Military Unit Number
Enable an agent to interpret numeric designations of military and paramilitary units of post-Soviet states, establish which unit a designation denotes within its system and period, and judge whether it can safely support identification or reference.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 9 layers · 15 findings · 23 questions
Designation meaning Establish what the military unit number represents and which parts of its written form carry meaning.
Number role
Determine the identification function performed by the designation.
Establish designation function
Record the evidenced role of the number and leave its role unresolved when the source supplies only a label.
- Does this number function as an ordinal in a unit title, an administrative identifier, a cover designation or another documented type? definition
- What distinguishes it from a call sign, military postal address, personnel number or equipment number in this source? boundary
Written form
Preserve and interpret the complete designation string.
Preserve significant characters
Separate the observed spelling from any normalised representation and document the basis for treating variants as equivalent.
- Which prefixes, suffixes, leading zeros, numeral conventions or separators are part of the designation? definition
- What evidence permits two differently written forms to be treated as the same unit number? provenance
Namespace and unit binding Connect the designation to its numbering authority and organisational referent.
Numbering jurisdiction
Identify the system within which the number is assigned and interpreted.
Qualify number namespace
Record the issuing authority and relevant service or organisational scope without assuming universal uniqueness.
- Which authority and numbering system govern this designation? provenance
- Within what service, unit category, territory or period, if any, is the number intended to be unique? boundary
Organisational referent
Establish the unit to which a particular number assignment refers.
Bind number to unit
Represent the assignment as an evidenced relationship to a unit, retaining competing candidates when identification is incomplete.
- Which unit is explicitly associated with this number, and what source establishes that association? provenance
- Does the designation refer to the whole unit, its headquarters, a subordinate element or an administrative grouping? boundary
Assignment history Track when the number identifies a unit and how assignments change.
Validity and observation
Distinguish effective assignment dates from dates when a designation was observed or reported.
Bound assignment period
Record supported temporal bounds and uncertainty without converting a dated mention into proof of continuing assignment.
- What evidence establishes the assignment's effective start and end, rather than merely a date of mention? provenance
- How precisely can the validity interval be bounded, and which portions remain unknown? measurement
Renumbering and reuse
Separate changes to a unit's designation from transfers or reuse of a designation.
Separate number and unit continuity
Link preceding and succeeding assignments only to the extent that evidence establishes renumbering, reuse or organisational succession.
- Did the same unit receive a new number, or did a different unit receive the existing number? boundary
- What evidence is required before references across a renumbering, merger, dissolution or reactivation may be linked? action
Evidence and use Determine how confidently an agent can interpret, cite or share a number-to-unit mapping.
Mapping confidence
Assess source support for each component of an identification.
Evaluate mapping support
Distinguish evidence for the existence of a number from evidence for its bearer, numbering system and period of use.
- Does each source establish only the written number, or also its authority, assigned unit and assignment period? provenance
- Which conflicting mappings or missing contextual details require the agent to retain multiple candidates? action
Reference and disclosure
Choose an adequately qualified reference and respect documented conditions on its use.
Qualify permitted use
Attach sufficient context to avoid misleading identification and carry forward evidenced handling requirements for the mapping.
- Which authority, service, date and uncertainty qualifiers must accompany this number to identify the intended assignment? action
- What documented conditions govern access to or disclosure of this number-to-unit mapping? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Military Unit Number this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.ORG
What it is Filled
A Military Unit Number is a numeric designation assigned to a military or paramilitary unit in the designation systems of post-Soviet states, identifying the unit within a particular authority and period rather than necessarily expressing its descriptive name or tactical designation.
In scope
- The numeric designation is recorded with significant leading zeros and any accompanying prefixes, suffixes or separators.
- The assigning authority and designation system establish the number's meaning within a post-Soviet state.
- The relationship between a number and the military or paramilitary unit it identifies is represented.
- Assignment, retirement, reassignment and periods of uncertain validity are represented.
- Evidence, ambiguity and permitted handling of number-to-unit mappings are assessed.
