purpose machine gun (GPMG). Most platoons reverted to an eight-man section organisation (at peacetime establishment), with the rifle group now consisting of the section commander (corporal) with an L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and five riflemen with L1A1 SLRs, while the gun group consisted of the section gunner or Gun Group No. 1 with the Bren (later GPMG), and the Gun Group No. 2 with an SLR. In a mechanised platoon, the section gained two men who were detailed as vehicle crewmen, but dismounted strength remained at eight men; two of these could be detailed as a Medium Anti-tank Weapon (MAW) No. 1 with an L14A1 84mm anti-tank weapon and a MAW No. 2 with additional 84mm rounds once the weapon system became available in the late 1960s but otherwise continued to act as riflemen (in other battalions, the MAW No. 1 and No 2 were normally part of the platoon headquarters). The No. 94 grenades were made compatible with the L1A1 SLR and continued to be issued for anti-armour defence in lieu of or in addition to the L14A1, with these later being replaced by shoulder-fired L1 66mm HEAT rockets. The M79 40mm grenade launcher was available, but not in large numbers.

Tactical doctrine continued to emphasise the primacy of the machine gun during a firefight, while also stating that, where casualties were sustained, a section could only be reduced to one NCO and five other ranks before bayonet power in the assault or the ability to organise a proper system of double sentries at night time were fatally compromised.

Later sections remained at eight men (as well as any men detailed as vehicle crew) but saw the rifle group being modified so that, in the event of a significant armour threat, two riflemen could be re-roled as a MAW No. 1 with an L14A1 84mm anti-tank gun and either an L2A3 9mm submachine gun or an SLR and a MAW No. 2 with an SLR and additional 84mm ammunition (at other times, the rifle group would continue to rely on the L1 rockets for engaging armoured targets). The group could be split into two smaller groups for the purposes of effecting fire and manoeuvre if the gun group was unable to do so for reasons of ground, distance, or both. The gun group reverted to being commanded by the section 2IC, but remained a two-man organisation under most circumstances. One section per platoon would be nominated to use the GPMG in its sustained fire role where needed, and would thus be issued with the necessary conversion stores.

British Army rifle section (Late and Post–Cold War)

The introduction of the 5.56mm select-fire SA80 series (L85 rifle or individual weapon and L86 light support weapon) to replace 7.62mm weapons and the L2A3 submachine gun from the mid-to-late 1980s onwards led to the rifle group/gun group organisation being abandoned in favour of fireteam groupings, with this being officially mentioned as early as 1977 and being given full doctrinal definition by 1986; however, sections organised according to the earlier rifle group/gun group model would still be in existence until at least 1988, with changes in such sections mostly being limited to earlier weapons being replaced by their newer equivalents. The British section continued to consist of eight soldiers, but under normal circumstances these were now divided into a "Charlie" and "Delta" fireteam with each team comprising an NCO and three other men. The platoon continued, and continues, to be composed of three sections.

The normal section organisation from the late 1980s to the early 2000s was as follows:

• Charlie Fireteam
  • Section Commander/Charlie Commander (Corporal) armed with an L85A1 5.56mm rifle (Upgraded to L85A2 from 2002 to 2006)
  • Two Riflemen armed with L85A1 5.56mm rifles (Upgraded to L85A2 from 2002 to 2006)
  • Gunner armed with an L86A1 5.56mm light support weapon (Upgraded to L86A2 from 2002 to 2006; often replaced informally by the earlier L7A2 7.62mm general purpose machine gun owing to the L86's shortcomings in the section machine gun role, and later officially replaced by the L110A1/A2 5.56mm light machine gun)
• Delta Fireteam
  • Section 2IC/Delta Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L85A1 5.56mm rifle (Upgraded to L85A2 from 2002 to 2006)
  • Two Riflemen armed with L85A1 5.56mm rifles (Upgraded to L85A2 from 2002 to 2006)
  • Gunner armed with an L86A1 5.56mm light support weapon (Upgraded to L86A2 from 2002 to 2006; often replaced informally by the earlier L7A2 7.62mm general purpose machine gun owing to the L86's shortcomings in the section machine gun role, and later officially replaced by the L110A1/A2 5.56mm light machine gun)

