A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment . Two or more brigades may constitute a division .
61-507: DISCOM may refer to: a divisional support command , a unit in a division of the United States Army as an abbreviation for "distribution company," an electricity distribution company> Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title DISCOM . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
122-788: A United States Army Reserve training division. The National Defense Act of 1916 provided that the "Army of the United States" would consist of the Regular Army, the Volunteer Army, the Officers' Reserve Corps, the Enlisted Reserve Corps, the National Guard in the service of the United States, and such other land forces as were or might be authorized by Congress. The president was to determine both
183-493: A division and roughly equal to or a little larger than a regiment . During the American Civil War infantry brigades contained two to five regiments with the idea being to maintain a unit with a strength of 2,000 soldiers and were usually commanded by a brigadier general or a senior colonel. During World War I the division consisted of two brigades of two regiments each. More recently, the U.S. Army has moved to
244-413: A "battle group", viz., brigada or "brigade" commanded by a senior colonel, or lieutenant colonel, appointed as a brigadier-general . In France, Marshal Turenne (1611–1675) copied the brigade organization; he made it a permanent standing unit, requiring the creation in 1667 of a permanent rank of brigadier des armées du roi (literally translating to "brigadier of the armies of the king"). Unlike
305-553: A MEB, available for deployment on expeditionary duty . The MEB is the intermediate MAGTF between the MEF and the marine expeditionary unit (MEU). Along with the marine infantry regiments, the MEU, (while smaller than an army brigade), are the USMC organizational equivalents of army brigades. The MEU consists of three battalion-equivalent-sized units and a command element (a battalion landing team,
366-508: A brigade is not part of any division and is under direct command of a corps. There are 7 independent armoured brigades, seven engineering brigades and eight air defense brigades. Independent armoured and infantry brigades are capable of extended operations without necessarily being reliant on a higher HQ for short-term logistic or intimate support. They can be used in counter-attack, exploitation of an advance, or rapid movement to reinforce formations under pressure. Prior to major restructures of
427-607: A brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a single branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers, signals or logistic. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the traditional division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 5,000 troops. However, in Switzerland and Austria,
488-413: A brigadier general. The MEB is a mid-level marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) essentially forming a "demi-division". The MEB organizational structure consists of a minimum of three regimental-equivalent-sized units and a command element (a regimental combat team, a composite marine aircraft group, a marine logistics regiment, and a MEB headquarters group). Each marine expeditionary force (MEF) contains
549-541: A brigadier. In the Second World War, a tank brigade comprised three tank regiments and was equipped with infantry tanks for supporting the infantry divisions. Armoured brigades were equipped with cruiser tanks or (US Lend-Lease ) medium tanks and a motorised infantry battalion. The armoured divisions included one or more armored brigades. In the United States Army , a brigade is smaller than
610-434: A captain) reporting directly to the field force or "army" commander. As such a "field army" became larger, the number of subordinate commanders became unmanageable for the officer in general command of said army, usually a major general, to effectively command. In order to streamline command relationships, as well as effect some modicum of tactical control, especially in regard to combined arms operations (i.e., those involving
671-850: A coordination of infantry with cavalry and/or artillery forces), an intermediate level of command came into existence. The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus improved the brigade as a tactical unit, introducing it in 1631 during a reorganization of the Swedish Army in the course of the Thirty Years' War . The invention of the brigade overcame the lack of coordination inherent in the traditional army structure consisting of independent regiments of infantry and units of supporting arms (viz., cavalry and artillery) acting separately under their individual commanding officers. Gustavus Adolphus accomplished this battlefield coordination by combining battalions of infantry with cavalry troops and artillery batteries into
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#1732791963565732-477: A logistics battalion. Mountain brigades have also a special forces (called "Mountain rangers") company. The brigade is usually commanded by a brigadier general or a senior colonel, who may be promoted to general during his tenure as brigade commander. In the Australian Army , the brigade has always been the smallest tactical formation , since regiments are either administrative groupings of battalions (in
793-435: A major general, but because Congress refused to promote officers past that grade (with the exception of promoting Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general in 1864) major generals were also put in charge of field armies and corps, allowing some divisions to be commanded by brigadier generals . Divisions were numbered sequentially within their corps, but were often referred to by the commander's name in official reports. When
