Squad
Squad — a small number of soldiers, commonly 10 privates. A staff sergeant and a corporal, the smallest military unit.
Squad — a group of police officers, especially one organized to deal with a particular area of law enforcement [Online Etymology Dictionary].
In designing its force structure for the future, the infantry must start at the bottom and examine its most minor tactical organization, the squad. It will form the basic building block to build the higher units. What is the optimum organization of the infantry squad of the future? Its makeup must be suited to contend with the future battlefield environment. The idea is to organize soldiers, weapons, and equipment in such a manner as to produce the maximum combat power that can be sustained for extended periods. Operations define combat power as the ability to fight, consisting of maneuver dynamics, firepower, protection, and leadership. These four elements and the fifth element of resiliency will provide the criteria to determine the best organization for the future infantry squad [Hughes, S. E., p. 1].
Squad is 9 to 10 soldiers. Typically commanded by a sergeant or staff sergeant, a squad or section is the smallest element in the Army structure, and its size depends on its function[web.archive.org].
The squad is a temporary or permanent (full-time) military organizational unit (a group of military personnel) in parts (on ships), formations, and various paramilitary and non-paramilitary formations designed to perform certain tasks, official duties, or any work. Permanent squads include rangers, firefighters, and others; on ships, there are units of combat units and services (for example, a steering squad, a squad of radio telegraphers, etc.). The number, composition, and armament of such a squad are determined by staff and reports. The standing squad can consist of branches. Temporary teams numbering three or more people are usually created to meet the needs of combat training, the performance of certain construction, repair, and other works, business trips, organized excursions and visits to various societies and institutions, as well as during the transportation of troops by rail, water, and air transport; after completing the assigned tasks, they are disbanded. The squad can also be created to carry out rescue and emergency recovery work (rescue and emergency technical squad), locate and extinguish fires (firefighting squad) and perform other tasks [web.archive.org].
Hughes, S. E. (1995). The evolution of the U.S. army infantry squad: Where do we go from here? United States Army Command and General Staff College, Rev 2-89. Kansas: DTIC.
Squad. (2023). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved from: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/squad
United States Army. Chain of organization. US Military. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20131017181732/http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blchancommand.htm
NATO (2011). APP-6C Joint Military Symbology. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20150921231042/http://armawiki.zumorc.de/files/NATO/APP-6(C).pdf