Editing Brigade (section)

====Army====
{{main|Brigade (United States Army)}}
In the [[United States Army]], a brigade is smaller than a [[Divisions of the United States Army|division]] and roughly equal to or a little larger than a [[Regiment (United States Army)|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<ref>{{cite book|author=John J. McGrath|title=The Brigade: A History-Its Organization and Employment in the U.S. Army|publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press|place=Fort Leavenworth, KS|date=2004|page=17}}</ref> 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.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

More recently, the U.S. Army has [[Transformation of the United States Army|moved]] to a new generic [[brigade combat team]] (BCT) in which each brigade contains combat elements and their support units. After the [[Transformation of the United States Army#2013 reform|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, [[United States Army Reserve|U.S. Army Reserve]], and the Army [[National Guard (United States)|National Guard]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

The brigade commander 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 (military)|division]], were commanded by brigadier generals.<ref>'' The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army'', Chapter 6, The Early Modern Brigade, 1958–1972, ROAD Brigades and Airmobile Brigades, p. 63 and Appendix 1, Divisional Versus Separate Brigades, p. 159. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120916224402/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/Brigade-AHistory.pdf] . Retrieved 21 December 2016.</ref>

A brigade commander has a headquarters and staff to assist them in commanding the brigade and its subordinate units. The typical staff includes:{{cn|date=March 2025}}

* a brigade [[executive officer]], usually a [[Major (rank)|major]]
* a brigade [[Sergeant major#United States Army|command sergeant major]]
* a personnel officer ([[S1 (military)|S1]]), usually a [[Major (rank)|major]]
* an intelligence officer ([[S2 (military)|S2]]), usually a major
* an operations officer ([[S3 (military)|S3]]), usually a major
* a logistics officer ([[S4 (military)|S4]]), usually a major
* a plans officer ([[S5 (military)|S5]]), usually a major
* a communications officer ([[S6 (military)|S6]]), usually a major
* a medical officer, usually a major
* a legal officer ([[Judge Advocate General's Corps|JAG]]), usually a major
* a brigade [[chaplain]], usually a major

In addition, the headquarters includes additional junior staff officers, [[non-commissioned officer]]s, and [[Enlisted rank|enlisted]] support personnel in the [[Military Occupational Specialty|occupational specialities]] of the staff sections; these personnel are ordinarily assigned to the brigade's [[headquarters and headquarters company]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

[[Functional brigade]]s are those from the combat support or combat service support arms.{{cn|date=March 2025}}