The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...

of maneuver in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. A brigade combat team consists of one

combat arms Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery uni ...

branch maneuver

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

( O-6) although in some cases a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(O-7) may assume command. A brigade combat team contains

combat support In the United States Army, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the following areas * Chemi ...

and

combat service support The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...

units necessary to sustain its operations. BCTs contain organic

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

training and support, received from the parent

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

artillery (DIVARTY).Spc. Matthew Marcellus, 1st Armored Division (MAY 15, 2019) Agile and lethal: 4-27 Field Artillery conducts Table XVIII gunnery training May 7
accessdate=2019-08-11 There are three types of brigade combat teams: infantry, Stryker, and armored. Currently, the U.S. Army is structured around the brigade combat team. In this program, divisions that previously had not deployed individual brigades due to lack of integral support have now been restructured. The 1st Armored Division, 25th Infantry Division, etc. now have the ability to deploy one or more BCTs anywhere in the world. These BCTs are intended to be able to stand on their own, like a division in miniature. The soldiers assigned to a BCT will stay at their assignment for three years; this is intended to bolster readiness and improve

unit cohesion Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishmen ...

Infantry brigade combat team

The infantry brigade combat team, as of 2014, contains 4,413 soldiers and is organized around three

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s of infantry. Each type of brigade (

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

airborne infantry Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in air ...

) has the same basic organization. Each infantry brigade is equipped and capable of

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

operations. Also, most units typically maneuver in HMMWVs when deployed and operate as "

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

" to facilitate speed of movement. The Infantry BCT can conduct entry operations by ground, air, and amphibious means. The infantry brigade combat team consists of seven battalions: one cavalry (reconnaissance) battalion, one

brigade support battalion A brigade support battalion (BSB) is a combat service support battalion of the United States Army. A BSB is an organic part of a brigade combat team (BCT), providing self- sustainment to the BCT for up to 72 hours of high-intensity combat before re ...

, one engineer battalion, three infantry battalions and one field artillery (fires) battalion.

Infantry battalion (×3)

Note:

OCONUS The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

(Hawaii, Alaska and Italy) based BCTs only have two infantry battalions * Headquarters and headquarters company *

Rifle company A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. ...

(×3) *

Weapons company A weapons company, sometimes called a manoeuvre support company, is a company (military), company-sized military unit attached to an infantry battalion to support the rifle companies of the battalion. It usually possesses some combination of machine ...

Cavalry squadron

* Headquarters and headquarters troop * Mounted cavalry troop (×2) * Dismounted cavalry troop

Field artillery (fires) battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters battery **

Target acquisition Target acquisition is the detection and identification of the location of a target in sufficient detail to permit the effective employment of lethal and non-lethal means. The term is used for a broad area of applications. A "target" here is an e ...

platoon *

M119 The M119 howitzer is the American version of the British L119 light gun, a lightweight British 105 mm howitzer also used by the United States Army. The M119 is typically towed by the M1097 or M1152 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehic ...

105mm towed howitzer battery (×2) * M777A2 155mm towed howitzer battery

Brigade engineer battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters company *

Combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare ta ...

company (×2) * Signal network support company *

Military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

company

Brigade support battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters company * Distribution company * Field maintenance company * Medical company ** Headquarters platoon ** Treatment platoon **

Medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

platoon * Forward support company (

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

) * Forward support company (

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

) * Forward support company (

) (×3) * Forward support company (

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

)

Stryker brigade combat team

The Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) is a

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

force structured around the

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It ...

eight-wheeled variant of the

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

LAV III The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the LAV (Canada), Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, O ...

. A full Stryker brigade was intended to be

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

air transportable into

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

within 96 hours, while a division-sized force is expected to need 120 hours. The Stryker brigade is an organic

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

unit of lightly-armored, medium-weight wheeled vehicles, and is organized differently from the infantry or armored brigade combat teams. The Stryker brigades are being used to implement

network-centric warfare Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations or net-centric warfare, is a military doctrine or theory of war that aims to translate an information advantage, enabled partly by information technology, into a competitive advantag ...

doctrines, and are intended to fill a gap between the United States' highly mobile light infantry and its much heavier armored infantry. The team also receives training in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (

CBRN defense Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfare, biological, radiological warfare, radiological or nuclear warfare, nucle ...

). Each Stryker brigade combat team consists of three infantry battalions, one reconnaissance (cavalry) squadron, one fires (artillery) battalion, one brigade support battalion, one brigade headquarters and headquarters company, and one brigade engineer battalion. A Stryker brigade is made up of more than 300 Stryker vehicles and 4,500 soldiers. Starting in 2015, the anti-tank company was reflagged from the brigade engineer battalion to the cavalry squadron, to form a weapons troop—also incorporating the mobile gun systems from the infantry battalions.

