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The rank of
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
(or ''full general'', or ''four-star general'') is the highest rank normally achievable in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. It ranks above
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
(''three-star general'') and below
general of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
(''five-star general''). There have been 260 four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Army. Of these, 246 achieved that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Army; eight were promoted after retirement; five were promoted
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
; and one (
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
) was appointed to that rank in the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
, the U.S. Army's predecessor. Generals entered the Army via several paths: 163 were commissioned via the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), 54 via
Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
(ROTC) at a civilian university, 15 via
Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...
(OCS), 13 via direct commission (direct), 11 via ROTC at a
senior military college In the United States, a senior military college (SMC) is one of six colleges that offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs under , though many other schools offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps under other sectio ...
,
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
via ROTC at a military junior college,
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
via direct commission in the
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
(ARNG),
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
via the aviation cadet program, and
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
via battlefield commission.


List of generals

Entries in the following list of four-star generals are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was promoted to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Army. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank, active-duty positions held while serving at four-star rank, number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank (Yrs), year commissioned and source of commission, number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank (YC), and other biographical notes.


History


Four-star positions


1775–1799

In June 1775, the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
appointed
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
as general and commander in chief of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
during the Revolutionary War. At the war's end in 1783, Washington resigned his commission. As this occurred before the establishment of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in 1784, he is therefore considered never to have held the U.S. Army rank of general. In May 1798, Washington was commissioned as a lieutenant general in the United States Army by his successor as president,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
, to command the provisional army being raised for the undeclared
Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...
with France. In March 1799, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
elevated the lieutenant generalcy to the rank of " General of the Armies of the United States", but Adams thought the new rank infringed on his constitutional role as commander in chief and never made the appointment.Act of March 3, 1799 (). Washington died later that year, and the rank lapsed when not mentioned in the
Military Peace Establishment Act The Military Peace Establishment Act documented and advanced a new set of laws and limits for the U.S. military. It was approved by Congress and signed on March 16, 1802, by President Thomas Jefferson, who was fundamental in its drafting and prop ...
of 1802.Act of March 16, 1802 ilitary Peace Establishment Act(). He was promoted posthumously to the rank in 1978, after it was reestablished for him as part of the 1976
United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...
celebrations. ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Define $start = 1770 Define $end = 1860 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:$start Colors = id:csa value:rgb(1,0,0) id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:category value:rgb(0.9,0.9,1) id:period value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1770 at:1780 at:1790 at:1800 at:1810 at:1820 at:1830 at:1840 at:1850 at:1860 BarData = barset:PM bar:period_0 bar:end_period bar:start_officers bar:officers bar:washington bar:end_officers PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:period_0 from:1775 till:1783 color:period text:" Revolutionary War" bar:period_0 from:1812 till:1815 color:period text:"
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
" bar:period_0 from:1846 till:1848 color:period text:" Mexican War" bar:start_officers from:$start till:$end color:category bar:washington from: 1775 till: 1783 color:csa text:"
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
"


1866–1941


Civil War and aftermath

The rank of General of the Armies was revived in 1866, with the name "General of the Army of the United States" to reward the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
achievements of
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
, the commanding general of the United States Army ( CGUSA). As with the prior rank and that of lieutenant general revived for Grant in 1864, the holder was authorized to command the armies of the United States, subject to presidential authority.Acts of March 3, 1799 (), and July 25, 1866 (). Grant vacated his commission to become president in March 1869, and the lieutenant general of the Army,
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
, was promoted to succeed him as general. The grade was abolished after Sherman's retirement in February 1884, in accordance with legislation passed in 1870.Act of July 15, 1870 (). After Sherman's retirement, the ban on new appointments to the grade of general was relaxed twice. In March 1885, Grant was out of office, bankrupt, and dying, so Congress authorized the president to reappoint him to the rank and full pay of general on the retired list. Congress made a similar exception in June 1888 to promote the ailing lieutenant general of the Army,
Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...
, by discontinuing the grade of lieutenant general and merging it with the grade of general until Sheridan's death two months later.Act of June 1, 1888 (). Since there was only one active duty four-star general in the Army during this period, the grade was interchangeably referred to as "general", "the General", and "the General of the Army", a title not to be confused with the five-star grade of
general of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
created in 1944.


