General of the Army (United States)

General of the Army (GA)[1] is a five-star general officer and is the second highest possible rank in the United States Army. A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above General of the Army, does exist but has only been conferred twice in the history of the Army. A General of the Army ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a General of the Air Force. There is no established equivalent five-star rank in the other Federal uniformed services (Marine Corps, Coast Guard, PHSCC, and NOAA Corps). Often referred to as a "five-star general," the rank of General of the Army has historically been reserved for wartime use and is not currently active in the U.S. military.

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Post-American Civil War era

On July 25, 1866, the U.S. Congress established the rank of "General of the Army of the United States" for General Ulysses S. Grant. When appointed General of the Army, Grant wore the rank insignia of four stars and coat buttons arranged in three groups of four.

Unlike the World War II rank with a similar title, the 1866 rank of General of the Army was a four-star rank. This rank held all the authority and power of a 1799 proposal for a rank of "General of the Armies" even though Grant was never called by this title.

Unlike the modern four-star rank of general, only one officer could hold the 1866–1888 rank of General of the Army at any time.

After Grant became President, he was succeeded as General of the Army by William T. Sherman, effective March 4, 1869. In 1872, Sherman ordered the insignia changed to two stars with the coat of arms of the United States in between.

By an Act of June 1, 1888, the grade was conferred upon Philip Sheridan, who by then was of failing health. (The cover of Sheridan's autobiography was decorated with four stars within a rectangle evocative of the four-star shoulder strap worn by Grant.) The rank of General of the Army ceased to exist with Sheridan's death on August 5, 1888.

World War II era

The second version of General of the Army was created by Pub.L. 78-482 passed on 14 December 1944,[2] as a temporary rank, subject to reversion to permanent rank six months after the end of the war. The temporary rank was then declared permanent 23 March 1946 by Public Law 333 of the 79th Congress, which also awarded full pay and allowances in the grade to those on the retired list.[3] It was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts holding the rank of field marshal. The acts also created a comparable rank of fleet admiral for the Navy. This second General of the Army rank is not considered comparable to the American Civil War era version.

The insignia for General of the Army, as created in 1944, consisted of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army are:

      •   George Marshall 16 December 1944
      •   Douglas MacArthur 18 December 1944
      •   Dwight D. Eisenhower     20 December 1944
      •   Henry H. Arnold 21 December 1944
      •   Omar Bradley 22 September 1950

The timing of the first four appointments was coordinated with the appointments of the U.S. Navy's first three five-star fleet admirals (12/15/44: William D. Leahy, 12/17/44: Ernest J. King, 12/19/44: Chester W. Nimitz) to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the services.

Although briefly considered,[4] the US Army did not introduce a rank of field marshal. The United States traditionally uses the term "marshal" for a senior law enforcement officer, particularly the US Marshals, as well as formerly for state and local police chiefs. In addition, giving the rank the name "marshal" would have resulted in George Marshall being designated as "Field Marshal Marshall," which was considered undignified.[4][5][6][7]

Dwight Eisenhower resigned his Army commission on May 31, 1952 to run for president. After he served two terms, his successor, John F. Kennedy, signed Pub.L. 87-3 on March 23, 1961, which returned Eisenhower to Active Duty of Regular Army in grade of General of the Army dated back to December 1944.

This rank is today commemorated on the signs denoting Interstate Highways as part of the Eisenhower Interstate System, which display five silver stars on a light blue background.[8][9]

Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, a general in the Army, was the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces when he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. After the United States Air Force became a separate service on September 18, 1947, Arnold's rank was carried over to the Air Force, as all Army Air Force personnel, equipment, etc. also carried over. Arnold was the first and, to date, only General of the Air Force. He is also the only person to hold a five-star rank in two branches of the US Armed Forces.[10]

Modern use

There have been no officers appointed to the rank of General of the Army since Omar Bradley.[11] The rank of General of the Army is still maintained as a rank of the U.S. military, and could again be bestowed, most likely during a time of war, pending approval of the United States Congress. United States military policy since the creation of a fifth star in World War II has been to award it only when a commander of U.S. forces must be equal to or of higher rank than commanders of armies from another nation under his control.[12] However, Congress and the President may award a fifth star at any time they see fit.[13][14]