Infantry battalion (×3)

* Headquarters and headquarters company *

Infantry company A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a Captain (armed forces), captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, u ...

(

) (×3)

Cavalry squadron

* Headquarters and headquarters troop * Cavalry troop (Stryker) (×3) * Weapons troop (9 ×

ATGM An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

)

Field artillery (fires) battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters battery **

platoon * M777A2 155mm towed howitzer battery (×3)

Brigade support battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters company * Distribution company * Field maintenance company * Medical company * Forward support company (reconnaissance) * Forward support company (engineer) * Forward support company (infantry) (×3) * Forward support company (field artillery)

Brigade engineer battalion

* Headquarters and headquarters company *

company * Engineer support company * Signal company *

company

Stryker vehicles

M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle The M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) is an armored personnel carrier and part of the Stryker family of vehicles (derived from the Canadian LAV III/Swiss MOWAG Piranha IIIH 8x8) used by the United States Army and Royal Thai Army. Models with t ...

M1127 Reconnaissance Vehicle The M1127 Reconnaissance Vehicle is a wheeled armored personnel carrier in the Stryker family. It is in service with the US Army. General The RV provides an effective platform for RSTA Squadrons and battalion scouts to perform reconnaissance and ...

M1128 Mobile Gun System The M1128 Mobile Gun System (MGS) is an eight-wheeled armored car of the Stryker armored fighting vehicle family, mounting a 105 mm tank gun, based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems for ...

armed with 105 mm overhead gun for direct fire *

M1129 Mortar Carrier The M1129 Mortar Carrier is an 8×8 wheeled armored mortar carrier of the Stryker family of combat vehicles produced by General Dynamics Land Systems. It is in use with the United States Army. Models with the double V-hull upgrade are known as th ...

armed with a mounted 120 mm and a dismountable 81 or 60 mm Mortar * M1130 Command Vehicle *

M1131 Fire Support Vehicle The Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) of the Stryker series provides automated enhanced surveillance, target acquisition, target identification, target tracking, target designation, position location and communications functionality. Targets will be tra ...

(FSV) with targeting and surveillance sensors *

M1132 Engineer Support Vehicle M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicle (ESV) is the combat engineering variant of the Stryker wheeled armored fighting vehicle. It is issued to combat engineer squads in the US Army Stryker brigade combat teams. Models with the double V-hull upgrade are kno ...

(ESV) *

M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicle The Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV) are assigned from the Battalion Aid Station for Battalion-sized units, and dedicated to each of the company-sized elements of the unit and provide treatment for serious injury and advanced trauma cases. Models ...

(MEV) *

M1134 Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle M1134 Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle is a U.S. anti-tank missile carrier that is an armored fighting vehicle from the Stryker family of vehicles. As the primary tank destroyer system of the US Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), the M113 ...

(ATGM) armed with a twin

TOW Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...

missile launcher. * M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBC RV)

Armored brigade combat team

The armored brigade combat team (ABCT) is the army's primary armored force. It is designed around combined arms battalions (CABs) that contain both

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...

tanks and

M2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which was formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed for ...

infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). Other vehicles, such as

HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

s and M113 armored personnel carrier, operate in a supporting role. In the future, it will also contain vehicles from the

Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is a U.S. Army program to replace the M113 armored personnel carrier and family of vehicles. AMPV is a sub-project of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle program. In 2014, the U.S. Army selected BAE Syst ...

and likely the

Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle The Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) is a U.S. Army program to replace the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. OMFV is one part of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle portfolio of programs. After the cancelation of the Ground Combat Veh ...

(OMFV). An armored brigade combat team consists of seven battalions: three combined arms battalions, one cavalry (reconnaissance) squadron, one artillery battalion, one engineer battalion and one

. As of 2014, the armored brigade combat team is the largest brigade combat team formation with 4,743 soldiers. Prior to 2012, the armored brigade combat team was named the heavy brigade combat team. An ABCT includes 87 Abrams, 152 Bradley IFVs, 18 M109s and 45 armed M113 vehicles. The operational cost for these combat systems is $66,735 per mile. The range of the Abrams limits the brigade to 330 km (205 miles), requiring fuel every 12 hours. The brigade can self-transport 738,100 L (195,000 gallons) of fuel, which is transported by 15 19,000 L (5,000 gal) M969A1 tankers and 48 9,500 L (2,500 gal) M978 tankers. Prior to 2016, the CAB contained two tank companies and two mechanized infantry companies. In 2016, the CAB was reorganized to have two variations; an "armored battalion" biased towards armor, with two tank companies and one mechanized infantry company, and a "mechanized infantry" battalion biased towards infantry, with two mechanized infantry companies and one tank company. The ABCTs thus adopted a "triangle" structure of two armored battalions and one mechanized infantry battalion. This resulted in an overall reduction of two mechanized infantry companies; the deleted armored company was reflagged to the cavalry squadron.

