Brigadier general

Brigadier General (sometimes known as a one-star general from the United States insignia) is the lowest rank of general officer in some countries, usually ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General.

Argentina

The rank of Brigadier General (with some local variations) is used on both the Argentine Army and the Argentine Air Force. In both cases, the use of the rank is different from that of other military forces of the world.

The Army's rank of General de Brigada can be translated as Brigadier General, although a more exact translation would be "General of Brigade". It should be noted that General de Brigada is actually a two-star general rank, as the one-star rank in the Argentine Army is the rank of Coronel Mayor (Senior Colonel).

Unlike other armed forces, the rank of Brigadier General is actually the highest rank in the Argentine Air Force, roughly equal to a four-star General in other services. This is due to the use of the rank of Brigadier and its derivatives to designate general-rank officers in the Air Force. The rank of Brigadier General is reserved to the Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, as well as the Chief of the Joint General Staff if he should be an Air Force officer.

Australia

In the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, the rank of Brigadier-General was always temporary and held only while the officer was posted to a particular task, typically the command of a brigade. When posted elsewhere, the rank would be relinquished and the former rank resumed. This policy prevented an accumulation of high-ranking general officers brought about by the relatively high turnover of brigade commanders.

As in the United Kingdom, the rank was later replaced by Brigadier.

Belgium

The Belgian Army uses the rank of Général de brigade (French) and Brigadegeneraal (Dutch). However, in this small military there are no permanent promotions to this rank, and it is only awarded as a temporary promotion to a full Colonel who assumes a post requiring the rank, notably in an international context (e.g. as Military Attaché in a major embassy such as Washington, D.C.).

Canada

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of Brigadier-General (BGen) (Brigadier-général or Bgén in French) is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a Commodore of the Navy. A Brigadier-General is the lowest rank of General Officer, the Army and Air Force equivalent of a Naval Flag Officer. A Brigadier-General is senior to a Colonel or Naval captain, and junior to a Major-General or Rear-Admiral.

The rank insignia for a Brigadier-General is a single gold maple leaf beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, worn on the shoulder straps of the Service Dress tunic, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The Service Dress tunic also features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.

Brigadier-Generals are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". Brigadier-Generals are normally entitled to staff cars.

Germany

The equivalent modern German rank is Brigadegeneral. The concept of a Brigadier General rank is relatively new, as prior to 1950 the lowest German General Officer rank was Generalmajor, which was often considered equivalent to Brigadier General in other armies.

Greece

Main article: Taxiarkhos

Israel

In the Israel Defense Forces, the rank of Brigadier General is called Tat Aluf and is the third highest rank, below Aluf (Major General) and Rav Aluf (Lieutenant General or General), and above Aluf Mishne (Colonel).

Korea

File:SouthKorea1Star.jpg

The rank of Brigadier General is known in South Korea as Chunjang and is a direct equivalent to the United States one star rank, with very similar insignia. The military of North Korea does not technically maintain a Brigadier General rank, but the first rank of Major General (Sojang) displays one star as its insignia and is the effective equivalent.

Myanmar (Burma)

File:Du-bo-mhugyoke.gif

The rank of Brigadier General is known in Myanmar as Du Bo Mhu Gyoke and is often the commander of one of Myanmar's Regional Military Commands, commander of the light infantry division or Military Operation Commands. In civil service, Brigadier General often hold the office of deputy minister or director general of certain ministries.

Poland

Prior to 2002, the Polish rank of Generał brygady was equivalent to both the ranks of Major General and Brigadier General.

United Kingdom

The rank of Brigadier-General was abolished in the British Army and Royal Marines in 1922. It was replaced initially by the appointment of Colonel-Commandant, but this was seen as unsatisfactory and in 1928 was replaced by the appointment of Brigadier (which became a conventional rank after World War II). The old rank of Brigadier General has since been reintroduced in Canada and some other Commonwealth countries.

Brigadier is the highest field officer rank (hence absence of the word "general"), whereas Brigadier-General was the lowest general officer rank. However, the two ranks are considered equal.

The equivalent naval rank is Commodore and the equivalent Air Force rank is Air Commodore.

United States

US Brigadier General insignia

The rank of Brigadier General has existed in the United States armed forces since the American Revolutionary War. A Brigadier General was at first strictly an infantry officer who commanded a brigade, but the responsibilities of the rank drastically expanded throughout the 19th and 20th century.

The rank was the equivalent to the United States Navy rank of Commodore, which later became known as Rear Admiral (Lower Half). The insignia for a Brigadier General is one silver star worn on the shoulder or collar, with the insignia unchanged dating back to the creation of the rank some two centuries ago.

Since the Mexican-American War, however, the lower rank of Colonel has been the normal rank appointed to command a brigade.

Today, an Army or Marine Corps Brigadier General typically serves as Deputy Commander to the Commanding General of a division or division-sized units and assists in overseeing the planning and coordination of a mission.

Brigadier General has been shortened to just Brigadier still being a very senior officer.

List of notable Brigadier Generals

• Benedict Arnold (Continental Army/British Army)
• Kit Carson (US Army)
• Martin Dempsey (US Army)
• Charles de Gaulle (President of France)
• Reginald Dyer (Indian Army)
• David Fraser (Canadian Forces)
• Janis Karpinski (US Army)
• Lee Hsien Loong (Singapore Army)
• Jonathan Moulton (New Hampshire Militia)
• Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (US Army)
• John Stark (Continental Army)
• James Stewart (U.S. Air Force (Reserve))
• Paul Tibbets (US Air Force)
• Chuck Yeager (US Air Force)*
• Avigdor Kahalani (Israeli Defence Force)*

* Yeager has been recommended by Congress to be promoted to the rank of Major General on the retired list, but has not been so promoted yet by President Bush.

See also

• wiktionary definition of General.
• Comparative military ranks
• Generał brygady
• U.S. Army officer rank insignia
• British Army officer rank insignia
• Military unit