Although the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Omar Bradley, was eventually awarded a fifth star, the CJCS does not receive one by right, and Bradley's award was politically motivated so as to not allow his subordinate, Douglas MacArthur, to outrank him.[15][16]

In the 1990s, there were proposals in U.S. Department of Defense academic circles to bestow on the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a five-star rank.[17][18] [19]

At one time, after the conclusion of the Gulf War but before his tenure as Secretary of State, there had been some talk of awarding General Colin Powell, who had served as CJCS during the conflict, a fifth star. But even in the wake of public and Congressional pressure to do so,[13][20] Clinton-Gore presidential transition team staffers decided against it.[14][21][22]

As recently as the late 2000s, some commentators had proposed that the military leader in the War on Terror be promoted to a five-star rank.[23] In January 2011, the founders of the Vets for Freedom political advocacy group published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling for David Petraeus to be awarded a fifth star in recognition of his work and the importance of his mission.[24]

General of the Armies

Main article: General of the Armies

The rank of General of the Armies is considered senior to General of the Army, and has been bestowed on only two officers in history, John J. Pershing, in 1919 for his services in World War I, and George Washington for his service as the first Commanding General of the United States Army. (An equivalent rank, Admiral of the Navy, was given to George Dewey.)

When the five-star rank of General of the Army was introduced, it was decided that General Pershing (still living at the time) would be superior to all the newly-appointed Generals of the Army. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson was asked whether Pershing was therefore a five-star general (at that time the highest rank was a four-star general). Stimson stated:

It appears the intent of the Army was to make the General of the Armies senior in grade to the General of the Army. I have advised Congress that the War Department concurs in such proposed action.

Section 7 of Public Law 78-482 read: "Nothing in this Act shall affect the provisions of the Act of September 3, 1919 (41 Stat. 283: 10 U.S.C. 671a), or any other law relating to the office of General of the Armies of the United States."

George Washington was posthumously appointed to the rank of General of Armies in 1976 as part of the American Bicentennial celebrations. According to Public Law 94-479, General of the Armies of the United States is established as having "rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present," clearly making it distinctly superior in grade to General of the Army. Given the retroactive nature of the promotion, Washington will always be the seniormost general of the United States. During his lifetime, Washington was appointed a general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and a three-star lieutenant general in the Regular Army during the Quasi-War with France.

Equivalent ranks

Twin services

The rank of General of the Army is equivalent to the U.S. Air Force's rank of General of the Air Force and the U.S. Navy's rank of fleet admiral. None of the other uniformed services of the United States has an equivalent rank.

Foreign armies

In the British Army, the equivalent rank would be field marshal, although that rank is currently only ceremonial. Some other countries, such as France and Russia, would use the rank of marshal.

