Brigadier

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Sidebar/configuration' not found. Brigadier (/ˌbrɪɡəˈdɪər/ Script error: No such module "Respell".) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In other countries, it is a non-commissioned rank.

Origins and history

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The word and rank of "Brigadier" originates from France. In the French Army, the Brigadier des Armées du Roi (Brigadier of the King's Armies) was a general officer rank, created in 1657. It was an intermediate between the rank of Mestre de camp and that of Maréchal de camp.

The rank was first created in the cavalry at the instigation of Marshal Turenne on June 8, 1657, then in the infantry on March 17, 1668, and in the dragoons on April 15, 1672. In peacetime, the brigadier commanded his regiment and, in maneuvers or in wartime, he commanded two or three - or even four - regiments combined to form a brigade (including his own, but later the rank was also awarded to lieutenant-colonels, which allowed for the promotion of an officer who did not have his own regiment).

Before the rank of brigadier of the armies was dissolved in 1788, it was materialized by the wearing of a single star. And when it was abolished that year, the number of stars of its immediate superiors was not modified, which explains why today French generals have one more star on their insignia than their foreign counterparts (notably American).

Note that the rank of "Chef de brigade" created during the French Revolution replaced that of Colonel. A brigade commander then commanded... a half-brigade (a name that replaced the regiment).

The rank of Brigadier of the Armies reappeared during the Third Republic. It designates a colonel, experienced as a regimental commander, who has under his command several regiments without having the annexed units that would make this group a brigade. The army brigadier wears the colonel's uniform and insignia. The rank was definitively abolished in 1945.

Until 1788, a rank of Script error: No such module "Lang". ("brigadier of the armies"), which could be described as a senior colonel or junior brigade commander, was used in the French Army. The normal brigade command rank was field marshal (Script error: No such module "Lang".) (which elsewhere is a more senior rank). During the French Revolution, the ranks of Script error: No such module "Lang". and Script error: No such module "Lang". were replaced by brigade general (Script error: No such module "Lang".).

In common with many countries, France now uses the officer rank of brigade general (Général de brigade) instead of a "brigadier" rank. The Script error: No such module "Lang". held a one-star insignia,[1] while the Script error: No such module "Lang". inherited the Script error: No such module "Lang". two-stars insignia. The disappearance of the Script error: No such module "Lang". rank is the reason that there is no one-star insignia in the French Army.

The rank of Script error: No such module "Lang". is still nonetheless used in some regiments as an equivalent of corporal. By extension, this also applies to the Script error: No such module "Lang"., equivalent in rank to a corporal in the infantry.[2]

NATO code

While the rank is used in a number of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country.

NATO code Country[3] English equivalent
UK US
Officers
OF-6 Norway, Slovenia Brigadier Brigadier general
OF-5 Croatia Colonel
Other ranks
OR-8 Spain Warrant officer class 2 Master sergeant
OR-3 France Lance corporal Private first class

General officer rank

Senior officer rank

British tradition

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In many countries, especially those formerly part of the British Empire, a brigadier is either the highest field rank or most junior general appointment, nominally commanding a brigade. It ranks above colonel and below major general.

The rank is used by the British Army, the Royal Marines, the Australian Army, the Bangladesh Army, the Indian Army, the Sri Lankan Army, the New Zealand Army, the Pakistan Army and several others. Although it is not always considered a general officer rank, it is always considered equivalent to the brigadier general and brigade general rank of other countries. In NATO forces, brigadier is OF-6 on the rank scale.

"The grade of brigadier-general, also called, almost interchangeably, brigadier, first appeared in the British army during the reign of King James II. A warrant of 1705 placed the grade directly below major-general, but the appointment was always considered temporary and not continuous. The British were ambiguous over whether the holder was considered a general officer or a senior field grade office".[9]

The title is derived from the equivalent British rank of brigadier-general, used until 1922 and still used in many countries. "Brigadier" was already in use as a generic term for a commander of a brigade irrespective of specific rank. Until the rank was dissolved in 1922, brigadier-generals wore a crossed sword and baton symbol on its own.

From 1922 to 1928, the British rank title used was that of colonel-commandant, with one crown and three 'pips', a rank which, although reflecting its modern role in the British Army as a senior colonel rather than a junior general, was not well received and was replaced with brigadier after six years. Colonel-commandant was only ever used for officers commanding brigades, depots or training establishments. Officers holding equivalent rank in administrative appointments were known as "colonels on the staff", also replaced by brigadier in 1928. Colonel-commandants and colonels on the staff wore the same rank badge later adopted by brigadiers.[10]

Until shortly after World War II, brigadier was an appointment conferred on colonels (as commodore was an appointment conferred on naval captains) rather than a substantive rank.[10]

In Commonwealth countries, and most Arabic-speaking countries (in which the rank is called Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "lang".), the rank insignia comprises a crown (or some other national symbol) with three stars[a] (sometimes called "pips") which are often arranged in a triangle. A brigadier's uniform may also have red gorget patches. It is otherwise similar to that of a colonel (a colonel's rank insignia having a crown/emblem with two stars or "pips".)[citation needed]

The Canadian Army used the rank of brigadier (following British tradition, with identical insignia) until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. The rank then became brigadier-general with the insignia of St. Edward's Crown surmounting a crossed sword and baton over one gold maple leaf.[citation needed]

Spain

The rank of a brigadier[11] was established by Philip V in 1702 as an intermediate rank between colonel and true generals. In some Iberoamerican republics (see below), the rank survived after independence. In Spain, brigadiers came to be considered full generals in 1871, and in 1889 they were renamed Script error: No such module "Lang".. The historical rank is distinct from the current NCO rank of Script error: No such module "Lang"., although sometimes translators confuse the two. The name has survived as a cadet rank at the Spanish Naval Academy.