World War I

In 1917, the rank of general was recreated in the National Army, a temporary force of conscripts and volunteers authorized for the duration of the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
emergency. To give American commanders parity of rank with their Allied counterparts, Congress allowed the president to appoint two emergency generals in the National Army, specified to be the chief of staff of the Army ( CSA),
Tasker H. Bliss Tasker Howard Bliss (December 31, 1853 – November 9, 1930) was a United States Army officer who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army during World War I, from September 22, 1917, until May 18, 1918. He was also a diplomat involved i ...
and later Peyton C. March; and the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces ( CG AEF) in France, John J. Pershing.Acts of May 18, 1917 (), and October 6, 1917 (). When Bliss reached the retirement age of 64 and stepped down as chief of staff, he was reappointed emergency general by brevet to serve alongside full generals from allied nations as the U.S. military representative to the Supreme War Council.Act of March 1, 1869 (). All emergency grades expired at the end of the war, so in July 1919, eight months after the
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
asked Congress to reward March and Pershing by making them both permanent generals, with Pershing senior to March. Pershing's promotion was authorized on 3 September 1919, just in time for the secretary of war to hand him his new commission when he returned from Europe. Congress and Pershing both opposed March's promotion, having clashed with him during the war, so he reverted to major general alongside Bliss when their emergency grades expired on 30 June 1920. Both were restored to their wartime ranks of general on the retired list in 1930.Act of June 21, 1930 ().


Interwar

Pershing succeeded March as Army chief of staff in the permanent grade of general, and served from 1921 to 1924. The grade lapsed with his retirement, leaving the rank of major general as the highest available grade in the peacetime Army, and his two-star successors, John L. Hines and Charles P. Summerall, outranked by their four-star Navy counterpart, the
chief of naval operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...
. The temporary rank of general was reauthorized for the chief of staff in 1929, elevating Summerall. In 1940, special legislation advanced Hines to general on the retired list as the only living former chief of staff never to wear four stars. ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Define $start = 1860 Define $end = 1950 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:$start Colors = id:csa value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: CGUSA/CSA id:europe value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: CG_AEF id:joint value:rgb(0.7,0,1) legend: Sup._War._Coun. id:fareast value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0) legend: FECOM id:army value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Other_Army id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:category value:rgb(0.9,0.9,1) id:period value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1870 at:1880 at:1890 at:1900 at:1910 at:1920 at:1930 at:1940 at:1941 BarData = barset:PM bar:period_0 bar:period_1 bar:end_period bar:start_officers bar:officers bar:grant bar:sherman bar:sheridan bar:bliss bar:pershing bar:march bar:spacer_summerall bar:summerall bar:macarthur bar:craig bar:marshall bar:end_officers PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:period_0 from:1860 till:1860 color:none text:"
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
" bar:period_1 from:1861 till:1865 color:period bar:period_0 from:1897 till:1897 color:none text:"
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
" bar:period_1 from:1898 till:1899 color:period bar:period_0 from:1916 till:1916 color:none text:"
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
" bar:period_1 from:1917 till:1920 color:period bar:period_0 from:1940 till:1940 color:none text:"
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
" bar:period_1 from:1941 till:1945 color:period bar:start_officers from:$start till:$end color:category bar:grant from: 1866 till: 1869 color:csa text:"
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
" bar:sherman from: 1869 till: 1883 color:csa text:"
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
" bar:sheridan from: 1888 till: 1888 color:csa text:" Philip H. Sheridan" bar:bliss from: 1917 till: 1918 color:csa bar:bliss from: 1918 till: 1920 color:joint text:"
Tasker H. Bliss Tasker Howard Bliss (December 31, 1853 – November 9, 1930) was a United States Army officer who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army during World War I, from September 22, 1917, until May 18, 1918. He was also a diplomat involved i ...
" bar:pershing from: 1917 till: 1921 color:europe bar:pershing from: 1921 till: 1924 color:csa text:" John J. Pershing" bar:march from: 1918 till: 1920 color:csa text:" Peyton C. March" bar:summerall from: 1929 till: 1930 color:csa text:" Charles P. Summerall" bar:macarthur from: 1930 till: 1935 color:csa bar:macarthur from: 1941 till: 1950 color:fareast text:"
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
" bar:craig from: 1935 till: 1939 color:csa bar:craig from: 1941 till: 1945 color:army text:" Malin Craig" bar:marshall from: 1939 till: 1945 color:csa text:" George C. Marshall Jr."


