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{{Useful Notes}}
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▲{{cleanup|Multiple grammatical issues need to be addressed in multiple sections - run-on sentences, sentence fragments, cruft, etc. And the anonymous edits made on May 23-24 made things worse, not better. Also, the "type of unit" section shows a distinct USA bias.}}
Following is a list of [[Common Military Units]] found in the US ([[Yanks With Tanks]]) and UK military forces ([[Brits With Battleships]]; which, by extension, covers the rest of [[The Commonwealth]]). Other countries, e.g. Russia (who inherited its military from USSR) and China, use similar hierarchies with a few regional particularities, also outlined below. See also [[Common Ranks]].
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=== Cavalry ===
Soldiers who ride horses, hence, [[Cool Horse|inherently cool]]. Now largely relegated to ceremonial roles or an old name retained for a unit that does something else (e.g. the Household Cavalry, who are a reconnaissance regiment). In skilled hands, [[The Cavalry]] was known to turn the tide of battle, hence, it is a [[Trope Namer]]. In olden times
* In some military forces (such as the United States Army), more modern units, such as Reconnaissance, Armor, and Aviation, might be described as "Cavalry"
=== Armored ===
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=== Paratroops/Airborne ===
[[It's Raining Men]]. Troops designed to be deployed by aircraft, either gliders or parachutes. During the [[Cold War]], the USSR maintained no less than eight divisions of airborne troops (one training, seven regular) and their airborne forces, the VDV, were separate from the other arms of service.
* In point of fact these have been eclipsed since [[World War 2]] as the helicopter does more or less the same chore with fewer of the disadvantages such as scatter (less of a problem with modern parachutes)
=== Engineers ===
Very often omitted in fiction in favor of [[Easy Logistics]]. These build things up and break things down and they have historically dealt with siegework, mines, etc. They are in fact among the most important of troops and highly respected for they get some of the nastiest jobs
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=== Artillery ===
Often unseen, but specialise in a unique form of [[Death From Above]] thanks to their use of real life [[BFG]]'s and the closest thing one would get to a [[Wave Motion Gun]]. In the past most artillery was used in direct fire mode.
=== Special Forces ===
[[Conservation of Ninjutsu]] personifed, and often get first pick of the latest toys. These specialize in [[Hit and Run Tactics]], as well as doing oddball jobs, some of which is not talked about much
=== Military Police ===
To make sure that the soldiers don't do anything illegal. Often found at the local nightspots dragging people to the stockade or brig. In [[Real Life]], may also be tasked with defending rear-area supply lines, managing POWs (Abu Ghraib is what happens when this goes wrong), and/or acting as meat shields for the command staff.
*More dramatically these are useful counterinsurgency units as partisans often use tactics similar to those of
=== Guards ===
Made obsolete in many ways by changing security techniques, Guards troops are the ones that [[Exactly What it Says on the Tin|guard the person]] of a monarch. They were also his personal strike team in the past when monarchs commanded in the field. In modern times, bodyguarding has become more sophisticated than just putting walking sacks of meat between an assassin and the target
The most important part of security work now is often done by plainclothes agents, special forces, or specially-trained police. However, Guards units do carry real weapons, and despite the gaudy clothes they wear for tourists, do also provide an extra assist.
The US has no similar units designated "guards" (the Coast Guard is a maritime police force and the National Guard is a [[Home Guard]]) . Security for dignitaries is provided by the Secret Service. Britain, and the Vatican and a few other states with a taste for aesthetic anachronism retain them. In the case of British Guards they are soldiers like others and while they might spend part of their time attending the Sovereign have many times in history been put in the line far away quite often with distinction. In a more modernized version, it is common for dictators to maintain comparable units as a "second army" in case of mutiny or rebellion. The notorious SS which, [[You Shouldn't Know This Already|was not as benign]] as redcoated Coldstreamers parading around Buckingham Palace, was an example of this. This type of thing will often not be just a regiment or two but [[State Sec|a whole army]].
=== Irregulars ===
This is a generic for guerillas or [[Wacky Wayside Tribe|local auxiliaries]].
=== Capital Ships ===
These are ships assigned to the main fleet. They are the biggest and the baddest for they are expected to take a lot of damage and go on fighting. Often they are impractical for any other use and thus will never be found alone. In the Hellenistic Age ships above the Trieme class were capital ships while triemes (which were once the capital ships themselves) were small craft. The excellent Rhodian navy also maintained a modified trieme, the Triheimiola as a police vessel. In the [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men]] days, ships of the line were the capital ships. In [[World War II]] there was some ambiguity
=== Screener, Escort, or Pursuit ships ===
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