Regimental combat team
Encyclopedia
A regimental combat team was a provisional major infantry
unit of the United States Army
during the World War II
and the Korean War
, and of the U.S. Marine Corps to the present day. The regimental combat team, or "R.C.T.", is formed by augmenting a regular infantry
regiment
with smaller tank
, artillery
, combat engineer, mechanized warfare
, cavalry
, reconnaissance
, Signal Corps, air defense, quartermaster
, military police
, medical, and other support units to enable it to be a self-supporting organization in the combat field.
Examples of the latter have been the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team
.
Regimental combat teams combined the high cohesion of traditional regimental organization with the flexibility of tailored reinforcements to accomplish any given mission.
s, the U.S. Army broke up its infantry
regiments in the mid-1950s and then formed battlegroups
, four or five of which composed a pentomic
infantry division. Although the pentomic structure was deemed to be a failure, reorganizations during the 1960s (ROAD) replaced the infantry regimental combat teams with brigade combat team
s that were modeled after the World War II combat command
s employed by American armored divisions. As a consequence, infantry battalions that were formerly grouped into regiments were scattered among the new brigade
s with a consequent loss of unit cohesiveness, and the unnecessary complication of unit traditions that related both to the old parent regiments and to the new brigades.
as a basic unit smaller than a division but larger than a battalion
, and it continues to employ reinforced regiments as R.C.T.s in Iraq
and Afghanistan
.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
unit of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and of the U.S. Marine Corps to the present day. The regimental combat team, or "R.C.T.", is formed by augmenting a regular infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
with smaller tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, combat engineer, mechanized warfare
Mechanized Warfare
Mechanized Warfare is the sixth studio album released by American power metal band Jag Panzer, released in 2001. This album is more progressive than the band's previous work...
, cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, Signal Corps, air defense, quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
, military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
, medical, and other support units to enable it to be a self-supporting organization in the combat field.
World War II
World War II RCTs were generally of two types:- temporary organizations configured for the accomplishment of a specific mission or series of missions,
- semi-permanent organizations designed to be deployed as a unit throughout a combat theater of operations.
Examples of the latter have been the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team
517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team
The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team , one of the U.S. Army's first elite combat units, began its existence in March 1943, training at Camp Toccoa in the backwoods of Georgia...
.
Regimental combat teams combined the high cohesion of traditional regimental organization with the flexibility of tailored reinforcements to accomplish any given mission.
U.S. Army
Believing that future battlefields would be dominated by tactical nuclear weaponTactical nuclear weapon
A tactical nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons which are designed to menace large populations, to damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence...
s, the U.S. Army broke up its infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiments in the mid-1950s and then formed battlegroups
Battlegroup (army)
A battlegroup , or task force in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
, four or five of which composed a pentomic
Pentomic
Pentomic refers to a structure for infantry divisions adopted by the U.S. Army in 1957 in response to the perceived threat posed by tactical nuclear weapons use on the battlefield....
infantry division. Although the pentomic structure was deemed to be a failure, reorganizations during the 1960s (ROAD) replaced the infantry regimental combat teams with brigade combat team
Brigade combat team
The brigade combat team is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. A brigade combat team is generally commanded by a colonel , but in rare instances it is commanded by...
s that were modeled after the World War II combat command
Combat command
A Combat Command was a combined-arms military organization of comparable size to a brigade or regiment employed by armored forces of the U.S. Army from 1942 until 1963...
s employed by American armored divisions. As a consequence, infantry battalions that were formerly grouped into regiments were scattered among the new brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s with a consequent loss of unit cohesiveness, and the unnecessary complication of unit traditions that related both to the old parent regiments and to the new brigades.
U.S. Marine Corps
The U.S. Marine Corps, has retained the regimentRegiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
as a basic unit smaller than a division but larger than a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
, and it continues to employ reinforced regiments as R.C.T.s in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.