854-478: A marine medium tilt-rotor squadron (reinforced), a combat logistics battalion, and a MEU headquarters group). The marine infantry regiments, combined with the marine artillery regiments, comprise the bulk of the marine divisions. An example of a MEB is Task Force Tarawa ( 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade ) during the Operation Iraqi Freedom campaign. In Myanmar, a rough equivalent of a Brigade
915-498: A new generic brigade combat team (BCT) in which each brigade contains combat elements and their support units. After the 2013 reform , BCT personnel strength typically ranges from 4,400 personnel for infantry BCTs, to 4,500 personnel for Stryker BCTs, to 4,700 personnel for armoured BCTs. This formation is standard across the active U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve , and the Army National Guard . The brigade commander
976-447: A particular brigade (as a "brigade group"). Historically, infantry or cavalry/armoured brigades have usually comprised three or four combat-arm battalions, but currently larger brigades are normal, made larger still when their affiliated artillery and engineer regiments are added. Until 1918, the chief of staff of a brigade was known as a brigade major . Before 1922, British Army brigades were normally commanded by general officers holding
1037-476: A self-contained headquarters and staff. The principal staff officer, usually a lieutenant colonel or colonel, may be designated chief of staff. Until the late 20th century British and similar armies called the position 'brigade-major' and most British brigades have a major as the chief of staff. Some brigades may also have a deputy commander. The headquarters has a nucleus of staff officers and support (clerks, assistants and drivers) that can vary in size depending on
1098-498: A single brigade-level command. The PLAGF distinguishes three distinct types of combined arms brigades: light (motorized), medium (mechanized), and heavy (armoured). These distinctive types are more indicative of the role of the organization within its parent unit than the composition and equipment which vary and overlap between types. A light combined arms brigade may be designed as an airborne , mountain , or amphibious combined arms brigade. A combined arms brigade typically comprises
1159-429: Is called a Tactical Operation Command. It's just a rough equivalent as a Tactical Operation Command has 3 Infantry Battalions under its command, there're no such Brigade troops or anything, instead those units such as Military Engineer, Signal, Medical and etc are supposed to be organic to the battalions (sometimes called Regiments). A Tactical Operation Command HQ only consist of 4 Officers and 4 Other Ranks. Theoritically,
1220-564: Is divided into three eras: 1911–1917, 1917–1941, and 1941–present. These eras represent the major evolutions of army division structure (there have been several minor changes during these times). The 1911–1917 era lists divisions raised during the Army's first attempts at modernizing the division, prior to the authorization of permanent divisions, and the 1917–1941 era lists the first permanent divisions, prior to advent of specialized (armored, airborne, etc.) divisions. The 1941–present era lists all of
1281-479: Is first attested in England in the 17th century as a term for a larger military unit than the squadron or regiment. It was first adopted when armies began to consist of formations larger than a single regiment. Previously each regiment, battalion, cavalry squadron, or artillery battery operated somewhat independently, with its own field officer (i.e., colonel, lieutenant colonel, or major) or battery commander (usually
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#17327919635651342-464: Is usually a colonel, although a lieutenant colonel can be selected for brigade command in lieu of an available colonel. A typical tour of duty for this assignment is 24 to 36 months. Separate brigades, viz., brigades not permanently assigned to a division , were commanded by brigadier generals. A brigade commander has a headquarters and staff to assist them in commanding the brigade and its subordinate units. The typical staff includes: In addition,
1403-620: The Army of the Potomac was first formed after the disastrous First Battle of Bull Run , the division was initially the largest unit. It consisted of three infantry brigades, a cavalry regiment, and four artillery batteries . However the cavalry and artillery were eventually spun off to their own units. When army corps were formally created in March 1862, half of the divisional artillery units were used to form an artillery reserve of three brigades for
1464-696: The Canadian Army has three Regular Force brigade groups, designated as Canadian mechanized brigade groups (CMBG): 1 CMBG , 2 CMBG , which contain the regular army's Anglophone units, and 5 CMBG , the regular Francophone formation. These CMBGs each comprise Co-located with each CMBG is a field ambulance , a tactical helicopter squadron, and a military police platoon. Regular Force CMBG's strengths are 5,000 personnel. Canada also has ten Primary Reserve brigades (Canadian brigade group, CBG), 31 CBG through 39 CBG, and 41 CBG. The CBG formations are for administrative purposes. On 1 January 1791, France replaced
1525-523: The Civil War , when the first large true field armies in United States history were formed, divisions were the Union Army 's basic administrative and organizational unit. They were also the smallest "self-sufficient" units, each composed of two to six brigades. These were typically three brigades for infantry divisions and two brigades for cavalry divisions. A division was typically commanded by
