UNITED STATES ARMY
UEx COMBAT DIVISIONS
Under the Army Transformation Plan combat divisions no longer possess a fixed organization. Instead they are headquarters units (in Army parlance Unit of Employment, X or UEx) capable of controlling up to four modular brigade combat teams (BCTs). Consequently the division headquarters and headquarters company was enlarged into a headquarters battalion with enhanced command and control, sustainment and security capabilities. The division artillery and division support command headquarters were abolished. The field artillery and support (logistics) battalions they once controlled became organic to the modular combat brigades, of which there are three types: the Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). (Prior to 2012 the Armored Brigade Combat team was called the Heavy Brigade Combat Team.) Various types of modular support brigades (Fires, Maneuver Enhancement, Battlefield Surveillance) may also be assigned to the division as required. Thus, for example, if a heavy (armor/mechanized) division force is required for a particular mission, the 1st Cavalry Division could deploy with two of its own ABCTs plus one SBCT from the Army National Guard, its Aviation Brigade, a Fires Brigade, a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and a Sustainment Brigade. Conversely, any of the division's brigades could be attached to some other division headquarters. (The Combat Aviation Brigade alone has preserved its traditional organization, due mainly to the need to keep specialized aviation logistics and maintenance resources centralized.) When not deployed the division headquarters is responsible for the training and readiness of its assigned brigades.Organizational Notes: When this section was created, the flags and guidons presented were based on division and brigade organizations as of 2012-13. Current plans call for the inactivation of some brigades and the realignment of some of their assets to the remaining brigades. For example the ABCTs and IBCTs will acquire a third combat battalion: a combined arms battalion (CAB) for the former and an infantry battalion for the latter. The FA battalions, originally organized with two eight-gun batteries, will receive additional weapons and be reconfigured with three six-gun batteries for a total of eighteen guns. The brigade special troops battalion (brigade troops battalion in SBCTs) will be reorganized as a Brigade Engineer Battalion. The brigade support battalions of the SBCTs, which predate UEx, will be augmented with the forward support companies they currently lack. The Army is also reactivating the division artillery (DIVARTY) headquarters to supervise the training and readiness of the FA battalions organic to the BCTs. In most cases this reactivation is accomplished by reflagging the fires brigade associated with the divisions. Finally, fires brigades have resumed their former designation and are once more known as field artillery brigades.In 2015 the separate modular sustainment brigades associated with divisions of the Active Army were reflagged as organic division sustainment brigades. In 2016 the combined arms battalions of the ABCTs were reconfigured and now there are two types: armor-heavy with two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company (battalion flagged to Armor), and infantry heavy with two mechanized infantry companies and one armor company (battalion flagged to Infantry). The redundant armor company in each ABCT was reflagged to the cavalry squadron as Troop D (Armor).In 2017, the division headquarters battalions were reorganized, the separate Signal Company being incorporated into the Intelligence & Sustainment Company to form a new SIS Company. See here for the original configuration of the headquarters battalions.The pages in this section are being progressively updated to reflect these changes. See here for the original configuration of the UEx combat brigades.Credit: I am grateful to Dave Fowler, who kindly provided much of the organizational information on which this section is based.See also US Army Modular Brigades.
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