1941–1991


World War II and aftermath

The United States entered
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
on 7 December 1941 with one Army general, chief of staff
George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...
, authorized. Legislation enacted in 1933 and amended in 1940 allowed the president to appoint officers of the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...
, the Army's professional military component, to higher temporary grades in time of war or national emergency.Act of September 9, 1940 (). As with the National Army emergency generals, these appointments expired after the end of the war, although postwar legislation allowed officers to retire in their highest active-duty rank.Act of August 7, 1947 fficer Personnel Act of 1947(, , ) On 19 December 1941, the Senate confirmed
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
to be the first temporary general in the
Army of the United States The Army of the United States was one of the four major service components of the United States Army. Today, the Army consists of the Regular Army, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard while in the service of the ...
, the reconstituted draft force, as he fought the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Three new Army generals were appointed over the next two years.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
was appointed temporary general in February 1943, to command Allied forces in North Africa and later Europe;
Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (25 June 1886 – 15 January 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Ai ...
in March 1943, as commanding general of
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and member of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
; and Joseph W. Stilwell in August 1944,Special Orders No. 190
(August 9, 1944, OMPF p. 70); in
as commander of the China Burma India Theater and chief of staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Arnold were further promoted to the temporary five-star grade of
general of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
in December 1944, made permanent in March 1946. Malin Craig, Marshall's predecessor as Army chief of staff, was recalled to active duty in his four-star grade to run the War Department's Personnel Board. More temporary generals were appointed to command postwar occupation forces in Germany and Japan, as well as the stateside Army commands.
Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (12 February 1893 – 8 April 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He wa ...
, who had commanded the Twelfth Army Group—the bulk of American forces on the Western Front—also received a permanent promotion to general as a one-time personal honor, with full active-duty pay for life.Act of June 26, 1948 (). This was superseded by Bradley's promotion to general of the Army while serving as the first
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...
, in 1950.Act of September 18, 1950 rivate Law 81-957(). By the official termination of the World War II national emergency in April 1952, the Army had eight four-star generals.


