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brigadier general
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A comparison chart displays the officer rank insignias for the United States Army, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, Navy, and Coast Guard, with each rank represented by its corresponding badge, bar, leaf, eagle, or star symbols. A chart displaying the hierarchy of United States Army operational units, from squad to field army, with each unit's typical size, structure, and the rank insignia of the commanding officer listed alongside.
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A comparison chart displays the officer rank insignias for the United States Army, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, Navy, and Coast Guard, with each rank represented by its corresponding badge, bar, leaf, eagle, or star symbols.
Military rank insignias Rank insignias of U.S. military officers.

brigadier general

military rank
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A chart displaying the hierarchy of United States Army operational units, from squad to field army, with each unit's typical size, structure, and the rank insignia of the commanding officer listed alongside.
military unitChart depicting the average size of army operational units and the ranks of their corresponding commanding officers.

brigadier general, military rank just above that of colonel. In both the British and U.S. armies of World War I, a brigadier general commanded a brigade. When the British abolished the brigade, they discontinued the rank of brigadier general but revived it as plain brigadier in 1928. In the U.S. and French military services, the brigadier general is the lowest-ranking general officer.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.