Infantry Brigade Combat Team

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Tactical sign of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team

An Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) is an infantry brigade ( Brigade Combat Team ) and a major unit of the US Army . This new unit concept was postulated for the first time in 1997 in the Army reform and should be fully implemented by 2009 at the latest. An IBCT corresponds to a modular infantry brigade, which also has all weapons of other branches of arms , such as reconnaissance, artillery and pioneers .

history

The implementation of this new brigade concept since 1997 should actually be completed by 2005, but should then be completed by 2009. The usual approval procedure as well as the military conflicts that were going on at the time led to delays in procurement. It led and leads not only to a standardization of the individual combat brigades within the divisions , but also to a reduction in "frictional losses" in the command structure and in the flow of information between the individual branches of the military within the major military unit. By streamlining the communication channels, for example through its own reconnaissance and fire support elements within the brigade, target setting and combat strength were optimized so that parts of the support elements could also be saved. The only combat support the division still needs from outside is that of the Air Force or the US Navy .

organization

Structure of an IBCT

An IBCT is an integral part of either a tank or an infantry division of the Army. The separation into different division types ( tanks , armored infantry and infantry) will de facto be abolished by 2009 as a result of the implementation of the army reform and will then only exist for reasons of tradition. Each US division will have at least four Brigade Combat Teams , one Army Aviation Brigade , one Artillery Brigade (Fires Brigade) and one support brigade .

At the same time, this new concept will standardize the infantry brigades. Every IBCT , regardless of which division, will have the same structure, equipment and combat strength. The same applies to the other two types of US combat brigades, the Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) and the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) .

An Infantry Brigade Combat Team is the smallest type of combat brigade in the Army with around 3,300 soldiers. The different genres Infantry of the US Army, as Light (light infantry) , Luftsturm- (air assault) and airborne infantry (airborne) , all have the same composition. An IBCT has three combat battalions , consisting of two infantry and one reconnaissance battalion and three support battalions, namely an artillery battalion (Fires Battalion) , a brigade special troops battalion (Brigade Special Troops Battalion) and a logistics battalion (Support Battalion) .

composition

  • Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition squadron (RSTA) , consisting of two motorized reconnaissance companies with HMMWVs with LRAS equipment, a scout company and a support platoon with sensors.
  • Two Infantry Battalions (infantry battalions consisting of three infantry companies and a combat support company with a mortar, reconnaissance and three motorized anti-tank platoons and a sniper group ).
  • Fires Battalion (artillery battalion) consisting of two 155 mm howitzer batteries, a fire control train and a target reconnaissance train.
  • Support Battalion (logistics battalion ) with three replenishment, one repair, one transport and one medical company.

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