List of active generals and admirals in the United States Armed Forces

The following list lists all active service generals and admirals in the United States Armed Forces . In the United States, as in many other countries, the general or admiral is the highest possible military ranks in the armed forces of the Army and the Air Force (General) or the Navy and Coast Guard (Admiral) in peacetime ; they form - according to the NATO rank code OF-9 - the top of the rank group of the generals .

The law only stipulates a certain number of officers in the relevant positions , but the actual number may vary due to circumstances (→ see legal framework ). Of the eight uniformed services of the US federal authorities , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the only one without a designated 4-star service .

Unless otherwise specified by the type of service, the ranking among generals and admirals follows the principle of seniority .

List of designated positions

Ministry of Defense

United General Staff

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
United General Staff
	Chairman of the United General Staff (CJCS)	GEN Mark A. Milley , USA		September 30, 2019
	Vice Chairman of the United General Staff (VJCS)	GEN John E. Hyten , USAF		November 21, 2019

Cross-armed regional and functional commands

The cross -armed forces regional and functional commands of the US armed forces are made up of units and large units of several armed forces and, depending on the assignment, cover different areas of responsibility and competence; operationally, they report directly to the President of the United States through the US Secretary of Defense .

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
	Commander in Chief U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)	GEN Stephen J. Townsend , USA		26th July 2019
	Commander in Chief US Central Command (USCENTCOM)	GEN Kenneth F. McKenzie , USMC		March 28, 2019
	Commander in Chief US European Command (USEUCOM); Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)	GEN Tod D. Wolters , USAF		2nd May 2019
	Commander in Chief US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)	GEN Glen D. VanHerck , USAF		20th August 2020
	Commander in Chief US Indo-Pacific Command (USPACOM)	ADM Philip S. Davidson , USN		May 30, 2018
	Commander in Chief US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)	ADM Craig S. Faller , USN		November 26, 2018
	Commander in Chief US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)	GEN Richard D. Clarke , USA		29th March 2019
	Commander in Chief US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)	ADM Charles A. Richard , USN		18th November 2019
	Commander in Chief US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)	GEN Stephen R. Lyons , USA		August 24, 2018
	Commander in Chief US Cyber ​​Command (USCYBERCOM), Director National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Security Service (CSS)	GEN Paul M. Nakasone , USA		4th May 2018
	Commander in Chief US Space Command (USSPACECOM) and Chief of Space Operations US Air Force (CSO)	GEN John W. Raymond , USAF		January 14, 2020

Staff departments

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
National Guard
	Chief of Staff of the National Guard (CNGB)	GEN Daniel R. Hokanson , USA		August 3, 2020
Forces in action
	Afghanistan Commander Resolute Support (RS) and US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A)	GEN Austin S. Miller , USA		2nd September 2018
	Korea Commander United Nations Command (UNC), Republic of Korea - US Combined Forces Command (CFC) and US Forces Korea (USFK)	GEN Robert B. Abrams , USA		November 8, 2018

army

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
Chairman of the General Staff of the US Army
	Chairman of the General Staff of the US Army (CSA)	GEN James C. McConville , USA		August 9, 2019
	Vice Chairman of the General Staff of the US Army (VCSA)	GEN Joseph M. Martin , USA		26th July 2019
US Army Headquarters
	Commander US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)	GEN Michael X. Garrett , USA		March 21, 2019
	Commander US Army Futures Command (AFC)	GEN John M. Murray , USA		August 24, 2018
	U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) Commander	GEN Edward M. Daly , USA		2nd July 2020
	US Army Pacific Commander (USARPAC)	GEN Paul J. LaCamera , USA		18th November 2019
	Commander US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)	GEN Paul E. Funk II. , USA		June 21, 2019

marine

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
Division of the Chief of Staff for Naval Operations
	Chief of Staff for Naval Operations (CNO)	ADM Michael M. Gilday , USN		22nd August 2019
	Deputy Chief of Staff for Naval Operations (VCNO)	ADM William K. Lescher , USN		May 29, 2020
	Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and Deputy Head of NNSA's Naval Reactors	ADM James F. Caldwell , USN		August 14, 2015
Forces in action
	Commander US Fleet Forces Command (USFLTFORCOM)	ADM Christopher W. Grady , USN		4th May 2018
	US Naval Forces Europe (USNAVEUR) Commander , US Naval Forces Africa (USNAVAF) and Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples)	ADM Robert P. Burke , USN		17th July 2020
	US Pacific Fleet Commander (USPACFLT)	ADM John C. Aquilino , USN		17th May 2018

