General of the Air Force

Five-star General of the Air Force insignia

General of the Air Force (GAF)[1] is a five-star general officer rank and is the highest possible rank in the United States Air Force. General of the Air Force ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to General of the Army in the United States Army and Fleet Admiral in the United States Navy; there is no established equivalent five-star rank in the other four uniformed services (Marine Corps, Coast Guard, PHSCC, and NOAA Corps).

History

General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold

The insignia for General of the Army and General of the Air Force were originally the same. The insignia for General of the Air Force was slightly modified in the 1950s for wear on the new blue Air Force dress uniform. The insignia of General of the Air Force, however, has never been worn by an officer of the present day (1947–present) Air Force on active duty. Public Law 333 of the 79th Congress changed the five-star rank to a permanent grade, and established that officers placed on the retirement list while in that grade would receive full pay and allowances (under Public Law 282 first establishing this grade, retirement had been at 75 per centum).

The only person to hold the rank of General of the Air Force has been Henry H. Arnold. Arnold was a General of the Army (promoted 21 December 1944 under Public Law 282 of the 78th Congress) and was placed on the retired list on 30 June 1946 while the United States Army Air Forces were a component of the U.S. Army. On 7 May 1949, under Public Law 58 of the 81st Congress, his rank was re-designated General of the Air Force, and Arnold was photographed in an Air Force uniform wearing the insignia of that rank. During the Cold War, with the rise of the Strategic Air Command, it was proposed but never enacted that General of the Air Force be granted to General Curtis LeMay, with the rank continued for use and granted to such senior generals such as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

The five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General Omar Bradley.[2] While it is often claimed that U.S. officers who held five-star rank, such as Bradley, never retired,[3] in actuality the law provided that those holding the rank while on the retired list were entitled to full pay and benefits of the pay grade.[4]

Equivalent ranks

The Air Force's rank of General of the Air Force is equivalent to the U.S. Army's rank of General of the Army and the U.S. Navy's rank of Fleet Admiral.

The United States' rank of General of the Air Force is equivalent to the air force rank of marshal of the air force in other countries.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Professional Development Guide, Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241 dated 1 July 2009, Randolph AFB, TX
  2. ↑ E. Kelly Taylor (2009). America's Army and the Language of Grunts: Understanding the Army Lingo Legacy. AuthorHouse. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-4389-6249-8.
  3. ↑ Spencer C. Tucker (2011). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1685. ISBN 978-1-85109-961-0.
  4. ↑ "Public Law 333, 79th Congress". Naval Historical Center. April 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-22. The retirement provisions of Public Law 333, 79th Congress were also applied to the World War II Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, both of whom held four-star rank.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Generals of the United States Air Force.
United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks
Pay grade / branch of service Officer
candidate		 O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7 O-8 O-9 O-10 O-11
(Obs.)		 Special
grade
Approximate insignia[1][2] [2]
Army CDT / OC 2LT 1LT CPT MAJ LTC COL BG MG LTG GEN GA[3] GAS[3]
Marine Corps Midn / Cand 2ndLt 1stLt Capt Maj LtCol Col BGen MajGen LtGen Gen [5] [5]
Navy MIDN / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM FADM[3] AN[3]
Air Force Cadet / OT / OC 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen GAF[3] [5]
Coast Guard CDT / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM [5] [5]
Public Health Service [OC] ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RADM RADM VADM ADM [5] [5]
NOAA Corps OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM [4] [5] [5]
[1] No universal insignia for officer candidate rank; Navy candidate insignia shown
[2]Unofficial 1945 proposal for General of the Armies insignia; John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: ; George Dewey's AN insignia:
[3] Rank used for specific officers in wartime only, not permanent addition to rank structure
[4] Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created
[5] Grade has never been created or authorized
United States warrant officer ranks
W-1 W-2 W-3 W-4 W-5
Army WO1 CW2 CW3 CW4 CW5
Marine Corps WO1 CWO2 CWO3 CWO4 CWO5
Navy WO1[1] CWO2 CWO3 CWO4 CWO5
Air Force WO1[1] CWO2[1] CWO3[1] CWO4[1] CWO5[1]
Coast Guard WO1[1] CWO2 CWO3 CWO4 [2]
Public Health Service [2] [2] [2] [2] [3]
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration		 [3] [3] [3] [3] [3]
[1] Grade inactive
[2] Grade is authorized for use by U.S. Code but has not been created
[3] Grade never created or authorized
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