Comments by "Stephen Sipe" (@stephensipe5405) on "Ukraine’s Azov Division: Everything You Wanted to Know" video.

  1. You begin by stating the 3RD Brigade Infantry Team (Spec) is a Division. As a US military leader, a Brigade Military Intelligence Officer, previously trained as an Armor Officer, I am very sensitive to the looseness of media types in reporting. A NATO Brigade consists of 4 Battalions maneuver, 1 Battalion Artillery, and a HQ Battalion. A Division is slightly flexible by mission, but consists of 3-4 Brigades, 1 Regiment Artillery, and a HQ Brigade. NATO HQ Elements start at Battalion Level. Every level battle plans their missions, hoping using the 1/3RD-2/3RDs time allocation method. Companies have an HQ Platoon but not to battle plan. It supports logistics and crew maintenance of weapons. Battalion and higher supports these too, but also vehicles maintenance, fire support, intelligence related issues, medical support, and food support. Air Defense and Specialty Teams are added at Brigade and Division Levels. Military History has 2 components. Usually insignia are based on Regiments. In Ukraine, this seems to have been given to Battalions and Brigades. Combat history follows Units from Battalion and higher with most historians tracking only Divisions. For example, my original Battalion during WW2 was reorganized into a slightly larger Regiment called an Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). It used Light Tanks and 6 Wheeled Armored Cars with the same main gun as the Light Tank. My Unit was attached to 2ND Armor Division (Free French). The purpose of my ACR Unit was to ensure 2ND Armor Division had unobstructed roads, good bridges, and knew where German Unit concentrations were located. When Paris was liberated, it was my Units Armored Cars which secured the Arch De Triumph in Paris on the news reels. It was my Units Light Tanks which passed through the Arch to pursue withdrawing Germans. It was the Sherman Tanks of 2ND Armored Division (Free French) which got all the credit and kisses from Paris women. My Unit just got Vichy wine they were going to throw away and after the war, a Unit citation from France, a Fleur De Lis. My Units motto however, is also in French, from when we fought with Washington in the French and Indian War: Fide Et Fortitudine. It comes from a Scottish Family Crest. Most of my State was settled early by Scots.
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  2. Today Ukrainian has an Azov Battalion and 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec). As far as is published, the Azov Battalion is NOT part of the 4 Battalions of 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec). Has this changed? How is the history of the Azov Battalion at Mariupol related to 3RD Brigade Infantry or the Azov Battalion? Additionally, Ukraine used 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec) during the Bahkmut South Flank Offensive, then to cover the withdrawal of the 114TH Brigade Infantry (Mech) from Avdiivka Defense Line East. Now I see them in the Kreminna Forest South Defense Line. Does 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec) ever get 4R???
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  3.  @Adonnus100  I can understand how most Units from Division down got passed around to Corps and Army Groups in WW2 like a joint gets passed at a party. However, the Divisions, Brigades, and Battalions in WW2 would be real homes to their troops. In North Africa, you had trailers after the Unit number such as (AUS) for Australian, (NZ) for New Zealand, (SA) for South African, and (FJ) for Free Jews from Palestine. I have never seen RAR used in place of AUS.
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