Section ( military unit ) A section is a small military unit in some armies . In many armies , it is a squad of seven to twelve soldiers . However in France and armies based on the French model , it is the sub - division of a company ( equivalent to a platoon ) . Commonwealth . Australian Army . Under the new structure of the infantry platoon , sections are made up of eight men divided into two four - man fireteam s . Each fireteam consists of a team leader ( corporal / lance - corporal ) , a scout with enhanced optics , a grenadier with a M203 and a LSW operator with F89 Minimi light support weapon . Typical fire team structure : At the start of World War I , the Australian Army used a section that consisted of 27 men including the section commander , which was a non - commissioned officer holding the rank of sergeant . During World War II a rifle section was made of ten soldiers with a corporal in command with a lance - corporal as his second - in - command . The corporal used a M1928 Thompson submachine gun while one of the privates used a Bren gun . The other eight soldiers all used No . 1 Mk . 3 Lee - Enfield rifles with a bayonet and scabbard . They carried two or three No . 36 Mills bomb grenades each . Post – World War II and indicative for the Vietnam War a rifle section consisted of ten personnel comprising : a " command & scout group " ( three persons – two sub - machineguns / M16A1 and a L1A1 SLR ) ; " gun group " ( three persons – a M60 machine gun and two L1A1 SLRs ) and " rifle group " ( four persons – L1A1 SLRs ) . British Army . The British Army section now consists of eight soldier s made up of a Corporal as section commander , a Lance - Corporal as his second - in - command ( " 2IC " ) and six privates . Three sections together form a platoon . In conventional warfare , the section is split into two four - man fireteam s ( " Charlie " and " Delta " ) , commanded by the corporal and lance - corporal respectively . The " Rifle Section " of the Second World War was formed of 10 men ; a Corporal as the section leader with six privates with Lee Enfield rifles forming a rifle group , and a light machine gun group of a Lance - corporal , a gunner with the Bren gun and a " loader " carrying a spare barrel and extra ammunition . From the switch from . 303 to 7 . 62mm NATO in the 1950s until the introduction of 5 . 56 mm calibre weapons in the late 1980s , the typical section was armed with and organized around the 7 . 62 mm L7 GPMG ( general purpose machine gun ) . The section was typically divided into two " groups " : a rifle group and a gun group . The rifle group comprised the Section Commander ( Corporal ) with an L1A1 SLR , the Anti - Tank gunner with the 84mm Carl Gustav and 9mm SMG , the Anti - Tank No 2 with spare 84mm rounds and an L1A1 and two riflemen with L1A1s . The gun group was commanded by the section 2IC ( Lance Corporal ) with an L1A1 , and comprised the gunner with the GPMG and the gun No 2 with an L1A1 . All section tactics were basically designed to bring the gun to bear on the enemy and support the gun ; once the gun had suppressed the enemy ( " winning the firefight " ) the rifle group would assault and destroy the enemy position with the gun providing fire until the last safe moment . This organization was abandoned in favour of fireteams when 5 . 56 mm assault rifle s and SAWs were introduced in the late 1980s . These were the L85 IW and the longer - barrelled L86 LSW ( " Light support weapon " ) . The firepower of the team has now been extended by the L110A1 LMG . The LSW is now generally used as a designated marksman ' s rifle and the LMG is the belt fed weapon for laying down suppressing fire . Each fire team has two IW , one with an underslung grenade launcher , one LSW and one LMG . An infantry section now consists of : Charlie Fireteam : Delta Fireteam : Some units currently operating in Afghanistan have reintroduced the GPMG as a Section gun , on the scale of one per fire team , meaning that only two L85A2s are carried per Section and both are fitted with the UGL . This practice may be altered following the introduction of the L129A1 Sharpshooter rifle , officially bringing 7 . 62mm weapons back to Section level in recognition that the 5 . 