This grouping provided a balanced organisation, with either fireteam being capable of moving to assault or supporting the other fireteam's movement (though doctrine still had the Lance Corporal's fireteam providing covering fire in the initial stages of a section attack). The fireteam concept was intended to introduce an element of flexibility, and consequently two other section groupings were devised; an assault team/support team grouping where the Delta fireteam (consisting of the section 2IC, a rifleman, and both section gunners) was responsible for covering the Charlie fireteam (consisting of the section commander and three riflemen, though this could be raised to four if the rifleman in the Delta fireteam was moved to the Charlie fireteam) during the latter's movement from one position to another, and a modified version of the earlier rifle group/gun group organisation, used if it was felt that the strongest possible manoeuvre force was required, where both section gunners formed the gun group and all remaining personnel formed the Charlie fireteam which acted as the rifle group. There were also groupings devised in relation to specific combat scenarios; sections engaged in trench clearing could either be organised as usual or be split into four assault teams of two men each, while sections tasked with clearing a house were organised into a command group, a covering group comprising both section gunners (and possibly the section 2IC), and two assault groups of two riflemen each. Fireteams could also be split into smaller sub-divisions of two men each outside of these groupings, particularly during fire and manoeuvre.

Two LAW 80 launchers (designated as the L1A1 94mm HEAT rocket system and henceforth referred to as LAWs) were part of the standard equipment allocation for each section, replacing the L14A1 gun and the L1A3 66mm rockets, and were carried as needed; the normal section grouping had one LAW per fireteam, while the assault team/support team grouping could have a LAW carried by one or both teams depending on the perceived armour threat. It was also possible to have the platoon's reserve section equipped with all six LAWs, leaving the two forward sections unencumbered for fire and manoeuvre and providing them with anti-armour defence. The earlier M79 grenade launcher continued to be available as late as the autumn of 1995, but grenade launcher capability was mostly provided by the rifle-launched L74A1 HEAT and L75A1 HEAT-APERS grenades; the L85A1 HE rifle grenade began to replace these in April 1998. Issue was scaled at twelve rifle grenades and six L15A1 rifle grenade launcher sights per section, effectively allowing all rifle-equipped members of the section to carry and use two rifle grenades each.

Sections mounted aboard the FV510 Warrior infantry fighting vehicle consisted of seven men, with one fireteam's second rifleman usually being the section member that was omitted. Sections mounted aboard the earlier FV432 armoured personnel carrier remained at eight men.

British Army rifle section (Global War on Terror and later)

Changes were made to the section's equipment during the 2000s in response to operational demands and experience; the L85A1 rifle was upgraded to L85A2 standard between 2002 and 2006, with a further upgrade package consisting of a Picatinny rail handguard and alternative optical sights being introduced for select units in 2007 and more generally from 2009 onwards, the L123 40mm underslung grenade launcher (UGL) was introduced as a replacement for rifle-launched grenades, the L86 light support weapon was replaced as the section machine gun by the L110A1-A3 5.56mm light machine gun acquired as an Urgent Operational Requirement, and the second rifleman in the fireteam was re-roled as a designated marksman carrying either the L86A2 light support weapon or, in later years, the L129A1 7.62mm sharpshooter rifle. By 2005 therefore, the normal section grouping was reorganised as follows:

• Charlie Fireteam
  • Section Commander/Charlie Commander (Corporal) armed with an L85A2 5.56mm rifle
  • Rifleman armed with an L85A2 5.56mm rifle and L123A1-A3 40mm UGL (though this could be carried by the fireteam commander instead)
  • Gunner armed with an L110A2/A3 5.56mm light machine gun
  • Designated marksman armed with an L86A2 5.56mm light support weapon (Supplemented and then largely replaced by L129A1 7.62mm sharpshooter rifle from 2010 onwards)
• Delta Fireteam
  • Section 2IC/Delta Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L85A2 5.56mm rifle
  • Rifleman armed with an L85A2 5.56mm rifle and L123A1-A3 40mm UGL (though this could be carried by the fireteam commander instead)
  • Gunner armed with an L110A2/A3 5.56mm light machine gun
  • Designated marksman armed with an L86A2 5.56mm light support weapon (Supplemented and then largely replaced by L129A1 7.62mm sharpshooter rifle from 2010 onwards)