Cold War

The modern grade of general was established by the Officer Personnel Act (OPA) of 1947, which authorized the president to designate positions of importance and responsibility to carry the grade ''ex officio'', to be filled by officers with the permanent or temporary grade of major general or higher. The total number of positions allowed to carry the grade was capped at 3.75 percent of the total number of general officers on active duty, which worked out initially to five generals for the Army. The four-star grade caps evolved into Section 525 of
Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States Armed Forces. It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Each of the fi ...
, which was codified in 1956. Act of August 10, 1956 (). The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the office of which was created in 1949, was exempted from the caps.Act of August 10, 1949 ational Security Act Amendments of 1949(). Escalating global commitments during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
created more generals, both at home and abroad; a majority were appointed under renewed national emergency authority in excess of grade caps. Besides the JCS chairman and Army chief of staff, the most prestigious Army-dominated positions of the era were the NATO supreme allied commander in Europe (
SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The command ...
); the commander of multinational and U.S. forces in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
( UNC/ FECOM, later USFK); and until 1973, the commander of U.S. forces in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
( USMACV). At the height of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in 1971, the Army had 17 four-star generals. The
Defense Officer Personnel Management Act The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) () is a United States federal law passed in 1980 that for the first-time standardized officer personnel management across the United States Armed Forces. It established ceilings on the number o ...
(DOPMA) of 1980 standardized four-star appointments across all services, replacing the previous service-specific mechanisms.Act of December 12, 1980 efense Officer Personnel Management Act(). Personal four-star grades held regardless of assignment, once the norm in the post-Civil War era, were abolished under DOPMA. In 1982, Richard E. Cavazos and Roscoe Robinson Jr. became the first
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
and first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
four-star generals in the Army respectively. ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:20 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Define $start = 1940 Define $end = 2000 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:$start Colors = id:jcs value:rgb(0,0,0) legend: CJCS/VJCS id:csa value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: CSA id:vcsa value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7) legend: VCSA id:europe value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: Europe id:fareast value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0) legend: FECOM/USFK id:theater value:rgb(0,1,1) legend: Vietnam id:forscom value:rgb(0,0.7,0.7) legend: FORSCOM id:army value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Other_Army id:joint value:rgb(0.7,0,1) legend: Joint_(military) id:federal value:rgb(1,0,1) legend: Joint_(other) id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:category value:rgb(0.9,0.9,1) id:period value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1941 at:1950 at:1960 at:1970 at:1980 at:1990 at:1991 BarData = barset:PM bar:period_0 bar:period_1 bar:period_2 bar:end_period bar:start_officers bar:officers bar:macarthur bar:craig bar:marshall bar:eisenhower bar:arnold bar:josephstilwell bar:krueger bar:somervell bar:mcnarney bar:devers bar:kenney bar:markclark bar:spaatz bar:bradley bar:handy bar:patton bar:hodges bar:wainwright bar:clay bar:lawtoncollins bar:haislip bar:ridgway bar:smith bar:hull bar:vanfleet bar:gruenther bar:hodge bar:taylor bar:bolte bar:hoge bar:dahlquist bar:mcauliffe bar:lemnitzer bar:willistonpalmer bar:white bar:wyman bar:schuyler bar:decker bar:hodes bar:clarke bar:magruder bar:charlespalmer bar:eddleman bar:ruffner bar:moore bar:herbertpowell bar:jamescollins bar:meloy bar:adams bar:harkins bar:wheeler bar:hamlett bar:freeman bar:wood bar:waters bar:omeara bar:parker bar:howze bar:harris bar:besson bar:johnson bar:westmoreland bar:creightonabrams bar:porter bar:beach bar:bonesteel bar:conway bar:polk bar:haines bar:woolnough bar:goodpaster bar:harrell bar:spivy bar:brucepalmer bar:mather bar:chesarek bar:rosson bar:throckmorton bar:michaelis bar:hershey bar:weyand bar:miley bar:mildren bar:davison bar:underwood bar:bennett bar:haig bar:kerwin bar:depuy bar:richardstilwell bar:zais bar:rogers bar:hennessey bar:deane bar:blanchard bar:kroesen bar:knowlton bar:vessey bar:guthrie bar:walker bar:starry bar:shoemaker bar:meyer bar:wickham bar:warner bar:keith bar:otis bar:cavazos bar:sennewald bar:robinson bar:richardson bar:gorman bar:nutting bar:thurman bar:livsey bar:thompson bar:kingston bar:galvin bar:mahaffey bar:merritt bar:vuono bar:palastra bar:lindsay bar:wagner bar:woerner bar:menetrey bar:arthurbrown bar:saint bar:schwarzkopf bar:riscassi bar:colinpowell bar:foss bar:burba bar:tuttle bar:sullivan bar:stiner bar:joulwan bar:end_officers PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:period_0 from:1941 till:1945 color:period text:"
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
" bar:period_1 from:1947 till:1991 color:period text:"
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
" bar:period_2 from:1950 till:1953 color:period text:"