See also

References

  1. ^ Army Regutation 600-20 see table 1-1. http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_20.pdf. 
  2. ^ "Public Law 482". http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Public_Law_78-482. Retrieved 2008-04-29.  This law allowed only 75% of pay and allowances to the grade for those on the retired list.
  3. ^ "Public Law 333, 79th Congress". Naval Historical Center. April 11, 2007. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-6.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-22.  The retirement provisions were also applied to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, both of whom held four-star rank.
  4. ^ a b Leonard Mosley, Marshall, hero for our times (1982), 270, available at Google Books
  5. ^ Sydney Louis Mayer, The biography of General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur (1984), 70, available at Google Books
  6. ^ Eric Larrabee, Commander in chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his lieutenants, and their war (2004), 200, available at Google Books
  7. ^ Stuart H. Loory, Defeated; inside America's military machine (1973), 78, available at Google Books
  8. ^ "Eisenhower Military Ranks". Eisenhower Presidential Center. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20070612214526/http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/quick_links/military/ranks.html. Retrieved 2007-10-22. 
  9. ^ "Eisenhower Resigned as General". Eisenhower Presidential Center. http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Quick_links/Eisenhower_FAQ/Eisenhower_resigns_as_General_of_the_Army.html. Retrieved 2007-10-22. 
  10. ^ U.S. Army: Five-Star Generals
  11. ^ Uldrich, Jack (2005). Soldier, statesman, peacemaker: leadership lessons from George C. Marshall. p. 151. ISBN 9780814408575. http://books.google.com/books?id=tPBJ0jutpAoC&pg=PA151&dq=omar-bradley+was+the+last+five-star+general&hl=en&ei=ulljTa2iD8WqlAeGio2mDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=omar-bradley%20was%20the%20last%20five-star%20general&f=false. Retrieved February 21, 2011. 
  12. ^ Taylor, E. Kelly (2009) America's Army and the Language of Grunts: Understanding the Army Lingo Legacy AuthorHouse p. 283 ISBN 9781438962504 http://books.google.com/books?id=Wc_Rx8v1S9sC&pg=PA283&dq=U.S.+military+policy+five+star+equal+to+or+of+higher+rank+than+commanders+of+armies+from+another+nation.&hl=en&ei=c95nTefoHcOqlAe-0OCBAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 25, 2011 "The rank was created during World War II because of the enormity of the war, and the fact that several American commanders found themselves in in the awkward position of commanding Allied officers of higher rank" 
  13. ^ a b "U.S. Sen. Kasten Pushing Effort To Award Powell With Historic Fifth Star". Jet 79 (23). March 1991. ISSN 0021-5996. http://books.google.com/books?id=9LoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&dq=%22colin+powell%22+%22fifth+star%22&hl=en&ei=ZmRjTZ6QCYT78AbXh6m-DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22colin%20powell%22%20%22fifth%20star%22&f=false. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "...there is a movement afoot in the U.S. Senate to award an historic fifth star to the nation's first Black Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Colin L. Powell for his military proficiency." 
  14. ^ a b Stephanopoulos, George (1999). All Too Human: A Political Education. Thorndike Press. pp. 330–331. ISBN 9780786220168. http://books.google.com/books?ei=ZmRjTZ6QCYT78AbXh6m-DA&ct=result&id=YsHmpqx0Qb0C&dq=%22colin+powell%22+%22fifth+star%22&q=%22fifth+star%22#search_anchor. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "Mack asked me to secretly research the procedure for awarding a fifth star to a general. [...] If Powell did challenge Clinton, the fifth star would forestall criticism of the general's military record." 
  15. ^ Abrams, Jim (March 22, 1991). "Higher rank not in the stars for nation's top generals". Associated Press. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xDkpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sIYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7013,1927407&dq=omar-bradley+fifth-star+not+for+chairman&hl=en. "Bradley received his fifth star in 1950 when he became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff so he would not be outranked by MacArthur." 
  16. ^ Tillman, Barrett (2004). Brassey's D-Day encyclopedia: the Normandy invasion A-Z. Brassey's. p. 48. ISBN 9781574887600. http://books.google.com/books?id=6Fxfa0V8-TIC&pg=PA48&dq=%22omar+bradley%22+%22fifth+star%22+macarthur&hl=en&ei=6hxkTeO2JYGB8gaqz5XqCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22omar%20bradley%22%20%22fifth%20star%22%20macarthur&f=false. Retrieved February 22, 2011. "MacArthur, having been army chief of staff before World War II, was senior to everyone on the Joint Chiefs, and some observers felt that Bradley was given his fifth star in order to deal with the vainglorious field commander on an equal footing." 