Out of scope
- The unit's command structure, personnel, equipment and operational readiness
- Individual service numbers and personnel identifiers
- Equipment serial numbers and vehicle registration numbers
- Operational call signs, postal routing codes and location codes unless evidence establishes their role as unit numbers
- The complete unit name, insignia and honours beyond their relevance to interpreting the number
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to interpret numeric designations of military and paramilitary units of post-Soviet states, establish which unit a designation denotes within its system and period, and judge whether it can safely support identification or reference.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Its referent is a military or paramilitary unit within the numeric designation systems of post-Soviet states rather than an individual, asset, position or quantity of units.
- Evidence connects the value to the specified designation system; a numeral appearing in military text alone is insufficient.
- The same written value is not presumed to identify the same unit across services, authorities, states or periods.
- Its relationship to an ordinal in a unit title, an administrative identifier or a cover designation must be established rather than inferred from appearance.
- Renumbering a unit and assigning an old number to a different unit are represented as distinct events.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Disclose current unit numbers linked to locations, personnel or movements.
- Compile unit numbers with personal data to identify or target soldiers or their families.
- Present a guess linking a number to a unit as confirmed.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing any unit identifiers from recent conflicts.
May
- Explain what military unit numbers are and how they are used in records.
- Use declassified unit numbers to help researchers trace historical service records.
Moral aspects Filled
- Unit numbers can reveal deployments and expose soldiers to danger.
- Historical records help families trace relatives, including those who died.
Who is affected
- Service members
- Their families
- Historians
Owners Filled
Steward
The military or paramilitary authorities of post-Soviet states that assign the numbers are responsible for their records; archives hold historical records.
Master systems
- Official military and paramilitary designation records document assignments.
- National military archives preserve historical records.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q176799 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.military-unit-number
- Wikidata: Q18713288 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18713288)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Recorded designation: Exact source string, preserving meaningful formatting
- Designation role: Ordinal in unit title; administrative unit identifier; cover designation; other evidenced role; unresolved
- Numbering namespace: Issuing authority, armed force or service, and identified numbering system
- Assigned unit: Referenced unit identity, candidate identities or unresolved referent
- Assignment validity: Effective start and end dates with precision and uncertainty; unknown where unsupported
- Assignment status: Reported assigned; confirmed assigned; retired; superseded; disputed; unknown
- Designation succession: Previous or subsequent number for a unit, or previous or subsequent bearer of a number
- Mapping evidence: Sources supporting the value, namespace, referent and validity period separately
- Handling constraints: Documented access or disclosure conditions; no conditions recorded; unresolved
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A military unit number is an abstract administrative identifier whose printed appearance alone cannot establish which unit it denotes.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Parse a designation while preserving the original written form.
- Resolve a number to candidate units using its numbering system and relevant date.
- Compare two references and identify missing context that prevents a reliable match.
- Trace renumbering and number reuse without automatically merging unit identities.
- Flag conflicting, stale or unsupported number-to-unit mappings for review.
- Prepare a contextualised unit reference with evidence and applicable handling conditions.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Leaked unit numbers have exposed troop locations and identities.
- Mismatched numbers and names lead to errors in historical research.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No single international standard governs these designations, and applicable administrative rules depend on the issuing state, service and period.
Context of use required Filled
- Military unit numbers appear in administrative records, official correspondence, postal addresses and historical sources concerning armed forces and some paramilitary organizations in post-Soviet states.
- They support reference to units within a particular national system and period, although reassignment and organizational changes can prevent a number from identifying the same unit over time.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q18713288: Military Unit Number - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Military Unit Number - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the registry entry denote unit numbering broadly or a particular national administrative or cover-designation practice?
- Should ordinals embedded in formal unit titles be included as instances, or only linked as neighbouring designations?
- Which authoritative sources define the relevant numbering systems, their assignment rules and their uniqueness boundaries?
- How should concurrent numbers for one unit and shared numbers across organisational elements be represented in the intended registry usage?
- What evidence establishes unit continuity when a number is retained or restored after reorganisation, dissolution or reactivation?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q18713288/spec.json