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
" bar:period_2 from:1961 till:1975 color:period text:"
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
" bar:period_2 from:1990 till:1991 color:period text:"
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
" bar:start_officers from:$start till:1991 color:category bar:macarthur from: 1941 till: 1951 color:fareast text:"
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
" bar:craig from: 1941 till: 1945 color:army text:" Malin Craig" bar:marshall from: $start till: 1945 color:csa text:" George C. Marshall Jr." bar:eisenhower from: 1943 till: 1945 color:europe bar:eisenhower from: 1945 till: 1948 color:csa bar:eisenhower from: 1951 till: 1952 color:joint text:"
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
" bar:arnold from: 1943 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (25 June 1886 – 15 January 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Ai ...
" bar:josephstilwell from: 1944 till: 1946 color:army text:" Joseph W. Stilwell" bar:krueger from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Walter Krueger Walter Krueger (26 January 1881 – 20 August 1967) was an American soldier and general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He commanded the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He rose fro ...
" bar:somervell from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:" Brehon B. Somervell" bar:mcnarney from: 1945 till: 1947 color:europe bar:mcnarney from: 1947 till: 1949 color:army bar:mcnarney from: 1949 till: 1952 color:joint text:" Joseph T. McNarney" bar:devers from: 1945 till: 1949 color:forscom text:" Jacob L. Devers" bar:kenney from: 1945 till: 1951 color:army text:"
George C. Kenney George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allies of World War II, Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area (command), Southw ...
" bar:markclark from: 1945 till: 1949 color:army bar:markclark from: 1949 till: 1952 color:forscom bar:markclark from: 1952 till: 1953 color:fareast text:"
Mark W. Clark Mark Wayne Clark (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a United States Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the U.S. Army during World War II. During World War I, he wa ...
" bar:spaatz from: 1945 till: 1948 color:army text:" Carl A. Spaatz" bar:bradley from: 1945 till: 1948 color:federal bar:bradley from: 1948 till: 1949 color:csa bar:bradley from: 1949 till: 1953 color:jcs text:"
Omar N. Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (12 February 1893 – 8 April 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He wa ...
" bar:handy from: 1945 till: 1947 color:vcsa bar:handy from: 1947 till: 1949 color:army bar:handy from: 1949 till: 1952 color:europe bar:handy from: 1952 till: 1954 color:joint text:"
Thomas T. Handy Thomas Troy Handy (11 March 1892 – 12 April 1982) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army from 1944 to 1947; Commanding General, Fourth United States Army from 1947 to 1949; Commande ...
" bar:patton from: 1945 till: 1945 color:army text:" George S. Patton Jr." bar:hodges from: 1945 till: 1949 color:army text:" Courtney H. Hodges" bar:wainwright from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:" Jonathan M. Wainwright IV" bar:clay from: 1947 till: 1949 color:europe text:" Lucius D. Clay" bar:lawtoncollins from: 1948 till: 1949 color:vcsa bar:lawtoncollins from: 1949 till: 1953 color:csa bar:lawtoncollins from: 1953 till: 1956 color:joint text:"
J. Lawton Collins General Joseph Lawton Collins (1 May 1896 – 12 September 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations, one of a few senior American commanders to do so. H ...
" bar:haislip from: 1949 till: 1951 color:vcsa text:"
Wade H. Haislip General (United States), General Wade Hampton Haislip (9 July 1889 – 23 December 1971) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who served in both World War I and World War II, where he led XV Corps (United States), XV ...
" bar:ridgway from: 1951 till: 1952 color:fareast bar:ridgway from: 1952 till: 1953 color:joint bar:ridgway from: 1953 till: 1955 color:csa text:" Matthew B. Ridgway" bar:smith from: 1951 till: 1953 color:federal text:"
Walter Bedell Smith General (United States), General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forc ...
" bar:hull from: 1951 till: 1953 color:vcsa bar:hull from: 1953 till: 1955 color:fareast text:"
John E. Hull John Edwin Hull (26 May 1895 – 10 June 1975) was a United States Army general, former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, commanded Far East Command (United States), Far East Command from 1953 to 1955 and the U.S. Army, Pacific from ...
" bar:vanfleet from: 1951 till: 1953 color:army text:" James A. Van Fleet" bar:gruenther from: 1951 till: 1956 color:joint text:" Alfred M. Gruenther" bar:hodge from: 1952 till: 1953 color:forscom text:"
John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...
" bar:taylor from: 1953 till: 1955 color:army bar:taylor from: 1955 till: 1955 color:fareast bar:taylor from: 1955 till: 1959 color:csa bar:taylor from: 1961 till: 1962 color:federal bar:taylor from: 1962 till: 1964 color:jcs text:"
Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (26 August 1901 – 19 April 1987) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer and diplomat during the Cold War. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Air ...
