Brigadier is a rank in the British Army, Royal Marines, Australian Army, New Zealand Army, and several other armies, ranking above Colonel and immediately below Major-General. It was introduced in the British Army in 1928 to replace the short-lived appointment of Colonel-Commandant that had replaced the rank of Brigadier-General in 1922.

Brigadiers generally command brigades. Before 1922 the term "brigadier" was often used to refer to brigade commanders, and hence referred to brigadier-generals.

Brigadier is the most senior field rank and is therefore basically a senior Colonel, very much as a Commodore is to a Captain in the navy. Until shortly after the Second World War, it was only an appointment conferred on Colonels (as Commodore was an appointment conferred on naval Captains) and not a substantive rank. Although it is not a general officer rank, it is equivalent to Brigadier General in services which use that rank.

In Commonwealth and most Arabic-speaking countries (in which the rank is called Amid) the rank insignia comprises a crown (or national/presidential emblem in republics) with three stars (sometimes called "pips"), which are in Britain arranged in a triangle. A Brigadier's uniform is otherwise identical to that of a Colonel (Colonels have a crown/emblem with two stars).

In many French-speaking countries, some branches of the army (such as logistics or former cavalry units) and the gendarmerie use Brigadier for a rank equivalent to Caporal (Corporal), and Brigadier-chef for a rank equivalent to Caporal-chef. In the Police Nationale, variations (Sous-brigadier, Brigadier-chef and Brigadier-major) are used for all non-commissioned officers. Until 1788, a rank of Brigadier des armées ("Brigadier of the Armies") existed in the French Army, which was roughly the equivalent of a British Brigadier.

The Argentine Air Force uses the rank of Brigadier to denote flag/general-rank equivalent officers in much the same manner as the Army uses the term 'general' and the Navy 'admiral'. These ranks are in order of seniority: Brigadier General (4 star, equivalent to an Army Lieutenant General and a Navy Admiral), Brigadier Mayor (3-star, equivalent to a Division General and a Vice Admiral), and Brigadier (2-star, equivalent to a Brigade General and a Rear Admiral).

The Brazilian Air Force also uses Brigadier to denote flag/general-rank equivalent officer ranks. Brigadeiro is equivalent to Contra-Almirante (Rear Admiral) and General de Brigada (Brigadier-General), Major-Brigadeiro to Vice-Almirante (Vice-Admiral) and General de Divisão (Major-General), and Tenente-Brigadeiro to Almirante-de-Esquadra (Admiral) and General de Exército (Lieutenant-General).

Until 1973, the rank of Brigadier was also used in the Salvation Army. It ranked between Major and Lieutenant-Colonel.

source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia