Section
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A section is comprised of 16 Marines and is commanded by a Squad Leader. In shipborne detachments of Section strength the Squad Leader would be the detachment commanding officer (MCO) and, therefore, a Commissioned Officer. Sections are predominately used by regiments tracing their ancestry to British based armed forces. Not all regiments use this designation.
Approximately 10% of Obsidian Fleet shipborne detachments are considered to be section strength.
Naming convention
Sections do not have a consistent naming convention and, in many cases, are simply referred to by the senior of the two squads. Examples include:
Command Squad and First Squad (or Command Section), 1st Platoon, Alpha "Howard's" Company, 1 Battalion, SFMC 7 Regiment, The 7th Cav
Squad One and Squad Two (or Section One), 2nd "Blue" Platoon, Bravo Company, 2 Battalion, SFMC 22 Regiment, The Royal 22e
Sniper Squad 1 and Sniper Squad 2 (or Sniper Section), 3rd "Recon" Platoon, Echo "Easy" Company, 4 Battalion, The 95 Regiment, The Rifles
Organization
The textbook distribution of a section is two equal 8-man squads. However, many detachment commanders use alternative organizations to better suit their detachment's role or skills. Some examples of section organizations, as well as suggested ranks, can be found below with squad leaders indicated with italics:
Section organized as two 8-man squads.
| Squad 1 1 Lieutenant (MCO) 3 Private, Private First Class 1 Sergeant 3 Private, Private First Class | Squad 2 1 Staff Sergeant (First Sgt.) 3 Private, Private First Class 1 Sergeant 3 Private, Private First Class |
Section organized as three 5-man squads with a 1 supernumerary command element.
| Command 1 Lieutenant (MCO) | Squad 2 1 Staff Sergeant (First Sergeant) 4 Private, Private First Class | Squad 3 1 Sergeant or Corporal 4 Private, Private First Class | Squad 4 1 Sergeant or Corporal 4 Private, Private First Class |
Section organized as two 6-man squads with a 4 supernumerary command/specialist element.
| Specialists 1 Lieutenant (MCO) 1 Staff Sergeant (First Sgt.) 1 Corporal (Corpsman) 1 Corporal (Artificer) | Squad 2 1 Sergeant 3 Private, Private First Class 1 Corporal 2 Private, Private First Class | Squad 3 1 Sergeant 3 Private, Private First Class 1 Corporal 2 Private, Private First Class |
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| Fire & Manoeuvre | Fireteam | Squad | Section | Platoon | Company | Battalion | Regiment | Marine Expeditionary Unit | Division | |||||