Military symbology
For units, equipment and installations, ORBAT Mapper primarily uses the military map symbols of MIL-STD 2525D and NATO APP-6D. The Milsymbol library draws the standard military symbols. It is an excellent library.
At first, military symbols can look strange and unusual. But when you know the basic rules, you see that their construction is logical. If you want to know more, start here:
- Military Symbols Study Guide
- NATO Joint Military Symbology wikipedia page
- The standard documents MIL-STD 2525D and NATO APP-6D
Symbol identification codes
MILSTD 2525D/APP-6D gives each symbol a unique symbol identification code (SIDC) of 20 digits. Usually you do not use these codes directly. But it is very useful to know their construction. To examine symbol codes, use the Joint military symbology explorer or read the standards.
Legacy symbol codes
Prior versions of the symbology standards use a shorter symbol identification code with letters. Many systems continue to use these codes with letters. Thus, ORBAT Mapper can change codes with letters into codes with numbers. It uses the convert-symbology library. Almost all symbols of 2525C/APP-6C are also in 2525D/APP-6D, but they can look different.
Differences between MILSTD 2525D and APP-6D
ORBAT Mapper lets you select MILSTD 2525 or APP-6. There are some differences between the versions. The most important difference is the dismounted individual symbol set. Only APP-6D has this symbol set:
Custom unit symbols
If the standard military symbols are not sufficient, ORBAT Mapper also lets you make custom unit symbols. For more data, see the custom unit symbols guide.