The two other section groupings were also modified; initially, the assault team/support team grouping had the Charlie fireteam consist of the section commander, one marksman, and two riflemen, and the Delta fireteam consist of the section 2IC, the second marksman, and both section gunners. The rifle group/gun group organisation saw no meaningful changes other than the general fact of two riflemen having been replaced by designated marksmen. In 2009, more drastic changes were implemented where the assault team/support team grouping now had the Charlie fireteam consist of the section commander, a rifleman with UGL, and both section gunners, with the Delta fireteam consisting of the section 2IC, both section marksmen, and a rifleman with UGL. The rifle group/gun group organisation was replaced by a fast assault/fire support grouping where the Charlie fireteam consisted of the section commander with UGL and a rifleman, while all remaining personnel formed the Delta fireteam. Trench clearing and house clearing groupings remained unchanged. Some units operating in Afghanistan carried on using the L7A2 GPMG as the section machine gun or included it as an additional weapon on the scale of one per fireteam; in the case of the latter, this meant that only two L85A2s (at least one of which was fitted with the UGL) were carried per section. The 84mm AT-4 (L1A2 or L2A1) and then the 150mm NLAW replaced the L1A1 94mm HEAT rocket as the section anti-armour weapon, though carrying arrangements were essentially unchanged; the Javelin can also be carried for anti-armour capability. The L128A1 12 bore combat shotgun was introduced for use by the section point man, with this position subject to rotation within the section to avoid excessive stress for individual soldiers.

The 2011 revision of Fieldcraft, Battle Lessons and Exercises prescribed yet another assault team/support team grouping where the Charlie fireteam consisted of the section commander, two riflemen (one with UGL), and both section marksmen while the Delta fireteam consisted of the section 2IC with UGL and both section gunners.

The L85A2 began being upgraded to L85A3 standard from 2018 onwards, while the L86A2 and L110A3 began to be removed from service in 2019, leaving the L129A1 and L7A2 as the standard section designated marksman rifle and standard section machine gun respectively. With section commanders now also being able to tailor equipment formations as needed instead of having to deploy in a pre-set lineup, the current British infantry section is as follows:

• Section Commander/Charlie Fireteam Commander (Corporal) armed with an L85A2/A3 5.56 mm rifle
• Section 2IC/Delta Fireteam Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L85A2/A3 5.56 mm rifle
• Four Riflemen (Privates) armed with L85A2/A3 5.56 mm rifles, two of which will normally be equipped with an L123A3 40 mm UGL.
• Gunner (Private) armed with an L7A2 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun (at the section commander's discretion, the gunner can be re-designated as an additional rifleman with an L85A2/A3 5.56 mm rifle)
• Designated marksman (Private) armed with an L129A1 7.62 mm sharpshooter rifle

British Army mortar section

Second World War-era mortar platoons did not have sections as such, with the platoons instead consisting of two or more "detachment" subunits which each had a sergeant as detachment commander, a corporal as 2iC, one private as detachment orderly, and four more privates as "mortar numbers" attending to the ML 3-inch mortar. A modern mortar platoon's subunits are referred to as sections, with these sections consisting of a command post and three detachments of three men and a L16A2 81mm mortar each.

British Army sniper section

When the sniper section was a standalone organisation within the infantry battalion, the strength of said section varied; a 1950s sniper section consisted of a sergeant, a corporal, two lance corporals, and four privates, with the battalion's scale of sniping equipment being enough for these to form four separate sniper-spotter pairs (both with sniper rifles, though the spotter could take a submachine gun instead). The 1963 battalion organisation did not have a formal sniper section, but did have a requirement for six privates to be selected from across the rifle companies so that they could be trained by the headquarters company's sniper and weapon training instructor. Following the reintroduction of snipers to the Army in 1968, a late 1970s infantry battalion had enough equipment to form six pairs with an L42A1 rifle and a optical sight-equipped L1A1 SLR each, but without said pairs being a permanent part of the battalion's establishment. By 1980, the equipment allocation had been increased to allow the fielding of eight pairs. An "ideal" establishment as of 1996 consisted of sixteen sniper-trained personnel, of no fixed rank, that were divided into eight pairs. The 1950s section was centralised within battalion headquarters, albeit with the option to spread out the pairs among the rifle companies, while the 1976 section's pairs could either be centralised within the battalion or be allocated to rifle companies, the support company's reconnaissance platoon, or both. The latter arrangement was still in effect as of 1996, but the relevant pamphlet advised that the section would operate most effectively if attached wholesale to the reconnaissance platoon and went so far as to suggest that personnel from said platoon man the sniper section on a dual role basis. By 2011, the standalone section had been replaced with a platoon organisation consisting of two sections and a headquarters element (the total manning of this platoon still coming to sixteen sniper-trained personnel per battalion), with each of the two sections consisting of three sniper pairs; two pairs consist of a private (sniper) and a lance corporal (spotter and pair commander), while the third pair consists of a private (sniper) and corporal (spotter and section commander). The sniper has a long range rifle (currently the L115A3/A4) while the spotter has either a standard-issue rifle, a weapon offering longer range than the standard-issue rifle, or a second sniper rifle, as well as a pair of binoculars and a spotting scope for target indication; both sniper pair members also have access to pistols and grenades.