  17. ^ "Organizing for National Security: The Role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff". Institute for Foreign Analysis. January 1986. p. 11. http://books.google.com/books?ei=dlFjTeSbOYK8lQfVh7SvDA&ct=result&id=HgoJAQAAMAAJ&dq=Chairman+of+the+Joint+Chiefs+of+Staff+five-star+rank&q=%22five+star%22#search_anchor. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "There was some discussion of the proposal to grant the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs five-star rank, as a symbol of his status as the most senior officer in the armed forces." 
  18. ^ Jones, Logan (February 2000) (PDF). Toward the Valued Idea of Jointness: The Need for Unity of Command in U.S. Armed Forces. Naval War College. p. 2. ADA378445. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA378445. Retrieved February 21, 2011. Lay summary. "Promoting the Chairman to the five-star rank and ceding to him operational and administrative control of all U.S. Armed Forces would enable him to provide a unifying vision..." 
  19. ^ Owsley, Robert Clark (June 1997) (PDF). Goldwater-Nichols Almost Got It Right: A Fifth Star for the Chairman. Naval War College. p. 14. ADA328220. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA328220. Retrieved February 21, 2011. Lay summary. "...Chairman's title be changed to Commander of the Armed Forces and commensurate with the title and authority he be assigned the grade of five stars." 
  20. ^ Italia, Bob (1991). Armed Forces: War in the Gulf. Abdo & Daughters. pp. 44–46. ISBN 9781562390266. http://books.google.com/books?ei=rFhjTaKpMcL7lwe8r8H3Cw&ct=result&id=L-suZ2qETI4C&dq=%22colin+powell%22+%22five+star%22&q=star#search_anchor. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "Others want to make him a five-star general. [...] Congress is talking about giving him a fifth silver star, which is very rare." 
  21. ^ Hamilton, Nigel (2007). Bill Clinton: Mastering the Presidency. PublicAffairs. pp. 190, 399. ISBN 9781586485160. http://books.google.com/books?id=HiV3AAAAMAAJ&q=%22colin+powell%22+%22fifth+star%22&dq=%22colin+powell%22+%22fifth+star%22&hl=en&ei=ZmRjTZ6QCYT78AbXh6m-DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBA. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "Moreover, for the very reason he admired Colin Powell as the most distinguished living black American, Clinton also feared the general as a potential rival. [...] Bill Clinton had denied Powell his rightful fifth star..." 
  22. ^ Halberstam, David (2001). War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals. Scribner. p. 190. ISBN 9780743202121. http://books.google.com/books?ei=cBFkTdKhK8WqlAea2rTZCw&ct=result&id=S8l4AAAAMAAJ&dq=halberstam+clinton+%22fifth+star%22+powell&q=%22fifth+star%22#search_anchor. Retrieved February 22, 2011. "They checked it out and found that the last general to get a fifth star was Omar Bradley forty-three years earlier. Powell, they decided, was not Bradley. Besides, as George Stephanopoulos noted, if they gave him one more star, it might help him one day politically." 
  23. ^ Stringer, Kevin D. (1st quarter 2007). "A Supreme Commander for the War on Terror" (PDF). JFQ (National Defense University Press) (44): 23. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wgKEehUk. Retrieved February 21, 2011. "The development of a four- or even five- star commander with staff to run the war on terror..." 
  24. ^ Hegseth, Pete; Wade Zirkle (January 13, 2011). "A Fifth Star for David Petraeus". Wall Street Journal (News Corporation). Archived from the original on February 22, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wh9xDaIf. Retrieved February 22, 2011. 

External links

Pay Grade / Branch of Service Officer
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Approximate insignia (no universal insignia)
Air Force CDT / OT 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen GAF[1] [3] [3]
Army CDT / OC 2LT 1LT CPT MAJ LTC COL BG MG LTG GEN GA[1] GAS[1] GAS[1]
Marine Corps Midn / Cand 2ndLt 1stLt Capt Maj LtCol Col BGen MajGen LtGen Gen [3] [3] [3]
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Coast Guard CDT / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM [3] [3] [3]
Public Health Service [3] ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RADM RADM VADM ADM [3] [3] [3]
National Oceanic and
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Grade is inactive; requires Congressional approval for re-activation [1]
Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created [2]
Grade has never been created or authorized [3]
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Coast Guard WO1[1] CWO2 CWO3 CWO4 [2]
Public Health Service [2] [2] [2] [2] [3]
National Oceanic and
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Grade inactive [1]
Grade is authorized for use by U.S. Code but has not been created [2]
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