Billet

For other uses, see Billet (disambiguation).

A billet is the place to which a person, generally a soldier, is assigned to sleep. Soldiers are generally billetted in barracks when on duty, although in some armies soldiers with families are permitted to maintain a home off-post. Used for a building, the term is more commonly used in British English; United States standard terms are quarters, barracks, "Single (Soldier) Housing" or "Family Housing".

One of the major grievances of the American colonists against the British government which led to the American Revolutionary War was the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes. As a result, the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution provides restrictions on the manner in which the Federal government may require civilians to provide housing for American soldiers.

During wartime, civilians who have been evacuated from a city in danger of attack are billetted in communual shelters or in the homes of individuals. The practice of billetting evacuees was widespread in Britain during World War II, particularly during the Blitz, when children and other non-essential persons in London were sent north to protect them.

Manufacturing

In manufacturing terminology, a cast product is defined as either as ingot or billet, depending on whether the cross-sectional diameter is greater than, or less than approximately 200 mm, respectively. Billets are typically cast to a geometry compatible with secondary processing, e.g. forging, and ingots are typically cast to a convenient geometry for further primary processing, e.g. heat treatment (Schey, 1999). Ingot and billet are collectively known as barstock.

References:

Schey, J. A. (1999) Introduction to Manufacturing Processes, Mcgraw-Hill.

United States usage

Billet can also mean a personnel position, assignment, or duty station which may be filled by one person, commonly used by the United States Navy. It may also refer in all the armed forces to the individual bunk or bed.

In addition, billet can refer to the position and weapons of the members of a unit. For example, the billets of a squad-level unit include a squad leader (M4), 2 team leaders (M4), 2 SAW gunners (M249), 2 grenadiers (M4 + M203) and 2 riflemen (M4).