| General of the Army | |
|---|---|
 Rank flag of a General of the Army | |
.svg) Army service uniform shoulder strap with the rank of General of the Army | |
| Country | United States |
| Service branch | United States Army |
| Abbreviation | GA |
| Rank group | General officer |
| Rank | Five-star |
| NATOrank code | OF-10 |
| Pay grade | Special grade |
| Formation | 25 July 1866 |
| Next higher rank | General of the Armies |
| Next lower rank | General |
| Equivalent ranks | |
General of the Army (abbreviated asGA)[1]: 3 is afive-stargeneral officer rank in theUnited States Army. It is generally equivalent to the rank offield marshal in other countries. In the United States, a General of the Army ranks abovegenerals and is equivalent to afleet admiral and ageneral of the Air Force.[1]: 5 The General of the Army insignia consisted of five3⁄8-inch (9.5 mm) stars in a pentagonal pattern, with touching points. The insignia was paired with the gold and enameled United States coat of arms on service coat shoulder loops. The silver colored five-star chain insignia alone would be worn for use as a collar insignia of grade and on the garrison cap. Soft shoulder epaulets with five7⁄16-inch (11 mm) stars in silver thread and gold-threaded United States coat of arms on green cloth were worn with shirts and sweaters.
The rank of "General of the Army" (the highest rank in the army) has had two incarnations. The first was introduced in 1866, following theAmerican Civil War. While it was nominally a four-star rank, structurally it had authority over the entire Army; it was reserved for theCommanding General of the United States Army, and was held by three different men in succession from 1866 to 1888:Ulysses S. Grant,William Tecumseh Sherman andPhilip Sheridan. When it was created by Congress for Grant, Grant had already reached the highest rank historically used in the United States, the three star lieutenant general.[2] The "General of the Army" rank was revived duringWorld War II as the modern five-star rank. The rank does not imply command of the entire Army and may be awarded to more than one officer at a time. It has been held by five different men since 1944, four promoted to the rank in December 1944 (George C. Marshall,Douglas MacArthur,Dwight D. Eisenhower,Henry H. Arnold), and one promoted in September 1950 (Omar Bradley).
A special rank calledGeneral of the Armies of the United States, which ranks above the second incarnation of General of the Army, exists but has been conferred only three times — toWorld War I'sJohn J. Pershing in 1919, posthumously toGeorge Washington in 1976, and posthumously toUlysses S. Grant in 2024.
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Toward the end of theAmerican Civil War,Ulysses S. Grant achieved the first fixed promotion tolieutenant general in the U.S. sinceGeorge Washington.[2] On 25 July 1866, theU.S. Congress further established the rank of "General of the Army of the United States" for General Grant. His pay was "four hundred dollars per month, and his allowance for fuel and quarters", except "when his headquarters are in Washington, shall be at the rate of three hundred dollars per month."[3] (His combined monthly pay and allowance of seven hundred dollars in 1866 is equivalent to $15,000 in 2024). When appointed General of the Army, Grant wore the rank insignia of four stars and coat buttons arranged in three groups of four.
Unlike theWorld War II rank with a similar title, the 1866 rank of General of the Army was nominally a four-star rank, but 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. Despite being titled General of the Army instead of General of the Armies, theComptroller General of the United States would rule in 1924 that the grade revived in 1866 for Grant (and laterWilliam T. Sherman andPhilip H. Sheridan) was the same grade that had been proposed for Washington in 1799 and revived for Pershing in 1919.[4]
In contrast to the modern four-star rank ofgeneral, only one officer at a time could hold the 1866–1888 rank of General of the Army. For a few months in 1885, as he was dying, Grant was accorded a special honor and his rank was restored by Congressional legislation.
