FEATURES Smaller and Swifter

Government Executive April 1, 2007

The Army's new building block is the brigade, a formation of 3,200 to 3,700 soldiers that replaced the more ponderous 20,000-soldier division that required extensive overhaul before it could be deployed to a combat zone. The smaller, self-contained brigades are designed to be more plug-and-play, with a uniform structure, and organized to perform a wide range of missions. The Army has three brigade types - heavy, Stryker and infantry. In Iraq, most are either heavy or Stryker brigades.

Heavy Brigade

3,700 Soldiers

1 Brigade troops battalion, including:

  • Civil affairs/psychological operations
  • Military police
  • Signals and communications troops
  • Intelligence company
  • UAV platoon (with 4 Shadow aerial drones)

1 Reconnaissance battalion and 2 combined arms battalions, providing the following maneuver elements:

  • 4 tank companies
  • 2 sniper sections
  • 4 mechanized infantry companies
  • 2 reconnaissance troops
  • 1 surveillance troop
  • 2 scout platoons
  • 2 mortar platoons
  • 2 engineer companies

Major equipment items:

  • 55 M1 Abrams tanks
  • 85 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
  • 14 120mm mortar carriers
  • 400 up-armored Humvees

    • 1 Fires battalion

    16 155mm self-propelled howitzers

    1 Support battalion

    Maintenance, medical and distribution companies (number per unit varies)

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    FEATURES Smaller and Swifter
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