Brigadier general

In the first quarter of the 20th century, British and Commonwealth armies used the rank of brigadier general as a temporary appointment, or as an honorary appointment on retirement; in the 1920s this practice changed to the use of brigadier, which was not classed as a general officer.

The rank of brigadier general (with some local variations) is used in the Argentine Air Force.

In the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, the rank of brigadier general was always temporary and held only while the officer was posted to a particular task, typically the command of a brigade.

This policy prevented an accumulation of high-ranking general officers brought about by the relatively high turnover of brigade commanders.

However, those holding the rank of brigadier general continued to do so throughout the inter-war period, until the last of them retired or was promoted during the Second World War.

A brigadier general was a general officer, but brigadiers were not generals, which is shown by the rank insignia being like that of a colonel, but with an extra (third) star/pip, and a brigadier wore the same gorget patches (scarlet cloth with a line of crimson gimp), cap badge (the Royal Crest in gold embroidery), and cap visor (one row of gold oakleaf embroidery) as a colonel.

The Belgian Army uses the rank of général de brigade (French) and brigadegeneraal (Dutch, 'brigade general').

However, in this small military there are no permanent promotions to this rank, and it is only awarded as a temporary promotion to a full colonel who assumes a post requiring the rank, notably in an international context (e.g. as military attaché in a major embassy).

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of brigadier-general (BGen) (brigadier-général or bgén in French) is a rank for members who wear army or air force uniform, equal to a commodore for those in navy uniform.

The rank insignia for a brigadier-general on air force uniforms is a single wide braid on the cuff, as well as a single silver maple leaf beneath crossed sabre and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, worn on the shoulder straps of the service dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms.

The rank insignia on army uniforms is a gold maple leaf beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, on the shoulder straps.

Army brigadier-generals wear gorget patches on the collar of the service uniform tunic.

Brigadier-generals are initially addressed verbally as "General" and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am" in English or "mon général" in French.

While the Chilean Air Force uses Comodoro for its one-star rank, two-star Air Force officers hold the rank of General de Brigada Aérea – literally 'air brigade general'.

During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries' drive to rationalise the state led to a change in the system of ranks.

The insignia are two stars, worn on the shoulder or at the sleeve of the uniform, depending on the order of dress.

However his initial authority as head of the Free French really came from being the only cabinet member (Under-Secretary of State for National Defence and War) outside occupied France, not from his military rank.

In 1926, the brigadiere generale and maggior generale in comando di brigata were merged and renamed with their current rank designation.The rank is also present in the other armed forces, police corps and other services of Italy, with different denominations, and it is associated with the lowest level within the government top management.

In the Portuguese Army and Air Force, brigadeiro-general is a temporary general rank for the colonels that have to exercise a special command.

Both tugay and tuğ- as military terms may owe their origins to the older Turkish word tuğ, meaning horsetail, which was used as a symbol of authority and rank in Ottoman and pre-Ottoman times.

The appointment was abolished in the Army and the Marines in 1921; the equivalent rank today is Brigadier.

Each brigadier general is appointed by the Executive with the approval of the Senate, in accordance with Article 168 of the Constitution of the Republic.