Latin America

Many countries in South and Central America were formerly Spanish or Portuguese (Brazil) possessions. Brigadier [-general] is used in Latin America, in the normal sense of brigade commander rank (e.g. Colombia, Chile), although most Latin American nations instead use the rank of brigade general. In Mexico, brigadier general is the rank below brigade general, both ranks falling between colonel and divisional general.

However, both the Argentine and Brazilian Air Forces use a curious system of variations on brigadier for all (Argentina) or most (Brazil) general officers. The origin of this system is not entirely clear, but in the case of Argentina may be due to army air units being commanded by brigade generals before the establishment of the Air Force as an independent armed force.

Junior officer rank

United Kingdom

In the UK, brigadier and sub-brigadier were formerly subaltern ranks in the Royal Horse Guards.[31][when?]

Non-commissioned rank

Brigadier also exists as a non-commissioned rank. This usage derives from the use of "brigade" to denote a squad or team, similar to the occasional English civilian usage "work brigade".

France

Military

In France, and some countries whose forces were structured based on the method used in France, some branches of the army and the gendarmerie[2] use Script error: No such module "Lang". for a rank equivalent to Script error: No such module "Lang". (corporal), and Script error: No such module "Lang". for a rank equivalent to Script error: No such module "Lang".. Brigadier is used by arms of the army that are by tradition considered "mounted" arms, such as logistics or cavalry units. A similar usage exists elsewhere.

In the French gendarmerie, the brigadier ranks are used as in the army, i.e. as junior enlisted ranks (Script error: No such module "Lang".), while the French police use brigadier ranks as their sub-officer (Script error: No such module "Lang".) ranks. Since all professional police and gendarmes have sub-officer status in France, the gendarmerie brigadier ranks are rarely used, since they are used only by auxiliaries. On the other hand, the police brigadier ranks, which are used to indicate professional ranks, are common.

In the French gendarmerie and in "mounted" arms of the French army, the brigadier ranks are:

OR-4 OR-3
Army[32] Gendarmerie Army[32] Gendarmerie
Shoulder File:Army-FRA-OR-04b.svg File:France (Gendarmerie) OR-4.svg File:Army-FRA-OR-03.svg File:France (Gendarmerie) OR-3.svg
Camouflage File:France-Army-OR-4b LowVis.svg File:France (Gendarmerie) OR-4 Operational.svg File:France-Army-OR-3 LowVis.svg File:France (Gendarmerie) OR-3 Operational.svg
French Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".
English translation Chief brigadier Brigadier

National police

In the French National Police, the sub-officer variations are used for non-commissioned officers are:

  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (OR-6, equal to gendarmerie Script error: No such module "Lang".)
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (OR-8, equal to gendarmerie Script error: No such module "Lang".)
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (OR-9, equal to gendarmerie Script error: No such module "Lang".)
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (OR-9, equal to gendarmerie Script error: No such module "Lang".)

Indonesia

Template:Main article Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In the Indonesian National Police force, this rank is referred to as the Constable ranks in the regular police units. It is equivalent to the "sergeant" rank in the armed forces. This rank is the most junior rank in the regular police units of Indonesia but is above the enlisted ranks (Script error: No such module "Lang".) of the special police units such as in the Mobile Brigade corps and water police units. This rank is below the "Sub-inspector" (Script error: No such module "Lang".) ranks. The police Brigadier ranks are as shown below:

  • File:PDU BRIPKA KOM.png Script error: No such module "Lang"., abbreviated Script error: No such module "Lang". (Police Chief Brigadier)
  • File:PDU BRIG KOM.png Script error: No such module "Lang"., not abbreviated (Police Brigadier)
  • File:PDU BRIPTU KOM.png Script error: No such module "Lang"., abbreviated Script error: No such module "Lang". (Police Brigadier 1st class)
  • File:PDU BRIPDA KOM.png Script error: No such module "Lang"., abbreviated Script error: No such module "Lang". (Police Brigadier 2nd class)

In addition, Police Brigadier General (Script error: No such module "Lang".) and Brigadier General (Script error: No such module "Lang".) are general officer ranks in the Indonesian Police, Army and Marine Corps respectively.

Italy

In the Italian Script error: No such module "Lang". and Script error: No such module "Lang"., the ranks of vice-brigadier (Script error: No such module "Lang".), brigadier (Script error: No such module "Lang".), and chief brigadier (Script error: No such module "Lang".) correspond roughly to the army ranks based on sergeant. The rank of brigade general (Script error: No such module "Lang".) is used throughout the armed forces as the most junior general rank, and corresponds to the British rank title of brigadier.

Netherlands

Script error: No such module "Lang". is traditionally the most senior non-commissioned rank in the Dutch police, for example the National Police Corps (Script error: No such module "Lang".). Its predecessors also used this rank. The Royal Marechaussee (military police/gendarmerie) does not use this rank.

Spain

In Spain, a Script error: No such module "Lang". has a NATO rank code of OR-8 (and is thus a senior NCO). The Spanish rank Script error: No such module "Lang". is distinct from the Spanish-language brigadier [-general] used for senior officers in Latin America (and historically in Spain).

See also

Notes

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  1. ^ In Britain, Australia, and many other Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth countries, these are Order of the Bath stars.

References

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