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Modern USArmy Vehicle Identification

Rob's Note: The normal numbering for armor units (battalion/company/platoon), the -65 vehicle is the executive officer’s vehicle (XO) and the –67 vehicle is the first sergeant’s vehicle (1SG). The main exception to this is the 1st Cavalry Division which uses (HQ, A, B, C, D)-60 for the commander’s vehicle instead of –66 and –50 for the XO’s vehicle instead of -65. Additionally, the first sergeant’s vehicle is referred to as –90 instead of –67. The –14(24,34) vehicle is the platoon sergeant’s vehicle.

Other Examples:

Rob's Notes: Infantry divisions use a variety of designators, the division number by itself (24 for ex.) or with the letter “I” as in “24I”. The “I” will be either a plain stick, or sometimes “I” with the top and bottom lines. Again this would be based on local policy.

Armor units always use the black triangle, ▲, but sometimes it is made up of dashed lines. I’ve seen the above example as both 4-32▲ or 4▲32.

Armored Cavalry Regiments use either the “CAV” or “ACR” again based on local SOP.

First Cavalry Division (actually an armor division) uses “CAV”. As of December 1992, all maneuver battalions (armor and infantry) were re-designated to cavalry units that were historically assigned to the 1st CAV Div. Even though cavalry units are called “squadrons” and their companies referred to as “troops”, the re-flagged armor and infantry units remained as “battalions” and “companies”. The exception to this was the Divisional Cavalry Squadron, 1-7 CAV, which was a cavalry unit by design and still was referred to as a squadron and its companies as troops.

Example: 1-12 CAV is an armor battalion, 2-5 CAV is an infantry battalion and they are referred to as 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry. There are nine battalions numbered as such: 1-8, 2-8, 3-8, 1-12, 2-12 Cavalry are all armor battalions; 1-5, 2-5, 2-7 and 1-9 Cavalry are infantry battalions. Current armor battalion organizations are going from a 4 tank companies per battalion to a 3-tank company battalion.

Editor's Note: I would like to apologize to Pete for taking so long to get this posted to the site. I will freely admit I was a little intimidated by all these tables and columns. ::grin:: - Jim.