Royal Marines

Royal Marine sections have generally, but not always, been organised similarly to those of the British Army. Under the Future Commando Force programme, however, trials have been held of four-man and twelve-man rifle sections.

Royal Air Force Regiment

The Royal Air Force Regiment, the ground-based component of the Royal Air Force, has also employed section organisations that are similar to those of the British Army.

Cadet Forces rifle section

The Army Cadet Force, the Royal Marines Cadets, and the Army and Royal Marine Sections of the Combined Cadet Force also make use of rifle sections; these are equipped similarly to their Armed Forces counterparts, albeit with a different small arms selection and with explosives limited to smoke grenades, thunderflashes (currently known as "battle simulators"), and hand-fired rocket flares. The following section groupings were used until 2018:

• Normal section grouping (Until 1990)
  • Rifle group
    • Section Commander (Corporal) armed with a No. 4 .303 rifle (Partially and then completely substituted by the L98A1 5.56mm cadet GP rifle in the late 1980s and the 1990s)
    • Five Riflemen armed with No. 4 .303 rifles (Partially and then completely substituted by L98A1 5.56mm cadet GP rifles in the late 1980s and the 1990s)
  • Gun group
    • Section 2IC (Lance Corporal) armed with a No. 4 .303 rifle (Partially and then completely substituted by the L98A1 5.56mm cadet GP rifle in the late 1980s and the 1990s)
    • Gunner armed with a Bren .303 light machine gun (Partially and then completely substituted by the L86A1 5.56mm light support weapon in the late 1980s and the 1990s)
• Normal section grouping (1990 onwards)
  • Charlie Fireteam
    • Section Commander/Charlie Commander (Corporal) armed with an L98A1/A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Two Riflemen armed with L98A1/A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifles
    • Gunner armed with an L86A1/A2 5.56mm light support weapon
  • Delta Fireteam
    • Section 2IC/Delta Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L98A1/A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Two Riflemen armed with L98A1/A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifles
    • Gunner armed with an L86A1/A2 5.56mm light support weapon
• Assault team/Support team grouping (2013 onwards)
  • Charlie Fireteam (Assault team)
    • Section Commander/Charlie Commander (Corporal) armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Three Riflemen armed with L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifles
  • Delta Fireteam (Support team)
    • Section 2IC/Delta Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Two Gunners armed with L86A2 5.56mm light support weapons
    • Rifleman armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
• Fast assault/Fire support grouping (2013 onwards)
  • Charlie Fireteam (Fast assault)
    • Section Commander/Charlie Commander (Corporal) armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Rifleman armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
  • Delta Fireteam (Fire support)
    • Section 2IC/Delta Commander (Lance Corporal) armed with an L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifle
    • Three Riflemen armed with L98A2 5.56mm cadet GP rifles
    • Two Gunners armed with L86A2 5.56mm light support weapons

Cadet Force L86s were commandeered by the Armed Forces for use in Operation Herrick and Operation Telic; while temporary, this would cause the Cadet Forces to have few if any L86s until at least 2009. The L86s then began to be withdrawn from service at the same time as those held by the Armed Forces, with no direct replacement for the weapon being identified; as such, a Cadet Force section currently consists solely of riflemen armed with L98A2s.