Lieutenant General (United States)
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- Please see "Lieutenant General" for other countries which use this rank
In the United States Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, a Lieutenant General may be referred to as a three-star general, named for the three stars worn on the uniform. The Naval equivalent is Vice Admiral. A Lieutenant General normally ranks immediately above a Major General and below a General.
For most of the first half of the 19th Century this rank, like that of full General, existed only on paper. Until the American Civil War, only one officer was ever promoted to this rank, Winfield Scott, an honorary, or brevet, promotion in 1855. George Washington was listed as a Lieutenant General on the Continental Army rolls after his death since he wore three stars, but his actual military title was General and Commander In Chief. The first full promotion to Lieutenant General did not take place until Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to that rank and elevated to Commanding General of the United States Army in 1864.[1]
An Army or Marine Corps Lieutenant General typically commands a corps-sized unit (20,000 to 45,000 soldiers), while an Air Force Lieutenant General commands a large Numbered Air Force consisting of several wings. Additionally, Lieutenant Generals of all services serve as high-level staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon, often as the heads of their departments.
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[edit] Famous American Lieutenant Generals
[edit] Historic usage
Listed in order of receiving the rank:
- George Washington, posthumously promoted to General of the Armies in 1976.
- Winfield Scott
- Ulysses S. Grant, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
- William Sherman, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
- Philip Sheridan, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
[edit] Modern usage
[edit] World War II
- Omar Bradley, commander of U.S. First Army and 12th Army Group, later promoted to full General
- Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., commander of U.S. Tenth Army, posthumously promoted to full General
- Mark Wayne Clark, commander of U.S. Fifth Army, later promoted to full General
- John Lesesne DeWitt, commander of U.S. Fourth Army and Army-Navy Staff College
- Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in World War II and commander of the U.S. 8th Air Force, 12th Air Force and 15th Air Force
- Hugh Aloysius Drum, commander of U.S. First Army
- Robert L. Eichelberger, commander of U.S. Ninth Army, later promoted to full General
- Lloyd Fredendall, commander of U.S. Second Army
- Leonard T. Gerow, commander of U.S. Fifteenth Army, later promoted to full General
- Leslie Groves, who ran the Manhattan Project
- Courtney Hodges, commander of U.S. First Army and U.S. Seventh Army, later promoted to full General
- Walter Krueger, commander of U.S. Sixth Army, later promoted to full General
- Ben Lear, commander U.S. Second Army and Army Ground Forces, later promoted to full General
- Lesley J. McNair, commander of Army Ground Forces, posthumously promoted to full General
- Alexander Patch, commander of U.S. Seventh Army, posthumously promoted to full General
- George S. Patton, commander of U.S. Third Army and U.S. Seventh Army, later promoted to full General
- William Hood Simpson, commander of U.S. Ninth Army, later promoted to full General
- Brehon B. Somervell, commander of Army Service Forces, later promoted to full General
- Lucian Truscott, commander of U.S. Fifth Army, later promoted to full General
- Walton Walker, Commander of XX Corps, and U.S. Eighth Army during the Korean War. Posthumously promoted to full General.
[edit] 1950s through 1980s; Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War
- Robert Sink, former Commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers), the XVIII Airborne Corps and the Strategic Army Corps.
- William Eldridge Odom, head of the National Security Agency under president Ronald Reagan, outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and warrantless wiretaping of US citizens.
[edit] Post Cold War
- Claudia Kennedy, first female lieutenant general in the US Army
- Ricardo Sanchez former Commander U.S. V Corps, former Commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq
- Samuel V. Wilson, Ranger Hall of Fame, Delta Force co-founder, former Commander of the 6th Special Forces, former Deputy to Director, Central Intelligence Agency, former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, former President of Hampden-Sydney College.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Note that the Confederate States Army had already been using the rank of "lieutenant general" for its corps commanders prior to the U.S. Army's adoption of the term. The two ranks were not synonymous. Dozens of men held the rank in the Confederate army, while eight men were full generals.
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O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 | O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 | O-11 (wartime only) |
Special Grade |
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| Navy: | MIDN/OC | ENS | LTJG | LT | LCDR | CDR | CAPT | RDML | RADM | VADM | ADM | FADM | Admiral of the Navy |
| Marine Corps: | Midn | 2ndLt | 1stLt | Capt | Maj | LtCol | Col | BGen | MajGen | LtGen | Gen | (no equivalent) | (no equivalent) |
| Army: | CDT/OC | 2LT | 1LT | CPT | MAJ | LTC | COL | BG | MG | LTG | GEN | General of the Army |
General of the Armies |
| Air Force: | Cadet | 2nd Lt | 1st Lt | Capt | Maj | Lt Col | Col | Brig Gen | Maj Gen | Lt Gen | Gen | General of the Air Force |
(no equivalent) |
| Coast Guard: | CDT | ENS | LTJG | LT | LCDR | CDR | CAPT | RDML | RADM | VADM | ADM | (no equivalent) | (no equivalent) |
