Army organization.
The system by which a country
raises, classifies, arranges, and equips its armed land forces. The
usual divisions are: (1) A regular or active
army, in which soldiers serve continuously with the colors and
live in barracks or cantonments when not in the field; (2) the
reserves of this army, in which the soldiers, while remaining
constantly subject to a call to the colors, live at their homes, being
summoned more or less frequently to report for instruction, drill, or
maneuvers; and (3) one or more classes of soldiers organized
largely for territorial defense, living at home and having only
occasional periods of drill and instraction, who are variously called
home reserves (as in the table below), second,
third, etc., line of defense (the regular army and its
reserves ordinarily constituting the first line of defense),
territorial forces, or the like. In countries where
conscription prevails a soldier is supposed to serve a given number of
years. He is usually enrolled first in the regular army, then passes
to its reserve, then into the home reserves, to serve until he reaches
the age limit. It for any reason he is not enrolled in the regular
army, he may begin his service in the army reserves or even the home
reserves, but then serves the full number of years or up to the age
limit. In equipment the organization of the army is into the three
great arms of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, together with more or
less numerous other branches, such as engineers, medical corps, etc.,
besides the staff organizations such as those of the pay and
subsistence departments.
© Webster 1913.