Hi Fred,

Wondering what you mean by "deputy commander." Never came across that title in 23 years of service. Was he the Executive Officer of the unit?

It's been over 30 years, but my last stateside post was commanded by a major general. His second-in-command was a brigadier, and was referred to as the Deputy Commanding General (usually just as 'The DCG'). I assumed that above a certain rank, the number two was referred to as a deputy commander, rather than as an XO. Someone with more recent service than mine might be able to clarify this further.

Boomer

Deputy Commanders have been traditionally found in Separate Brigade / Armored Cavalry Regiment sized units and higher. The reason for these positions is that the span of control becomes too great for the Commander to maintain. At lower levels, the XO and S-3 can act as deputy commanders, but the physical area of responsibility was small enough that the Commander could have command of the entire area. At the Brigade level, that span becomes unmanageable. In a BDE, the DCO would tacitally be considered the rear commander (or support). At Division level, there are typically two DCOs; the ADC(M) and the ADC(S).