1586-499: The Franco-German Brigade . There is also an airmobile brigade subordinated to the army aviation command. In peacetime, brigades serve primarily as force providers. The units deployed (battlegroups and task-forces) are battalion-size units provided by the regiments composing the brigades. In Indian army, a brigade consists of a HQ, three battalions along with supporting troops. It is commanded by an army officer of
1647-649: The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), forces were designed around the division as the basic operational unit in a similar fashion to Soviet divisions, from which much of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is designed. In 2003, the United States Army pivoted from division-centric warfare to combined-arms-centric warfare in response to the U.S. War in Iraq creating the brigade combat team (BCT). The Russian Federation followed suit reorganizing their forces and doctrine to switch from division-centric warfare to
1708-403: The infantry ) or battalion-sized units (in the cavalry ). A typical brigade may consist of approximately 5,500 personnel between two mechanised infantry battalions, an armoured regiment, an armoured artillery regiment, and other logistic and engineering units. The brigade is usually commanded by an officer holding the rank of brigadier, who is referred to as the "Brigade Commander". As of 2024 ,
1769-540: The 101st Airborne Division maintains its designation as an airborne division, though it is currently organized as an air assault division. Divisions listed with an additional identifier in parentheses ("alpine" or "test", for example) existed only with that identifier. Divisions that have held multiple additional identifiers, such as the 1st Cavalry (" airmobile ", "heavy") and the 9th Infantry ("light", "motorized"), are left unidentified, regardless of their current additional identifier. An unspecified division today refers to
1830-530: The 105th and 107th Infantry Divisions, which were intended to be formations composed of Black soldiers. Unique among the 14 unorganized divisions, the 15th Airborne Division was not only a victim of the decision to set the size of the Army at 89 divisions (the 2nd Cavalry Division had been deactivated during the war and the Philippine Division was destroyed as a result of the Japanese victory in
1891-553: The 10th Mountain Division (10th Light Division (Alpine), 10th Infantry Division). Additionally, several divisions with the same numerical designations were completely separate and unrelated divisions (there have been two 5th Divisions, for instance). Divisions in the United States Army have existed since the American Revolution , but during the 18th and 19th centuries, these were temporary organizations. The concept of
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1952-645: The 25th Infantry Division being the first constituted by the adjutant general as such). All of the 1917–1941 (non-cavalry) divisions, with the exceptions of the 10th through 20th and 101st Divisions, would be redesignated as Infantry Divisions at some point in the 1941–present era. Other than the aforementioned Armored, Cavalry, and Infantry, the only official Army division designations are Air Assault (one test division), Airborne , Light (three test divisions in World War II ), Motorized (briefly authorized from 1942 to 1943), and Mountain . For lineage purposes,
2013-539: The Argentinian Army, the typical brigade comprises an HQ company, two or three battalions (called "regiments" for historical reasons) of the brigade's main branch (infantry or armoured cavalry), which give the brigade its denomination (mechanized, armoured, airborne, mountain or jungle), plus one battalion of the other branch, plus one or two artillery groups, an engineers battalion or company, a signals company, and intelligence company, an army aviation section and
2074-633: The Army Reserve transformed several of its combat divisions into training divisions; these divisions were still designated as infantry divisions until authorized as "divisions (training)" by the adjutant general in 1959. At the time of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor , Wake Island , and the Philippines , the United States Army was composed of 37 divisions , including the Philippine Division . Initially, necessary mobilization
2135-666: The Army of the Potomac served as a model by which the other field armies in the Union organized themselves. In the beginning the division commander was allowed only an assistant adjutant general and three aides-de-camp as their staff. Administrative needs eventually led to the addition of a quartermaster, a commissary of subsistence, an ordnance officer, and a surgeon, all with the rank of major . However, there were no enlisted personnel specifically assigned to support duties, instead requiring either line soldiers be detailed to carry them out or civilian workers employed. The former removed
2196-540: The Army's unwillingness to allot the National Guard armored divisions. The 61st through 66th Cavalry Divisions were inactivated in 1942. Various elements of the 4th through 9th Divisions remained on active duty until those divisions' full activation prior to World War II. The 76th through 91st and 94th through 104th Divisions existed primarily as officer billets with enlisted cadre; they were not completely reactivated until America's entry into World War II. The infantry brigades, field artillery brigades, and several other of