" bar:bolte from: 1953 till: 1953 color:europe bar:bolte from: 1953 till: 1955 color:vcsa text:" Charles L. Bolte" bar:hoge from: 1953 till: 1955 color:europe text:" William M. Hoge" bar:dahlquist from: 1954 till: 1956 color:forscom text:" John E. Dahlquist" bar:mcauliffe from: 1955 till: 1956 color:europe text:" Anthony C. McAuliffe" bar:lemnitzer from: 1955 till: 1955 color:army bar:lemnitzer from: 1955 till: 1957 color:fareast bar:lemnitzer from: 1957 till: 1959 color:vcsa bar:lemnitzer from: 1959 till: 1960 color:csa bar:lemnitzer from: 1960 till: 1962 color:jcs bar:lemnitzer from: 1962 till: 1969 color:joint text:" Lyman L. Lemnitzer" bar:willistonpalmer from: 1955 till: 1957 color:vcsa bar:willistonpalmer from: 1957 till: 1962 color:federal text:" Williston B. Palmer" bar:white from: 1955 till: 1961 color:army text:" Isaac D. White" bar:wyman from: 1956 till: 1958 color:forscom text:"
Willard G. Wyman General (United States), General Willard Gordon Wyman (21 March 1898 – 29 March 1969) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who served as Commanding officer, Commanding General of Continental Army Command from 1956 t ...
" bar:schuyler from: 1956 till: 1959 color:joint text:" Cortlandt V. R. Schuyler" bar:decker from: 1956 till: 1957 color:joint bar:decker from: 1957 till: 1959 color:fareast bar:decker from: 1959 till: 1960 color:vcsa bar:decker from: 1960 till: 1962 color:csa text:" George H. Decker" bar:hodes from: 1956 till: 1959 color:europe text:" Henry I. Hodes" bar:clarke from: 1958 till: 1960 color:forscom bar:clarke from: 1960 till: 1962 color:europe text:" Bruce C. Clarke" bar:eddleman from: 1959 till: 1960 color:europe bar:eddleman from: 1960 till: 1962 color:vcsa text:" Clyde D. Eddleman" bar:magruder from: 1959 till: 1961 color:fareast text:" Carter B. Magruder" bar:charlespalmer from: 1959 till: 1962 color:joint text:" Charles D. Palmer" bar:ruffner from: 1960 till: 1962 color:joint text:" Clark L. Ruffner" bar:moore from: 1960 till: 1963 color:joint text:" James E. Moore" bar:herbertpowell from: 1960 till: 1963 color:forscom text:" Herbert B. Powell" bar:jamescollins from: 1961 till: 1964 color:army text:" James F. Collins" bar:meloy from: 1961 till: 1963 color:fareast text:" Guy S. Meloy Jr." bar:adams from: 1961 till: 1966 color:joint text:" Paul D. Adams" bar:harkins from: 1962 till: 1964 color:theater text:" Paul D. Harkins" bar:wheeler from: 1962 till: 1962 color:joint bar:wheeler from: 1962 till: 1964 color:csa bar:wheeler from: 1964 till: 1970 color:jcs text:" Earle G. Wheeler" bar:hamlett from: 1962 till: 1964 color:vcsa text:" Barksdale Hamlett" bar:freeman from: 1962 till: 1965 color:europe bar:freeman from: 1965 till: 1967 color:forscom text:" Paul L. Freeman Jr." bar:wood from: 1962 till: 1965 color:federal bar:wood from: 1968 till: 1969 color:federal text:" Robert J. Wood" bar:waters from: 1963 till: 1964 color:forscom bar:waters from: 1964 till: 1966 color:army text:" John K. Waters" bar:omeara from: 1963 till: 1965 color:joint bar:omeara from: 1965 till: 1967 color:europe text:" Andrew P. O'Meara" bar:parker from: 1963 till: 1969 color:joint text:" Theodore W. Parker" bar:howze from: 1963 till: 1965 color:fareast text:" Hamilton H. Howze" bar:harris from: 1964 till: 1965 color:forscom text:" Hugh P. Harris" bar:besson from: 1964 till: 1969 color:army bar:besson from: 1969 till: 1970 color:federal text:" Frank S. Besson Jr." bar:johnson from: 1964 till: 1968 color:csa text:"
Harold K. Johnson Harold Keith Johnson (22 February 1912 – 24 September 1983) was a United States Army general who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1964 to 1968. Regarded as a premier tactician, Johnson became skeptical that the level of ...
" bar:westmoreland from: 1964 till: 1968 color:theater bar:westmoreland from: 1968 till: 1972 color:csa text:" William C. Westmoreland" bar:creightonabrams from: 1964 till: 1967 color:vcsa bar:creightonabrams from: 1967 till: 1972 color:theater bar:creightonabrams from: 1972 till: 1974 color:csa text:" Creighton W. Abrams Jr." bar:porter from: 1965 till: 1969 color:joint text:" Robert W. Porter Jr." bar:beach from: 1965 till: 1966 color:fareast bar:beach from: 1966 till: 1968 color:army text:" Dwight E. Beach" bar:bonesteel from: 1966 till: 1969 color:fareast text:" Charles H. Bonesteel III" bar:conway from: 1966 till: 1969 color:joint text:" Theodore J. Conway" bar:polk from: 1967 till: 1971 color:europe text:" James H. Polk" bar:haines from: 1967 till: 1968 color:vcsa bar:haines from: 1968 till: 1973 color:forscom text:" Ralph E. Haines Jr." bar:woolnough from: 1967 till: 1970 color:forscom text:" James K. Woolnough" bar:goodpaster from: 1968 till: 1969 color:theater bar:goodpaster from: 1969 till: 1974 color:joint text:" Andrew J. Goodpaster" bar:harrell from: 1968 till: 1971 color:joint text:" Ben Harrell" bar:spivy from: 1968 till: 1971 color:joint text:" Berton E. Spivy Jr." bar:brucepalmer from: 1968 till: 1973 color:vcsa bar:brucepalmer from: 1973 till: 1974 color:joint text:"
Bruce Palmer Jr. Bruce Palmer Jr. (13 April 1913 – 10 October 2000) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army. He commanded the XVIII Airborne Corps during Operation Power Pack, the II Field Force, Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and was ...
" bar:mather from: 1969 till: 1971 color:joint text:" George R. Mather" bar:chesarek from: 1969 till: 1970 color:army text:" Ferdinand J. Chesarek" bar:rosson from: 1969 till: 1970 color:theater bar:rosson from: 1970 till: 1973 color:army bar:rosson from: 1973 till: 1975 color:joint text:" William B. Rosson" bar:throckmorton from: 1969 till: 1973 color:joint text:" John L. Throckmorton" bar:michaelis from: 1969 till: 1972 color:fareast text:" John H. Michaelis" bar:hershey from: 1970 till: 1973 color:joint text:" Lewis B. Hershey" bar:weyand from: 1970 till: 1973 color:theater bar:weyand from: 1973 till: 1974 color:vcsa bar:weyand from: 1974 till: 1976 color:csa text:" Frederick C. Weyand" bar:miley from: 1970 till: 1975 color:army text:" Henry A. Miley Jr." bar:mildren from: 1971 till: 1973 color:joint text:" Frank T. Mildren" bar:davison from: 1971 till: 1975 color:europe text:" Michael S. Davison" bar:underwood from: 1971 till: 1973 color:joint text:" George V. Underwood Jr." bar:bennett from: 1972 till: 1973 color:fareast bar:bennett from: 1973 till: 1974 color:army text:" Donald V. Bennett" bar:haig from: 1973 till: 1973 color:vcsa bar:haig from: 1973 till: 1974 color:federal bar:haig from: 1974 till: 1979 color:joint text:" Alexander M. Haig Jr." bar:kerwin from: 1973 till: 1974 color:forscom bar:kerwin from: 1974 till: 1978 color:vcsa text:" Walter T. Kerwin Jr." bar:depuy from: 1973 till: 1977 color:army text:"
