A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force.[1] The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given.
The term "general" is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer; and as a specific rank. Since the late twentieth century, the rank of general is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war.
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The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers are known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers. All officers who commanded more than a single regiment came to be known as "general officers". The word "general" is used in its ordinary sense in English (and other languages) as relating to larger, general, military units, rather than smaller units in particular.
There are two common systems of general ranks.
Variations of one form, the old European system, were once used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom (although it did not originate there), from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America. The general officer ranks are named by prefixing "general", as an adjective, with field officer ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled field marshal or marshal.
The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.
Old European system
| Field marshal or general field marshal |
| Colonel general |
| General or captain general |
| Lieutenant general |
| Sergeant major general or major general |
| Brigadier or brigadier general |
The system used either a brigadier general rank, or a colonel general rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.)
The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank, while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank. Many countries (notably pre-revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America) actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia. (Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks.)
In some nations (particularly in the Commonwealth), the equivalent to brigadier general is brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of brigadier general for comparative purposes. Unlike other general officers, the brigadier general rank is not derived from a field rank of brigadier.
The rank of major general is a shorter form of sergeant major general, and is lower than lieutenant general as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, although outranked by a major.
French (Revolutionary) system
| Marshal |
| Army general |
| Corps general |
| Divisional general |
| Brigade general |
More information about this system can be found on the page: général.
Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks:
In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of most senior chaplain, chaplain general, is also considered to be a general officer rank.
In the Old European system, a general, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above lieutenant general and directly below field marshal. Usually it is the most senior peace-time rank, with more senior ranks (for example, field marshal) being used only in wartime, or as honorary titles.
In some armies, however, the rank of captain general, general of the army, army general or colonel general occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full general or to a field marshal.
The rank of general came about as a "captain-general", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of captain-general began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "captain-general" contracted to just "general".
The following articles deal with the rank of general, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries.
Some countries (such as the United States) use the general officer ranks for both the army and the air force; others only use the general officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use air officers as the equivalent of general officers. They use the air force rank of air chief marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of general. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and those based on it (e.g., India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nigeria, etc.).
In most navies, flag officers are the equivalent of general officers, and the naval rank of admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of general. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank "general at sea". In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use flag officer and flag rank to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.