2257-495: The JGSDF, with some of them formed from former divisions. A brigade in the JGSDF consists of 3,000–4,000 soldiers and is led by a major general . A brigade is under the command of a brigadier and comprises three or more battalions of different units depending on its functionality. An independent brigade would be one that primarily consists of an artillery unit, an infantry unit, an armour unit and logistics to support its actions. Such
2318-907: The Philippines), but also because it had become evident that the Army Air Forces lacked enough transport aircraft to support a sixth airborne division. The 13th Airborne Division never saw combat for this very reason. The 105th and 107th Infantry Divisions were to join the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions as Negro divisions. A shortage of manpower resulted in the activation of the 105th and 107th being canceled in 1942. Brigade Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored (sometimes referred to as combined arms brigades). In addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units. Historically, such brigades have been called brigade-groups. On operations,
2379-494: The Swedish brigades, French brigades at that time comprised two to five regiments of the same branch ( brigade de cavalerie, brigade d'infanterie etc.). The rank, intermediate between colonel and maréchal de camp , disappeared in 1788 and should not be confused with that of général de brigade , which is equivalent to a brigadier general. (A modern général de brigade is referred to occasionally as brigadier .) In
2440-457: The U.S. Army in World War II . When the decision was made to halt the increase in divisions, 12 more divisions were still on the rolls, but would not be organized, though several of these would be organized following the war. They were the 15th Airborne Division, the 18th, 21st and 22nd Armored Divisions, the 19th Armored Division , which was in fact activated following the war, the 61st, 62nd, 67th, 68th, 72nd, 73rd, and 74th Infantry Divisions, and
2501-510: The army. After the Peninsula campaign the cavalry were removed from divisional control to form their own brigades under army control, until February 1863 when they were formed into a dedicated Cavalry Corps of three divisions, each with two brigades and assigned horse artillery . Following Chancellorsville all artillery batteries were removed from divisional control to form brigades under corps control. The evolution of divisions within
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2562-701: The authorizations of permanent divisions, the United States Army has raised 128 separate divisions with unique lineages. George Washington organized the first divisions of the United States Army on 22 July 1775 in Boston , Massachusetts. Arriving to take command of the Siege of Boston , he split the forces there into three divisions, each composed of two brigades of six to seven regiments . These divisions were led by major generals but with no assigned staff . They were primarily administrative but eventually evolved into semi-permanent tactical organizations. During
2623-416: The combat effectiveness of the units they were taken from, while the latter were more difficult to find and replace and tended to be less reliable and obedient. Before 1941, only cavalry divisions were specifically designated; infantry divisions were simply designated by "Division". Following the advent of the armored division, infantry divisions became officially designated by "Infantry Division" (with
2684-553: The combat ready support contingent is also intended to complement the Heimevernet (translates as "Home Defense") which is a large reserve infantry force, as well as act in a support capacity for an international cooperation force (e.g. NATO) in case of an invasion. Brigades in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) are combined arms and are similar to divisions. There are eight brigades in
2745-536: The divisions organized, raised, or authorized since then. As much as possible, divisions are only listed in the eras in which they were first created. Some divisions, such as the 1st Cavalry Division, are listed in multiple eras, as their organizations were drastically changed from one era to the next. Many divisions overlap the years listed in the era categories, mainly due to the slow pace in which they were deactivated, inactivated, or otherwise disbanded. Several divisions have existed under multiple designations, such as
2806-491: The following organic units wherein the maneuver battalions vary between motorized , mechanized , or armoured depending on the type of CA-BDE. An NRA Brigade, 旅 ( lǚ ), was a military formation of the Chinese Republic 's National Revolutionary Army . Infantry and cavalry brigades comprised two infantry regiments. After the 1938 reforms, the brigade was dispensed with within the infantry division in favour of
2867-579: The headquarters includes additional junior staff officers, non-commissioned officers , and enlisted support personnel in the occupational specialities of the staff sections; these personnel are ordinarily assigned to the brigade's headquarters and headquarters company . Functional brigades are those from the combat support or combat service support arms. In the United States Marine Corps , brigades are designated as marine expeditionary brigades (MEB) and are usually commanded by
2928-507: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=DISCOM&oldid=1260011230 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Divisions of the United States Army This list of United States Army divisions
2989-426: The number and type of National Guard units that each state would maintain. Both the Regular Army and the National Guard were to be organized, insofar as practicable, into permanent brigades and divisions. In 1940, the National Guard voluntarily withdrew their allotment of the 21st through 24th Cavalry Divisions, partially in response to the Army's decision that the National Guard did not need four Cavalry Divisions and
