Brigadier

Brigadier is a rank in the British Army, Royal Marines, Australian Army, New Zealand Army, and several other armies, ranking above Colonel and immediately below Major-General. It was introduced in 1928 to replace the short-lived appointment of Colonel-Commandant that had replaced the rank of Brigadier-General in 1922.

Related Topics:
Rank - British Army - Royal Marines - Australian Army - New Zealand Army - Colonel - Major-General - 1928 - Brigadier-General - 1922

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brigadiers generally command brigades. The term "Brigadier" was before 1922 often used to refer to brigadier-generals.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brigadier is the most senior field rank and is therefore basically a senior colonel, very much as a Commodore is to a Captain in the navy. Until shortly after the Second World War, it was only an appointment conferred on colonels (as commodore was an appointment conferred on naval captains) and not a substantive rank. Although it is not a general officer rank, it has been awarded the equivalent NATO status to a Brigadier General in services which use that rank.

Related Topics:
Commodore - Captain - Navy - Second World War - General - NATO - Brigadier General

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Commonwealth and most Arabic-speaking countries (in which the rank is called Amid) the rank insignia comprises a crown (or national/presidential emblem in republics) over three stars (sometimes called "pips") arranged in a triangular pattern. A brigadier's uniform is otherwise identical to that of a colonel (colonels have two stars).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In many French-speaking countries, some branches of the Army (such as logistics or former cavalry units), Police or Gendarmerie use Brigadier for a rank equivalent to Caporal (corporal). In the Police Nationale, variations (Sous-brigadier, Brigadier-chef and Brigadier-major) are used for all non-commissioned officers.

Related Topics:
Logistics - Cavalry - Corporal - ''Police Nationale'' - Non-commissioned officer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~