Brigade combat team

The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army.

[4] In this program, divisions that previously had not deployed individual brigades due to a lack of integral support have now been restructured.

Also, most units typically maneuver in HMMWVs when deployed and operate as "motorized infantry" to facilitate speed of movement.

The Infantry BCT can conduct entry operations by ground, air, and amphibious means.

[4] Note: OCONUS (Hawaii, Alaska and Italy) based BCTs only have two infantry battalions The Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) is a mechanized infantry force structured around the Stryker eight-wheeled variant of the General Dynamics LAV III.

It is designed around combined arms battalions (CABs) that contain both M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).

[4] An ABCT includes 87 Abrams, 152 Bradley IFVs, 18 M109 self-propelled howitizers and 45 armed M113 vehicles.

The range of the Abrams limits the brigade to 330 km (205 miles), requiring fuel every 12 hours.

In 2021 the US Army announced its Waypoint 2028 program which saw the force begin to shift its doctrinal and organizational focus towards what it called Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO).

Armored Brigade Combat teams received some of the most sweeping changes to their organization as their parent divisions were reorganized to be the central component in any attack.

[14] In April 2023 the Army would release its newly formed divisional templates and BCT organizations.

Armored brigades will also have their organic artillery shifted up to the divisional level so that they can be more effective concentrated across the entire engagement front.

Brigade Signals Company The U.S. Army planned to implement elements of the BCT Modernization program in 2010.

[23] Army National Guard brigade combat teams have the same TOE as active duty component BCTs.