After Grant became U.S. president, he was succeeded as General of the Army by William T. Sherman, effective 4 March 1869. In 1872, Sherman ordered the insignia changed to two stars, with thecoat of arms of the United States in between.[5][6]
By an Act of Congress on 1 June 1888, the grade was conferred upon Philip Sheridan, who by then was in failing health. The rank of General of the Army ceased to exist with Sheridan's death on 5 August 1888.[5]
| Portrait | Name | Date of rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) | 25 July 1866 | [7] |
 | William T. Sherman (1820–1891) | 4 March 1869 | [8] |
.jpg) | Philip Sheridan (1831–1888) | 1 June 1888 | [9] |
Although briefly considered,[10] the U.S. Army did not introduce a rank by the name offield marshal. In the United States, the term "Marshal" has traditionally been used for civilian law enforcement officers, particularly theU.S. Marshals, as well as formerly for state and local police chiefs. In addition, giving the rank the name "marshal" would have resulted inGeorge Marshall being designated as "Field Marshal Marshall", which was considered undignified.[10][11][12][13] The five-star rank and authority of General of the Army and equivalent navalFleet Admiral were created by anAct of Congress on a temporary basis whenPub. L. 78–482 was passed on 14 December 1944,[14] which provided only 75% of pay and allowances to the grade for those on the retired list.[15] The rank was temporary, subject to reversion to permanent rank six months after the end of the war. The temporary rank was then declared permanent on 23 March 1946 byPub. L. 79–333, which also awarded full pay and allowances in the grade to those on the retired list.[16][17] It was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with theirBritish counterparts holding the ranks offield marshal andadmiral of the fleet. This second General of the Army rank is not the same as the post-Civil War era version because of its purpose and five stars.
The insignia for the 1944 General of the Army rank consists of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army and the date of each's appointment are as follows:
| Portrait | Name | Position | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
 | George C. Marshall (1880–1959) | US Army Chief of Staff | 16 December 1944 |
.jpg) | Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) | Supreme Commander -Southwest Pacific Area | 18 December 1944 |
 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) | Supreme Commander - Europe | 20 December 1944 |
 | Henry H. Arnold (1886–1950) | Commander of theUS Army Air Forces | 21 December 1944 |
 | Omar Bradley (1893–1981) | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | 22 September 1950 |
The timing of the first four of these appointments was coordinated with the first three of the following appointments of theU.S. Navy's first five-starFleet Admirals:
| • | William D. Leahy | 15 December 1944 |
| • | Ernest King | 17 December 1944 |
| • | Chester W. Nimitz | 19 December 1944 |
| • | William Halsey Jr. | 11 December 1945 |
This was to establish both an order ofseniority among the generals and a near-equivalence between the services.
Eisenhower resigned his Army commission on 31 May 1952 to run for the U.S. presidency. After Eisenhower was elected and served two terms, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy on 22 March 1961 signedPub. L. 87–3,[18] which authorized reappointing Eisenhower "to the active list of the Regular Army in his former grade, of General of the Army with his former date of rank in such grade".[19][20] This rank is today commemorated on the signs denotingInterstate Highways as part of theEisenhower Interstate System, which display five silver stars on a light blue background.[21][22]
Arnold, ageneral in the Army, was the Commanding General of theArmy Air Forces throughout World War II, when he was promoted. After hisUnited States Air Force became a separate service on 18 September 1947, Arnold's rank was carried over to the Air Force, just as all Army Air Forces airmen's rank carried over. Arnold was the first and, to date, onlyGeneral of the Air Force. He is also the only person to have ever held a five-star rank in two branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.[23]
Bradley received the 5-star rank upon being made the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (serving from 1949 to 1953). This was to make him equal in rank to General of the Army MacArthur, who was still serving at the time.
