Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units , a headquarters and headquarters company is a company sized military unit , found at the battalion level and higher . In identifying a specific headquarters unit , it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as an HHC . While a regular line company is formed of three or four platoon s , an HHC is made up of the headquarters staff and headquarters support personnel of a battalion , brigade , division , or higher level unit . As these personnel do not fall inside one of the regular line companies of the battalion , brigade , or division , the HHC is the unit to which they are administratively assigned . The typical personnel strength of an average HHC is 80 to 110 personnel . Inside a battalion HHC , the headquarters staff will usually include the following key officers and primary staff officers : Depending on the unit , extra support officers will round out the staff , including a medical officer , Judge Advocate General ' s Corps ( legal ) officer , and a battalion chaplain ( often collectively referred to as the " special staff " ) , as well as essential non - commissioned officer s and enlisted support personnel in the occupational specialities of the staff sections ( S1 through S4 and the S6 ) , and a battalion command sergeant major , who is principal advisor to the battalion commander on matters regarding enlisted personnel . Additionally , the HHC will contain further personnel assigned to support and sustain the mission of the battalion headquarters , including maintenance and motor pool , field feed and mess , and supply . The HHC itself will be commanded by a company commander ( usually a captain ) who is supported by a company executive officer ( usually a first lieutenant ) and a company first sergeant . All personnel in the HHC fall under the administrative command of the HHC company commander , but in practice , the primary and special staff officers report directly to the battalion commander , and while the battalion commander is administratively assigned to the HHC , he or she is the HHC company commander ' s higher commander and thus the HHC company commander operationally answers directly to the battalion commander . The mission of the HHC company commander is to run the administrative and soldier training aspects of the HHC , and to support the battalion primary staff by facilitating the environment in which they operate and in turn support the battalion commander in commanding the battalion . At the brigade and division level , an HHC is similarly constituted of the brigade commander or division commander , his or her staff , and the support elements , but the ranks of the staff and support personnel are typically greater to reflect the greater level of responsibility at higher echelon units . However , the company commander of a brigade or division HHC is usually still a captain . In keeping with the long standing practice of referring to company sized artillery units as " batteries " and company sized cavalry units as " troops , " the headquarters company element of an artillery battalion or higher is referred as a Headquarters and Headquarters Battery , or HHB , and the headquarters company element of a cavalry squadron or higher is referred as a Headquarters and Headquarters Troop , or HHT . Additionally , some high level headquarters elements for special units are not company sized and are referred to as " detachments ; " as a result , these units are formally referred to as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachments , or HHD .