3050-400: The numbers could start as high as 10,000 troops. The Soviet Union, its forerunners and successors, mostly uses "regiment" instead of brigade, and this was common in much of Europe until after World War II. A brigade's commander is commonly a major general , brigadier general , brigadier or colonel . In some armies, the commander is rated as a general officer . The brigade commander has
3111-537: The permanent United States Army division was formulated and put to the test following the turn of the 20th century. In 1916, the permanent division would finally be authorized by Congress , resulting in a dramatic change in the Army's force structure. For the first time, the division was the base element of the United States Army and remained as such until the Global War on Terrorism , when the Army switched its emphasis to brigades and brigade combat teams . Since
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#17327919635653172-598: The rank of Brigadier (Single star commander). The main core of the Norwegian Army is the Brigade Nord , consisting of eight battalions of which four are combat battalions (one infantry, one mechanized infantry, one artillery and one armored) and the rest are various types of support battalions. The brigade is intended to be combat ready at all times. The combat battalions have a significant portion of professional soldiers (specialists). The fairly large size of
3233-543: The rank of brigadier-general (equivalent to a "one-star" rank in the US Army); after that date, the brigade commander was an appointment for officers with the rank of brigadier, which were then classified as field officers not general officers. This is universally the case today. From 1859 to 1938, "brigade" ("brigade-division" 1885–1903) was also the term used for a battalion-sized unit of the Royal Artillery . This
3294-492: The regiment to simplify the command structure. Brigades, with a field not a regional administrative role, have usually been of a named type and numbered since the 19th century (e.g. cavalry brigade or infantry brigade). Since the end of World War II, brigade numbers have been unique and not by type. Brigades in divisions do not usually command their combat support and combat service support units. These remain under divisional command, although they may be permanently affiliated with
3355-515: The subordinate units of the Panama Canal, Hawaiian, and Philippine Divisions were numbered accordingly with what should have been the 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions. Divisions in bold are currently active.* The 105th and 107th Infantry Divisions were intended to be negro divisions of the Army of the United States; however, due to a shortage of available manpower, their activations were canceled in 1942. In an attempt to maintain its divisions,
3416-526: The type of brigade. On operations, additional specialist elements may be attached. The headquarters will usually have its own communications unit. In some gendarmerie forces, brigades are the basic-level organizational unit. Borrowed from the French cognate word brigade , the term originates from the Italian noun brigata , itself derived from the Italian verb brigare , to contend or fight. The word
3477-520: The use of battalion tactical groups (BTGs). Finally, the PLAGF, as part of a larger restructuring, underwent the so-called "brigade-ization" making PLAGF divisions a largely administrative echelon and moving forces into combined arms brigades (CA-BDE). Structured very similarly to U.S. Army BCTs, the PLAGF combined arms brigade places maneuver , artillery , air defense , reconnaissance , engineer and protection , and logistics and sustainment under
3538-448: The word "Regiment" that had been associated with the former Royal regime with the term "demi-brigade". France replaced its divisions with brigades in 1999 (so for example the 2nd Armored Division became the 2nd Armored Brigade). It was decided in 2016 to again form two divisions ( 1st and 3rd ) made up of four and three brigades for a total of seven brigades: two armored, two "intermediate", two light brigades (alpine and parachute) and
3599-511: Was because, unlike infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, which were organic, artillery units consisted of individually numbered batteries that were "brigaded" together. The commanding officer of such a brigade was a lieutenant colonel . In 1938, the Royal Artillery adopted the term "regiment" for this size of unit, and "brigade" became used in its normal sense, particularly for groups of anti-aircraft artillery regiments commanded by
3660-489: Was estimated to be as high as 350 divisions, but the Army ultimately settled on a 100-division plan. This relatively low number (compared to the high estimates) was partially due to the army's policy of assigning many combat units, particularly artillery and tank destroyer units, directly to corps and higher-level commands. These non-divisional units numbered approximately 1.5 million soldiers, enough personnel to man roughly 100 more divisions. The strategic philosophy
3721-432: Was that such units could be assigned to divisions on an as-needed basis, and would allow divisions to remain as mobile and flexible as possible. By the end of 1943, U.S. Army strength stood at more than 70 divisions. Allied gains in 1942 and 1943 resulted in a further contraction of U.S. mobilization, and the last wartime division, the 65th Infantry Division , was activated on 16 August 1943. In all, 91 divisions served in
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