Company ( military unit ) A company is a military unit , typically consisting of 80 – 250 soldiers and usually commanded by a captain or a major . Most companies are formed of three to six platoon s although the exact number may vary by country , unit type , and structure . Several companies are grouped to form a battalion or regiment , the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions . British Army . Rifle companies consist of three platoons and a company headquarters . The artillery equivalent of a company is a battery and within armoured and engineering units , the cavalry equivalent is known as a squadron . The British Army infantry normally identifies its rifle companies by letter ( usually , but not always , A , B and C ) within a battalion , usually with the addition of a headquarters company and a support / heavy weapons company . Some units name their companies after regimental battle honours ; this is commonly the case for composite units , for example the London Regiment with its Somme , Messines and Cambrai companies . The foot guards regiments use traditional names for some of their companies , for example Queen ' s Company , Left Flank , Prince of Wales ' s Company etc . Royal Marines companies are designated by a letter that is unique across the corps , not just within their command . The Intelligence Corps , Royal Army Medical Corps , Royal Military Police and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers all have companies uniquely numbered across their corps . The Household Cavalry , Royal Armoured Corps , Royal Engineers , Royal Corps of Signals , Army Air Corps , Special Air Service , Honourable Artillery Company and Royal Logistic Corps use the term squadron instead of company ( although the Royal Engineers and Royal Signals had companies until after the Second World War , except in armoured divisions ) . The Royal Artillery use the term battery . The defunct Royal Army Service Corps , Royal Pioneer Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps had companies ; the Royal Corps of Transport had squadrons . British companies are usually commanded by a major , the officer commanding ( OC ) , with a captain or senior lieutenant as second - in - command ( 2i / c ) . The company headquarters also includes a company sergeant major ( CSM ) normally holding the rank of WO2 and a company quartermaster sergeant ( CQMS ) of colour sergeant rank , the two most senior soldiers in the company . The Honourable Artillery Company is in fact a regiment , not a company in terms of organisation and size . Canadian Army . Canadian Army organisation is modelled after the British . However , a Canadian infantry battalion consists of three or four rifle companies identified by letter ( A Company , B Company , etc . ) , a Combat Support Company , and an Administration Support Company . A notable exception is The Royal Canadian Regiment , which names its companies sequentially throughout the regiment from the Duke of Edinburgh ' s Company ( instead of A Company ) in the 1st Battalion to T Company in the 4th Battalion . Many regiments name their companies after battle honour s or former units which make up the current regiment , for example : The combat support company administratively contains the specialized infantry platoons such as reconnaissance platoon , pioneer platoon , headquarters and signals platoon , anti - armour platoon , and mortar platoon . The administration support company contains the support tradesmen which a battalion requires , such as cooks , vehicle technicians , supply , medics , etc . Soviet armed forces . Motorised rifle company . A Soviet motorised rifle company could be mounted in either BTR armoured personnel carrier s or BMP infantry fighting vehicle s , with the former being more numerous by the late 1980s . A BTR rifle company consisted of a company headquarters , three motorised rifle platoons and a machine gun / antitank platoon with two PK machine gun s and two AT - 7 Saxhorn launchers for a total of 110 personnel and 12 BTRs . A BMP rifle company had the same number of personnel and carriers and also consisted of a company headquarters and three motorised rifle platoons but instead included a machine gun platoon with six RPK - 74 s . While seemingly containing less firepower , US commanders were advised to include the BMP ' s heavier weaponry in their calculations . Tank company . Prior to the late 1980s a Soviet tank company consisted of a company headquarters and three tank platoons with T - 64 , T - 72 or T - 80 tanks for a total of 35 personnel and 13 tanks ; companies using the older T - 54 , T - 55 or T - 62 s tanks had 10 or 13 additional enlisted personnel . However forces in Eastern Europe began to standardize tank companies at 10 tanks , with three tanks in each platoon instead of four . United States . Army . In the United States Army , infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoon s and a heavy weapons platoon ; mechanized infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoon s and a command element ; tank companies are usually made up of three tank platoons and a command element ; support companies are typically divided into platoons of specialization that may contain additional special sections . A company is usually commanded by an Army captain , although in rare cases they may be commanded by a 1st lieutenant or a major . Unlike its components , platoons , a company typically has additional positions of supporting staff such as an executive officer ( XO ) , a readiness / training NCO , and other positions ( i . e . supply sergeant ) . By tradition , the corresponding unit of artillery is always called a " battery " . Similarly , the term " troop " is used for cavalry units , including both the horse - mounted units of history as well as modern armored cavalry and air cavalry units . Companies which are not separate from their parent battalion are identified by letter — for example , " A Company , 1st Battalion , 15th Infantry Regiment . " This would commonly be abbreviated as " A / 1 - 15 INF " in writing , but not in speaking . The letters are usually pronounced using the NATO phonetic alphabet or , before that , the Joint Army / Navy Phonetic Alphabet , resulting in names such as " Bravo Company " and " Echo Company " ( formerly " Baker " and " Easy " Companies , respectively ) . Companies with a separate Table of Organization and Equipment are identified by a number , and are able to operate completely independently from any other unit ' s support . Company - sized units which are organized under a Table of Distribution and Allowance are identified with a name or number . Company - sized units usually consist of four to six platoons ( each led by a lieutenant ) , although there are examples of combat service and combat service support companies that have seven or more platoons . For example , a transportation terminal service company normally has two ship platoons , two shore platoons , one documentation platoon , one maintenance platoon , and the headquarters platoon . These platoons are led by first lieutenant s , while the company is commanded by a major . While companies are typically commanded by captains , some special units are commanded by majors , and have platoons commanded by captains . Examples of this arrangement include aviation platoon s and many special forces units . This is not a punishment but an honor , as such platoons usually have some special operational capacity that requires them to be commanded by an officer with more experience than a lieutenant . A captain reports to his commander , usually the battalion commander ( a lieutenant colonel ) . However , there are some administrative and other duties at battalion level and larger ( brigade or division ) which are also handled by captains , for example the S - 1 through S - 4 officers of a battalion , or some staff positions in the G shops at division . The senior non - commissioned officer of a company is called a first sergeant . Any sergeant holding this position is referred to as " first sergeant " regardless of actual rank and pay grade , though the non - commissioned officer assigned ordinarily has the rank of first sergeant and a grade of E - 8 . A master sergeant ( E - 8 ) assigned to this position will be " laterally promoted " to the rank of first sergeant , unless the appointment is temporary . In some instances , a sergeant first class ( E - 7 ) will be appointed to the job in lieu of a qualified first sergeant or master sergeant . Again , in such situations , the NCO holds the duty position and title of " First Sergeant " , while retaining the rank of sergeant first class , at a grade of E - 7 . A weapons company has in place of the three rifle platoons , an 81 mm mortar platoon , an anti - armor platoon , and a heavy machine gun platoon . Disambiguation . Some companies were well enough known that they have been identified with their company letter . Examples include :