Brigade Combat Teams

Note: Brigades have long been an important organization within the structure of the Army’s divisions. However at the start of WWII they were eliminated from the Army divisions when the divisions were reorganized into a triangular configuration of three infantry regiments. In 1963 they were reinstituted when the Army’s infantry divisions were reorganized from five infantry battle groups to a configuration of three infantry brigades of three infantry battalions each. In 2004 the Army decided to move from a division-centric to a brigade-centric force. Unlike previous division organizations wherein subordinate units were assigned to the division, under the brigade-centric concept subordinate units are assigned to the brigades. As a result the brigades have been transformed into combined-arms brigade combat teams. It should further be noted that brigades containing a special troops battalion have just a brigade headquarters with the former brigade headquarters company becoming the headquarters and headquarters company of the special troops battalion.