Brigadier General

Brigadier General (sometimes known as a one-star general from the United States insignia) is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. The rank is often equivalent to the navy rank of Commodore (now Rear Admiral (lower half) in the United States Navy).

A Brigadier General generally commands a brigade, although this is not always the case.

The rank of Brigadier-General was abolished in the British Army in 1922. It was replaced initially by the rank of Colonel-Commandant, but this was seen as rather un-British and in 1928 was replaced by the rank of Brigadier. The old rank of Brigadier General has since been reintroduced in Canada and some other Commonwealth countries.

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.

Strictly speaking a Brigadier in the British Army is the highest field officer rank - hence the dropping of the word "general" from the rank - whereas a Brigadier General is the lowest general officer rank. In NATO rank equivalency, the ranks are considered equal.

In the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces that use similar ranks, the equivalent rank is Air Commodore.

In the Israeli 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).

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.

Some notable Brigadier Generals

• Kit Carson (US Army)
• Martin Dempsey (US Army)
• Janis Karpinski (US Army)
• Lee Hsien Loong (Singapore Army)

See also

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

Missing image Us_flag_large.png Flag of the United States U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10
United_States_Navy:	Midn	Ens	LtJG	Lt	LCdr	Cdr	Capt	RAdm (lower)	RAdm (upper)	VAdm	Adm	Fleet Admiral
United_States_Marine_Corps:	Midn	2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	(no equivalent)
United_States_Army:	Cdt	2Lt	1Lt	Cpt	Maj	LtC	Col	Brig Gen	MGen	LtGen	Gen	General of the Army
United_States_Air Force:	C/	2Lt	1Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force

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See also: Brigadier General, 1922, 1928, Admiral, Air Commodore, Air force, Australian Imperial Force (1st), Brigade, Brigadier