William E. DePuy William Eugene DePuy (1 October 1919 – 9 September 1992) was a United States Army general and the first commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the restruct ...
" bar:richardstilwell from: 1973 till: 1976 color:fareast text:" Richard G. Stilwell" bar:zais from: 1973 till: 1976 color:joint text:"
Melvin Zais Melvin Zais (8 May 1916 – 5 May 1981) was a United States Army general who served in the Second World War and Vietnam War. Military career A 1933 graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School, Zais attended the University of New Hampshire and graduat ...
" bar:rogers from: 1974 till: 1976 color:forscom bar:rogers from: 1976 till: 1979 color:csa bar:rogers from: 1979 till: 1987 color:joint text:" Bernard W. Rogers" bar:hennessey from: 1974 till: 1979 color:joint text:" John J. Hennessey" bar:deane from: 1975 till: 1977 color:army text:" John R. Deane Jr." bar:blanchard from: 1975 till: 1979 color:europe text:" George S. Blanchard" bar:knowlton from: 1976 till: 1980 color:joint text:" William A. Knowlton" bar:kroesen from: 1976 till: 1978 color:forscom bar:kroesen from: 1978 till: 1979 color:vcsa bar:kroesen from: 1979 till: 1983 color:europe text:" Frederick J. Kroesen Jr." bar:vessey from: 1976 till: 1979 color:fareast bar:vessey from: 1979 till: 1982 color:vcsa bar:vessey from: 1982 till: 1985 color:jcs text:" John W. Vessey Jr." bar:guthrie from: 1977 till: 1981 color:army text:" John R. Guthrie" bar:walker from: 1977 till: 1978 color:joint text:" Sam S. Walker" bar:starry from: 1977 till: 1981 color:army bar:starry from: 1981 till: 1983 color:joint text:" Donn A. Starry" bar:shoemaker from: 1978 till: 1982 color:forscom text:"
Robert M. Shoemaker Robert Morin Shoemaker (18 February 1924 – 21 June 2017) was a United States Army General (United States), general and former commander of the United States Army Forces Command. He is also an inductee into the Aviation Hall of Fame and Muse ...
" bar:meyer from: 1979 till: 1983 color:csa text:" Edward C. Meyer" bar:wickham from: 1979 till: 1982 color:fareast bar:wickham from: 1982 till: 1983 color:vcsa bar:wickham from: 1983 till: 1987 color:csa text:" John A. Wickham Jr." bar:warner from: 1979 till: 1981 color:joint text:" Volney F. Warner" bar:keith from: 1981 till: 1984 color:army text:" Donald R. Keith" bar:otis from: 1981 till: 1983 color:army bar:otis from: 1983 till: 1988 color:europe text:" Glenn K. Otis" bar:cavazos from: 1982 till: 1984 color:forscom text:" Richard E. Cavazos" bar:sennewald from: 1982 till: 1984 color:fareast bar:sennewald from: 1984 till: 1986 color:forscom text:" Robert W. Sennewald" bar:robinson from: 1982 till: 1985 color:joint text:" Roscoe Robinson Jr." bar:richardson from: 1983 till: 1986 color:army text:" William R. Richardson" bar:gorman from: 1983 till: 1985 color:joint text:" Paul F. Gorman" bar:nutting from: 1983 till: 1985 color:joint text:" Wallace H. Nutting" bar:thurman from: 1983 till: 1987 color:vcsa bar:thurman from: 1987 till: 1989 color:army bar:thurman from: 1989 till: 1990 color:joint text:" Maxwell R. Thurman" bar:livsey from: 1984 till: 1987 color:fareast text:" William J. Livsey" bar:thompson from: 1984 till: 1987 color:army text:" Richard H. Thompson" bar:kingston from: 1984 till: 1985 color:joint text:" Robert C. Kingston" bar:galvin from: 1985 till: 1992 color:joint text:" John R. Galvin" bar:mahaffey from: 1985 till: 1986 color:joint text:" Fred K. Mahaffey" bar:merritt from: 1985 till: 1987 color:joint text:" Jack N. Merritt" bar:vuono from: 1986 till: 1987 color:army bar:vuono from: 1987 till: 1991 color:csa text:" Carl E. Vuono" bar:palastra from: 1986 till: 1989 color:forscom text:" Joseph T. Palastra Jr." bar:lindsay from: 1986 till: 1990 color:joint text:" James J. Lindsay" bar:wagner from: 1987 till: 1989 color:army text:" Louis C. Wagner Jr." bar:woerner from: 1987 till: 1989 color:joint text:" Frederick F. Woerner Jr." bar:menetrey from: 1987 till: 1990 color:fareast text:" Louis C. Menetrey" bar:arthurbrown from: 1987 till: 1989 color:vcsa text:" Arthur E. Brown Jr." bar:saint from: 1988 till: 1992 color:europe text:" Crosbie E. Saint" bar:schwarzkopf from: 1988 till: 1991 color:joint text:" H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr." bar:riscassi from: 1989 till: 1990 color:vcsa bar:riscassi from: 1990 till: 1993 color:fareast text:" Robert W. RisCassi" bar:colinpowell from: 1989 till: 1989 color:forscom bar:colinpowell from: 1989 till: 1993 color:jcs text:" Colin L. Powell" bar:foss from: 1989 till: 1991 color:army text:" John W. Foss" bar:burba from: 1989 till: 1993 color:forscom text:" Edwin H. Burba Jr." bar:tuttle from: 1989 till: 1992 color:army text:" William G. T. Tuttle Jr." bar:sullivan from: 1990 till: 1991 color:vcsa bar:sullivan from: 1991 till: 1995 color:csa text:"
Gordon R. Sullivan Gordon Russell Sullivan (25 September 1937 – 2 January 2024) was a United States Army general, who served as the 32nd Chief of Staff of the Army and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sullivan also served as acting Secretary of the Arm ...
" bar:stiner from: 1990 till: 1993 color:joint text:" Carl W. Stiner" bar:joulwan from: 1990 till: 1997 color:joint text:" George A. Joulwan"


