I've noticed that if I plant down single units and group them up, the group will always be sorted alphabetically in the entities list AND in the role selection screen. No matter which order I place them or group them, they will always be sorted alphabetically.
They should be in the order they are placed or add an ability to sort them correctly by rank, or sort the manually. Sorting them alphabetically (by class type, not by description) does not make sense for the role selection screen.
11 Notice the following sorting in the entities list for this group: Ammobeaerer, Combat Life Saver, Marksman, Rifleman, Squad Leader, Team Leader.
Start misison as multiplayer, notice that order of units is alphabetical in role selection as well.
Yes, there is a missing feature to choose the place of a unit inside a group. (and two missing commands for setter getter this place by script). If you are changing the role description, the only way (I found) is to edit the mission.sqm (not binarized) then you'll find your units, for example in a group of 8, classed item0 to item7. You can change their place , changing their class number. If your leader is item4, just make it item0 and change item0 to item4. You can sort as you want but be sure to keep item0... to item7 for your group. A simple error in a mission.sqm and the launch will fail. Not difficult but at your own risk.
PS: No need to move all lines of an item, just change the numbers in class names.