Mechanized Brigade (Portugal)

The Mechanized Brigade (Brigada Mecanizada) or BriMec is a mechanized infantry brigade in service with the Portuguese Army.

History
The Mechanized Brigade was created in 2006 from the Independent Mechanized Brigade (Brigada Mecanizada Independente), which was created from the 1st Independent Composite Brigade (1ª Brigada Mista Independente), which was itself the heir of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ª Divisão de Infantaria or Divisão Nun´Álvares) created and assigned to NATO in 1953.

Organization
The Mechanized Brigade ′differs from the army's other two brigades as its units aren't provided by regiments. All units of the Mechanized Brigade are part of the Mechanized Brigade at all times and are all based at the Santa Margarida Camp. The following units are part of the Mechanized Brigade:


 * Mechanized Brigade, in Santa Margarida
 * Command and Service Company (Companhia de Comando e Serviços)
 * Tank Group, (Grupo de Carros de Combate) with two squadrons of Leopard 2A6 and a squadron of M60 A3 TTS
 * 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, (1º Batalhão de Infantaria Mecanizada or 1º BIMec) with M113 armored personnel carrier
 * 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, (2º Batalhão de Infantaria Mecanizada or 2º BIMec) with M113 armored personnel carrier
 * Field Artillery Group, (Grupo de Artilharia de Campanha or GAC) with |M109A5 155mm self-propelled howitzers
 * Reconnaissance Squadron, (Esqudrão de Reconhecimento or ERec)
 * Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery, (Bateria de Artilharia Anti-Aérea or BtrAAA) with MIM-72A3 Chaparral surface-to-air missiles
 * Engineer Company, (Companhia de Engenharia or CEng)
 * Signal Company, (Companhia de Transmissões or CTrms)
 * Service Support Battalion, (Batalhão de Apoio de Serviços or BApSvcs)

Equipment
The core equipment of the brigade are Leopard 2A6 tanks, M-113 armored personnel carrier and M-109 self-propelled 155mm howitzer. The air-defence battery is equipped with MIM-72 Chaparral self-propelled surface-to-air missile system.