Pre-2016 organizational restructure for combined armor/infantry assets

Combined Arms Battalion (×3)

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) *

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

Company (×2) *

Mechanized Infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

Company (×2)

Post-2016 organizational restructure for combined armor/infantry assets

Armored Battalion (×2)

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company *

Company (×2) *

Company

Mechanized Infantry Battalion (×1)

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company *

Company *

Company (×2)

Cavalry Squadron

* Headquarters and headquarters troop * Cavalry Troop (×3) * Tank Company (×1)

Field Artillery Battalion

* Headquarters and Headquarters Battery **

Target Acquisition Target acquisition is the detection and identification of the location of a target in sufficient detail to permit the effective employment of lethal and non-lethal means. The term is used for a broad area of applications. A "target" here is an e ...

Platoon * M109 155mm

Self-propelled Howitzer Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

Battery (×3)

Brigade Engineer Battalion

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company * Military Intelligence Company * Signal Network Support Company * Combat Engineer Company (×2)

Brigade Support Battalion

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company * Distribution Company * Field Maintenance Company * Medical Company ** Headquarters Platoon ** Treatment Platoon **

Medical Evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

Platoon * Forward Support Company (

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

) * Forward Support Company (

Combined Arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

) (×3) * Forward Support Company (

) * Forward Support Company (

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

)

Modernization

The U.S. Army planned to implement elements of the

BCT Modernization The Brigade combat team Modernization was the United States Army's principal modernization program for Brigade combat teams (BCTs) from 2009–10. The program is the successor to Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United S ...

program in 2010. This program was planned to utilize elements from the

Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...

program that was canceled in early 2009. The program came in two segments. The first to be implemented would be the ''Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team Capability Package'' (Early IBCT Package), which would modernize infantry brigade combat teams. The second to be implemented would be the ''Follow-on Incremental Capabilities Package'', which could modernize all brigades.

Reorganization

After the 2013 reform's round of de-activations and downsizing, the below numbers represent the number of BCTs that will be left in the US Army's Active Component. (Numbers after the brigade re-organization in brackets) Combat brigades: 45 (32) * 17 (10) armored brigade combat teams * 8 (8) Stryker brigade combat teams * 20 (14) infantry brigade combat teams including airborne IBCTs In July 2015, the Army announced the reduction of 2 additional BCTs as part of ongoing reductions to an end strength of 450,000. In addition to the reduction, one active Stryker BCT will convert to an infantry BCT, and its vehicles will be used to convert an

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

BCT from armored to Stryker. In April 2017, the Army confirmed that the proposed downsizing of 4/25 (Airborne) BCT was being reversed, and the BCT retained. As of September 2018, the active duty component of United States Army consists of 31 brigade combat teams: * 14 infantry brigade combat teams (including airborne brigades) * 10 armored brigade combat teams * 7 Stryker brigade combat teams On 20 September 2018, the Army announced that the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division (1/1 AD) stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, will convert from a Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) to an armored brigade combat team (ABCT); and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division (2/4 ID) stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, will convert from an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) to a SBCT. The conversion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were planned to begin in the spring of 2019 and spring of 2020 respectively. With 25th Infantry Division Alaska's change to 11th Airborne Division in 2022, the Army will have one less Stryker Brigade and one more Infantry brigade, changing the total to 15 IBCT's and 6 SBCT's.

brigade combat teams have the same

TOE Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plan ...

as active duty component BCTs. As of September 2018, the Army National Guard consists of 27 BCTs: * 20 infantry brigade combat teams * 5 armored brigade combat teams * 2 Stryker brigade combat teams

References

{{reflist

Additional reading

FM 3–20.96 Reconnaissance and Cavalry Squadron

FM 3–21.20 The Infantry Battalion

FM 3–96 Brigade Combat Team

FM 3–90.61 The Brigade Special Troops Battalion
Brigade combat teams of the United States Army, 000 Tables of Organisation and Equipment

Infantry brigade combat team

Infantry battalion (×3)

Cavalry squadron

Field artillery (fires) battalion

Brigade engineer battalion

Brigade support battalion

Stryker brigade combat team

Infantry battalion (×3)

Cavalry squadron

Field artillery (fires) battalion

Brigade support battalion

Brigade engineer battalion

Stryker vehicles

Armored brigade combat team

Pre-2016 organizational restructure for combined armor/infantry assets

Combined Arms Battalion (×3)

Post-2016 organizational restructure for combined armor/infantry assets

Armored Battalion (×2)

Mechanized Infantry Battalion (×1)

Cavalry Squadron

Field Artillery Battalion

Brigade Engineer Battalion

Brigade Support Battalion

Modernization

Reorganization

See also

References

Additional reading