1991–present

The distribution of four-star Army generals remains broadly similar to that of 1947, with a statutory chief and vice chief of staff (CSA, VCSA); – Chief of Staff. – Vice Chief of Staff. Act of October 1, 1986 oldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986(). stateside commands for readiness, materiel, and training; overseas component commands; and joint duty positions that are exempted from grade caps.Act of October 5, 1994 ational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995() Among the latter are the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS); the NATO supreme allied commander in Europe (SACEUR); the unified combatant commanders, including the statutory
Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integrat ...
(USCYBERCOM) and Special Operations Command (USSOCOM); – Unified combatant command for cyber operations. – Unified combatant command for special operations forces. the chief of the National Guard Bureau ( CNGB);Act of January 28, 2008 ational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008(). and during the War on Terror, the wartime theater commanders in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
( MNF-I, later USF-I) and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
(
ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...
, later RSM). In 2002, under defense secretary
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...
, usage of the title "commander in chief" and its acronym "CINC" was reserved for the president and discontinued for military officers, mostly combatant commanders, who were redesignated as "commander". In 1997, Eric Shinseki became the first
Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...
four-star general in the Army. In 2007, Ann E. Dunwoody became the first woman to achieve the rank of general in the Army, as well as in any armed service. In 2012, Frank J. Grass became the first Army National Guard officer to attain the rank of general, to relieve his Air Force predecessor as CNGB. In 2009, Congress directly specified the maximum number of four-star officers in each service, replacing the OPA- and DOPMA-era percentage cap formulas.Act of October 28, 2009 ational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010(). In 2021, the Army was authorized eight four-star generals for positions within the service by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act: the CSA and VCSA; the commanding generals of
Army Forces Command The Army Forces Command () in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (Germany), Army Command (''Kommando Heer ...
(FORSCOM), Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Army Materiel Command (AMC), and
Army Futures Command The United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is a United States Army command that runs modernization projects. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The AFC began initial operations on 1 July 2018. It was created as a peer of Forces Command (FO ...
(AFC); and the Army component commanders in Europe/Africa (USAREUR-AF) and the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
(USARPAC).Act of January 1, 2021 illiam M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021(). By the end of 2020, the Army had 18 four-star generals on active duty, exceeding the 17 four-star generals it had at the height of the Vietnam War, its previous peak.


Legislation

The following list of Congressional legislation includes major acts of Congress pertaining to appointments to the grade of general in the United States Army.


See also

*
General (United States) In the United States military, a general is the most senior general-grade officer; it is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank (or echelon) that may be attained in the United States Armed Forces, with exception of the Navy and Coast G ...
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General officers in the United States A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high military rank; in the uniformed services of the United States, general officers are commissioned officers above the field officer ranks, the highest of which is Colonel (United Sta ...
* List of active duty United States four-star officers * List of lieutenant generals in the United States Army before 1960 * List of United States Army lieutenant generals from 1990 to 1999 * List of United States Army lieutenant generals from 2000 to 2009 * List of United States Army lieutenant generals from 2010 to 2019 * List of United States Army lieutenant generals since 2020 * List of major generals in the United States Regular Army before July 1, 1920 * List of brigadier generals in the United States Regular Army before February 2, 1901 * List of United States Air Force four-star generals * List of United States Coast Guard four-star admirals *
List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals The rank of general (or ''full general'', or ''four-star general'') is the highest rank in the United States Marine Corps. It ranks above lieutenant general (''three-star general''). There have been 75 four-star generals in the history of the U. ...
* List of United States military leaders by rank * List of United States Navy four-star admirals * List of United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps four-star admirals * List of United States Space Force four-star generals *
List of British Army full generals This is a list of full generals in the British Army since the Acts of Union 1707. The rank of general (or ''full general'' to distinguish it from the lower general officer ranks) is the highest rank currently achievable by serving officers in t ...
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Staff (military) A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milit ...


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United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
United States Army generals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
Generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...
United States Army generals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...