56mm round has proved inadequate in Afghanistan . The L86A2 LSW is now almost entirely unused by Infantry Sections , due to the implementation of the L110A1 ( FN Minimi ) and L129A1 Sharpshooter rifle . The GPMG is now used at section level and the lead ( vallon ) soldier will generally be equipped with both his L85A2 Rifle and the L128A1 Combat Shotgun ( Benelli M4 ) in addition to a Vallon mine detector . The makeup of a British Infantry section and it ' s weaponry ( at least currently on recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan ) is now generally : one soldier with GPMG ( FN MAG ) , one soldier with L129A1 Sharpshooter Rifle , 2 Men with L110A1 LMGs , 2 Men with L85A2 Assault Rifles with 40mm UGLs fitted , one soldier ( Section Commander / Corporal ) with L85A2 Assault Rifle and one soldier ( Vallon / Lead Man / Scout ) with Mine Detector , L85A2 Assault Rifle and L128A1 Combat Shotgun . The 2IC ( Lance - Corporal / Delta Fire Team Commander ) will generally be one of the UGL gunners and will be in command of the GPMG . LMG and GPMG gunners are now generally also equipped with the Glock 17 Gen . 4 sidearm although this is not always the case . Note that the L86 LSW is very much still in use in CS and CSS units however . Canadian Forces . The Canadian Army also uses the section , which is roughly the same as its British counterpart , except that it is led by a sergeant , with a master corporal as second - in - command . The section is further divided into " assault groups " , which are equivalent to the British fireteams ( 4 soldiers ) . They are designated Assault Group 1 and Assault Group 2 . Assault groups are broken down to even smaller " fireteams " , consisting of normally 2 soldiers , possibly 3 , designated Alpha , Bravo , Charlie and Delta . Alpha and Bravo make up Assault Group 1 and Charlie and Delta make up Assault Group 2 . The section commander will have overall control of the section , and is assigned to Assault Group 1 , Alpha Team . His 2nd in command will be in command of Assault Group 2 , and is assigned to Delta team . In a normal rifle section , the focus is around the pair of C9 LMG s ( Light Machine Gun ) that are carried by Bravo and Delta teams , one in each team . This results in a formation of Bravo , Alpha , Charlie , Delta , with Bravo and Delta providing fire support with the C9s , Alpha as the command element and Charlie as the assault team . Danish Army . In the Danish Army , the section consists of two squads , usually commanded by a Sergeant First Class . Sections are usually highly specialized support units providing heavy weapons support , EOD support etc . French Army . In the French Army , a section is the sub - division of a company ( equivalent to a platoon ) in traditional foot arms ( e . g . infantry , engineering ) . In traditionally horse - mounted arms of the French Army ( e . g . armour ) , the sub - division of a company is a platoon ( " peloton " ) . The French equivalent of the British Army section is called a " Combat Group " . French squad s are divided into a 300 - meter fireteam each armed with a FAMAS 5 . 56 mm assault rifle and carrying an AT4 anti - tank weapon and a 600 - meter fireteam with a FN Minimi another FAMAS and a personal grenade launcher . Singapore Army . Singapore Army ' s infantry section consists of 7 men led by a Third Sergeant and assisted by a Corporal as 2IC . The section is divided into one 3 - man " group " , which includes the section commander . There are two other 2 - man groups . The weapons carried include 2 light anti - tank weapon s , 2 section automatic weapon s ( SAW ) , and two grenade launcher s . United States Army . A section in the US Cavalry is roughly equivalent to an infantry squad in the United States Army . Some corps , such as Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery , use the term " section " to denote a squad - sized unit in which the fire teams may act independently of each other in the larger platoon formation . The section is used as an administrative formation and may be bigger than the regular squad formation often overseen by a Staff Sergeant . Other . In some air force s , a section is also a unit containing two or three aircraft , commanded by a Lieutenant . In the " Luftwaffe " in the Second World War , this would have been called a " rotte " , while the Red Air Force would have called it a " zveno " or " para " . Two sections and supporting ground staff make up a flight , known as a " staffel " in the " Luftwaffe " . A section is also the name for a shift or team of police officers in various police forces , particularly in the Commonwealth . The term is no longer used in the British police , in which it originated and where it was the group of officers headed by a Sergeant .