Состав и эволюция стрелкового отделения в вооруженных силах.

Military unit size designation

A section is a military sub subunit. It usually consists of between 6 and 20 personnel. NATO and U. S. doctrine define a section as an organization "larger than a squad, but smaller than a platoon." As such, two or more sections usually make up an army platoon or an air force flight.

A section in the British Armed Forces is equivalent to a NATO squad, and the British Army has no organization equivalent to a NATO section. At the onset of hostilities in 1939, the section consisted of the section commander, one Bren gunner and his assistant, and five riflemen for a total of eight men; in 1940, this was increased to ten men. A typical section as of 1944 was divided into a 'rifle group' consisting of the section commander and six riflemen, and a 'gun group' consisting of the section 2IC and gun controller, the section gunner or Bren No. 1, and the Bren No. 2 carrying a spare barrel for the Bren gun; the six riflemen each carried two Bren magazines and a bandolier with a further fifty rounds, the Bren No. 2 carried five magazines, and the other two members of the gun group carried four magazines for a total of a thousand rounds of ammunition for the Bren. Three sections together formed a platoon, with two being forward sections and the third being a reserve. The 1950s initially had no meaningful changes to the infantry section and its armament save for the rifle group gaining a seventh man, but later saw the replacement of .303in weapons with new models chambered for 7.62mm NATO, as well as a shift from the magazine fed Bren to the belt fed L7A1 (later L7A2) general purpose machine gun (GPMG). Most battalions reverted to a ten man section organisation, with the rifle group now consisting of the section commander (corporal) with an L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR) and six riflemen with L1A1 SLRs, while the gun group consisted of the section 2IC and gun controller (Lance corporal) with an SLR, the section gunner or GPMG No. 1 with the GPMG, and the GPMG No. 2 with an SLR and a spare GPMG barrel. A certain amount of 7.62mm linked ammunition was carried by all members of the section (200 rounds per gun group member, 50 rounds per rifle group member), with ammunition held by the rifle group being redistributed to the gun group prior to an assault. In a mechanised battalion, the section nominally consisted of ten men as well, but two of these were detailed as vehicle crewmen, thus giving a dismounted strength of eight men. As a result of this, a mechanised section's rifle group only had four riflemen; two of these could be detailed as a Medium Anti tank Weapon (MAW) No. 1 with an L14A1 84mm anti tank weapon and a MAW No. 2 with additional 84mm rounds but otherwise continued to act as riflemen (in other battalions, the MAW No. 1 and No 2 were normally part of the platoon headquarters). Rifle launched No. 95 anti tank grenades that had been used with the Lee Enfield rifle continued to be made available for anti armour defence in lieu of or in addition to the L14A1, with these later being replaced by shoulder fired L1 66mm HEAT rockets. There also were a number of M79 40mm grenade launchers available. Tactical doctrine stated that, where casualties were sustained, a section could only be reduced to one NCO and five other ranks before bayonet power in the assault or the ability to organise a proper system of double sentries at night time were fatally compromised. Later sections would all consist of eight men (as well as any men detailed as vehicle crew) regardless of the battalion type;

Both World War II and Cold War section tactics were designed with a view to bringing the section machine gun to bear on the enemy and providing support to it; once the gun group had suppressed the enemy ("winning the firefight"), the rifle group would assault and destroy the enemy position with the gun group providing fire until the last safe moment.

The Royal Marines have generally fielded sections that have been organised similarly to those of the British Army. Under the Future Commando Force programme, however, smaller section organisations are currently being trialled.

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.

A Finnish infantry section or ryhmä consists of one section commander or ryhmänjohtaja, one section 2IC or ryhmänvarajohtaja, and six or seven other soldiers. The standard section organisation, a "half section" (puoliryhmä) model, is as follows: Two of the standard issue bolt action Karabiner 98k rifles in the squad could be replaced with semi automatic Gewehr 43 rifles and occasionally, StG 44 "assault" rifles could be used to re arm the whole squad, besides the machine gun.

In the Irish Army, the infantry section consists of one Corporal or Ceannaire as section commander and eight other ranks. Section armament consists of eight Steyr AUG A1 rifles (including versions reconfigured to Mod 14 standard with a Picatinny rail and an ACOG 4x magnification optical sight), with two of these being equipped with an M203 grenade launcher, and one FN MAG 58 general purpose machine gun; two soldiers are additionally armed with AT4 short range anti armour weapons (SRAAW) for anti armour defence, while Heckler & Koch USP pistols are available for distribution at the platoon level. Three sections together with a headquarters element form a platoon.

Singapore Army's infantry section consists of seven men led by a Third Sergeant and assisted by a Corporal or Corporal First Class as 2IC. Each section is divided into one 3 man group – including the section commander, and two 2 man groups. Weapons carried by each section include two light anti tank weapons, two section automatic weapons (SAW), and two M203 grenade launchers.

In the South African Army Infantry Formation (which is responsible for all South African Army infantry), the standard infantry section is divided into a seven man rifle group and a three man machine gun group as per the earlier British model; the rifle group consists of a section commander (Corporal) and six riflemen, all armed with R4 5.56mm rifles, while the gun group consists of a section 2IC (Lance Corporal) with a R4 5.56mm rifle, a Machine Gun No. 1 with an FN MAG 7.62mm general purpose machine gun, SS 77 7.62mm general purpose machine gun, or Mini SS 5.56mm light machine gun, and a Machine Gun No. 2 with a R4 5.56mm rifle. In a mechanised infantry section, the rifle group is reduced to five men for a total of eight men in the section.

Historically, a section of US Infantry was a "half platoon" (the platoon itself being a "half company"). The section was led by a sergeant assisted by one or (later) two corporals and consisted of a total of from 12–50 soldiers, depending on the time period. In the US Cavalry, a section was roughly equivalent to a squad in the US Infantry. In Armor, Armored Cavalry, Mechanized Infantry, and Stryker Infantry units, a section consists of two tanks/armored vehicles, with two sections to a platoon. The platoon leader leads one section and the platoon sergeant leads the other. Some branches, such as Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery, use the term section to denote a squad sized unit that may act independently of each other in the larger platoon formation. (I. e., the Firing Platoon consists of several gun sections, which are the basic firing elements of the unit.) The section is used as an administrative formation and may be bigger than the regular squad formation often overseen by a Staff Sergeant.

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.