Five-star rank is a now widely-used term derived from the United States military description for a general or admiral whose badge of rank is designated by five stars.[1] The rank is that of the most senior operational military commanders, and within NATO the rank is designated by the code OF-10.
Not all armed forces have such a rank, and in those that do the actual insignia of the "five-star ranks" may not contain five stars. For example: the insignia for the French OF-10 rank maréchal de france contains 7 stars; the insignia for the Portuguese marechal contains four gold stars; and many of the insignia of the ranks in Commonwealth of Nations contain no stars at all.
Typically, five-star officers hold the rank of admiral of the fleet, grand admiral, field marshal, general of the Army, marshal of the Air Force, general of the Air Force, and several other similarly named ranks. Five-star ranks are extremely senior - usually the highest ranks - and thus are very rare; as an active rank, the position exists only in a minority of countries and is usually held by only a very few officers during wartime. In times of peace, it is usually held only as a ceremonial rank.
Despite the rarity and seniority of five-star officers, the leadership of some countries have felt the requirement to propose, and in some cases to adopt, even more senior ranks such as generalissimo, generalissimus, reichsmarschall, first marshal of the empire, general of the armies, etc. These ranks are summarized in the highest military ranks article.
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Only one Australian born officer (Thomas Blamey) has held an Australian five-star rank (field marshal).[nb 2] HM King George VI and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh have held all three Australian five-star ranks in an honorary capacity, and have been the only holders of the Australian ranks of admiral of the fleet and marshal of the RAAF.
Around 1998, the Indian Air Force introduced gorget patches (or collar tabs) for their air officers. For marshals of the Indian Air Force (to date only Arjan Singh has attained this rank), the patches display five stars.[2]
The following ranks have never been awarded:
Marshal of Poland (Marszałek Polski) is a Polish Army five-star rank. There are today no living marshals of Poland, since this rank is bestowed only on military commanders who have achieved victory in war. Recently, however, the rank of four-star with modernized name generał has been introduced, and on August 15, 2002, was granted to Czesław Piątas, a retired former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Poland.
The insignia of British five-star commanders usually do not contain stars. An exception to this is the vehicle star plate, mounted on the front of a staff car, which displays five stars.[3]
Promotion to admiral of the fleet, field marshal and marshal of the Royal Air Force is now held in abeyance in peacetime.
Nine Americans have been promoted to five-star rank, one of them in two services. As part of the bicentennial celebration, George Washington was permanently made superior to any other five-star general/admiral with the title general of the armies effective on July 4, 1976.[nb 3]
• | Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy | 15 December 1944 |
• | General of the Army George Marshall | 16 December 1944 |
• | Fleet Admiral Ernest King | 17 December 1944 |
• | General of the Army Douglas MacArthur | 18 December 1944 |
• | Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz | 19 December 1944 |
• | General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower | 20 December 1944 |
• | General of the Army & Air Force Henry H. Arnold | 21 December 1944 & 7 May 1949 |
• | Fleet Admiral William Halsey, Jr. | 11 December 1945 |
• | General of the Army Omar Bradley | 20 September 1950 |
• | General of the Armies George Washington | 4 July 1976 * |
The timing of the first seven appointments was to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the Army and Navy services. In 1949, Arnold was honored by being made the first, and to date only, General of the Air Force. He is the only American to serve in a five-star rank in two of its military services.
* During the United States Bicentennial year, George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 passed on January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976. This restored Washington's position as the most senior U.S. military officer.
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