These officers who held the rank of General of the Army remained officers of the United States Army for life, with an annual $20,000 in pay and allowances, equivalent to $357,000 in 2024. They were entitled to an office maintained by the Army along with anaide (of the rank ofcolonel), asecretary, and anorderly.[24]
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No officers have been promoted to the rank of General of the Army sinceOmar Bradley (who was also the last living officer of such rank when he died in 1981).[25] The rank is still maintained in the Army's structure, and could be awarded by the president with the consent of theUnited States Senate.[26][27]
Although the firstChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Omar Bradley, was eventually awarded a fifth star, such a promotion does not come with that office; Bradley's elevation ensured that he would not be outranked by his subordinate,Douglas MacArthur.[28][29]
In the 1990s, there were proposals inDepartment of Defense academic circles to bestow a five-star rank on the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[30][31][32]
After the conclusion of thePersian Gulf War, but before his tenure as Secretary of State, there was talk of awarding a fifth star to GeneralColin Powell, who had served as CJCS during the conflict. But even in the face of public and Congressional pressure to do so,[26][33]Clintonpresidential transition team staffers decided against it for political reasons, fearing that a fifth star might have assisted Powell (a Republican) had he decided to run for office.[27][34][35] An effort was also made to promote GeneralNorman Schwarzkopf Jr. to General of the Army, although it was not carried out.[36]
As recently as the late 2000s, some commentators proposed that the military leader in theGlobal War on Terrorism be promoted to a five-star rank.[37] In January 2011, the founders of theVets for Freedom political advocacy group published anop-ed inThe Wall Street Journal calling forDavid Petraeus to be awarded a fifth star in recognition of his work and the importance of his mission.[38] Earlier, in July 2010,David W. Brown wrote an article inThe Atlantic supporting the same promotion.[39]
The rank of General of the Armies is senior to General of the Army and has been bestowed on only three officers in U.S. history. In 1919,John J. Pershing was promoted to General of the Armies for his services inWorld War I.[5][40]
In 1944, when Congress authorized the creation of thefive-star grade of General of the Army, a provision was added to the law doing so that stated, "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."[15]
In 1976, during theUnited States Bicentennial, Congress conferred a posthumous promotion uponGeorge Washington to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States.[41] With the bicentennial approaching, Congress passed legislation urging Washington's promotion for his service as the first commanding general of the United States Army on 19 January 1976.[42] PresidentGerald Ford approved the promotion in October, but historians found that congressional and presidential actions were not enough and that the Army had to issue orders to make the promotion official.[42] The promotion was conferred by Secretary of the ArmyClifford Alexander on 13 March 1978.[42] According toPublic Law 94-479, Washington is established as having "rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present."[41] Thus, Washington will always be the most senior general of the United States.
In 2024,Ulysses S. Grant was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies to celebrate 200 years since his birth. Congress authorized the promotion as part of the 2023National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law on 23 December 2022.[43] The promotion was officially conferred on 19 April 2024 with the same rank and precedence as Pershing, upholding the standard that Washington would permanently remain the army's highest-ranking officer.[44]
In 1903, retroactive to 1899,George Dewey was promoted toAdmiral of the Navy, a rank equivalent to that of a five-star admiral.[45] The promotion of Admiral Dewey is the only time an Admiral of the Navy has been named and the rank ceased to exist after his death.[45]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
...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.
Others want to make him a five-star general. [...] Congress is talking about giving him a fifth silver star, which is very rare.
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...
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, asGeorge Stephanopoulos noted, if they gave him one more star, it might help him one day politically.
Dazzled by America's blitzkrieg victory over Iraq, Sen.Bob Kasten, R-Wis., has put forth a resolution that the architects of this triumph, Gens. Colin L. Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, be promoted to five-star rank.
The speedy, complete, and relatively bloodless victory for the allies-less than 200 Americans were killed in the Persian Gulf War-turned Powell, Schwarzkopf, and the rest of the U.S. military into national heroes. Congressmen proposed to promote the two men to rank of General of the Army, which would make them the first generals to wear five stars since Omar N. Bradley was accorded that honor in 1950.
The development of a four- or even five- star commander with staff to run the war on terror...
[with scanned attachment copy of April 19, 2024,U.S. Department of Defense] Memorandum for the Secretary of the Army; Subject: Posthumous Advancement on the Retired List; . . . General Ulysses S. Grant . . . to the grade of General of the Armies . . .
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