Marine infantry

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
Commanders of the US Marine Corps
	U.S. Marine Corps (CMC) Commander	GEN David H. Berger , USMC		11th July 2019
	Deputy Commandant of the US Marine Corps (ACMC)	GEN Gary L. Thomas , USMC		4th October 2018

air force

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Air Force
	Chairman of the General Staff of the US Air Force (CSAF)	GEN Charles Q. Brown , USAF		August 6, 2020
	Vice Chairman of the General Staff of the US Air Force (VCSAF)	GEN Stephen W. Wilson , USAF		July 2016
US Air Force Headquarters
	Commander Air Combat Command (ACC)	GEN James M. Holmes , USAF		March 10, 2017
	Commander Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC)	GEN Timothy M. Ray , USAF		August 21, 2018
	Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Commander	GEN Arnold W. Bunch , USAF		May 31, 2019
	Commander Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)	GEN John W. Raymond , USAF		October 25, 2016
	Commander Air Mobility Command (AMC)	GEN Jacqueline D. Van Ovost , USAF		20th August 2020
	Pacific Air Forces Commander (PACAF), Air Component Commander for US Pacific Command and Executive Director, Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff (PACOPS)	GEN Kenneth S. Wilsbach , USAF		July 8, 2020
	Commander US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), US Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA), Allied Air Command Ramstein (AIR-COM Ramstein) and Director Joint Air Power Competence Center (JAPCC)	GEN Jeffrey L. Harrigian , USAF		1st May 2019

Department of Homeland Security

Coast guard

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
	U.S. Coast Guard Commander	ADM Karl L. Schultz , USCG		June 1, 2018
	Deputy Commander of the US Coast Guard	ADM Charles W. Ray , USCG		May 24, 2018

Ministry of Health and Social Services

Insignia	Service position	Surname	image	since
	Deputy Minister of Health	ADM Brett P. Giroir , PHS		15th February 2018

Legal framework

The legal basis for matters relating to the armed forces is the United States Code , in which the general and permanent federal law of the United States is codified .

Number of posts

Certain positions - namely the Chairman of the General Staff of the Army, the Chairman of the General Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, the commanders of the Marine Infantry and the Coast Guard and their deputies - are always reserved for a four-star general / admiral. The same applies to the Chief of Staff of the National Guard and the Deputy Minister of Health (unless the office is occupied by civilians).

The United States Code limits the number of officers with the rank of general or admiral in active service at the same time. The total number of all officers in the generals is limited to 230 for the army, 162 for the navy, 208 for the air force and 60 for the marine infantry, with a maximum of 25% more officers in the general / admiral ranks in the army, navy and air force than to wear two stars. The total number of 4-star officers allowed is 7 in the army, 6 in the navy, 9 in the air force and 2 in the marine infantry.

However, there are some exceptions to these provisions. For example, the chairman of the United General Staff and his deputy do not count towards the contingent of their respective armed forces, nor do the chief of staff of the National Guard and the director of the National Security Agency . In addition, the Secretary of Defense can create up to 20 additional staff positions, including, for example, the commander-in-chief of the regional and functional commands, the commander of the US Forces Korea and the deputy commander-in-chief of the US European Command , the latter only if his superior is also Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the position is filled with a member of the US armed forces (and not a member of the armed forces of a NATO partner).

Furthermore, the President is entitled to change the limits for members of the generals of individual branches of the armed forces, provided that he compensates them accordingly for another branch of the armed forces; In addition, he may create unscheduled positions in the event of war or a national emergency, most recently after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , when George W. Bush appointed commander for the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan .

nomination

The rank of 4-star officer is generally linked to one of the designated positions and is also limited in time (→ see retirement ). Candidates are nominated by the President on the proposal of the Ministry of Defense , the Senate must confirm the nomination with a simple majority. If a general / admiral is to be transferred to a different position, a new nomination is necessary, as well as renewed confirmation by the Senate.

In the case of promotions to the rank of general or admiral, ranks may in principle also be skipped, so candidates do not necessarily have to have the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral (3 stars), but at least that of brigadier general or flotilla admiral (1 star).

If a nomination is controversial, the Senate does not usually vote against the candidate, but allows the deadline to expire without a vote. It is rare for the Senate to refuse a candidate's approval, but it does happen - often due to political circumstances. For example, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sánchez (USA) was refused supreme command of the US Southern Command and the associated promotion to general in 2004 as a result of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal ; In 2007, General Peter Pace (USMC) was denied a (otherwise customary) second term as chairman of the United General Staff after controversial statements about homosexuals in the armed forces.

Term of office

The term of office for most 4-star positions is three years, although exceptions also apply here:

• The chairman of the United General Staff and his deputy serve two years and may be re-elected twice, for a total of six years; A service period of four years is usual.

• The chairmen of the general staffs of the armed forces serve a four-year term of office.

• The deputy chairman of the general staffs of the armed forces are nominally also a term of four years, but confirmed newly usually after one or two years in office. The term of office of the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps is only two years.

• The terms of office of the Chief of Staff of the National Guard and the Coast Guard Commander are four years.

• The Deputy Minister of Health also serves four years nominally; Since the office cannot be filled by military means, but also by civilians, the length of the term of office is often subject to political circumstances.

• The director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion serves a nominal eight years in this capacity.

Salary

The basic pay for generals and admirals is set at $ 15,125.10 per month, corresponding to US pay grade O-10; the actual earnings, however, are graduated according to the number of years of service and also depending on the type of service position. For example, the pay rises to up to $ 19,762.50 for officers with more than 38 years of active service, in addition to possible allowances for deployment abroad (usually $ 250 per month) and in crisis regions (depending on the type of Bet between $ 150 and $ 225).

The base salary for the chairmen of the United General Staff, the chairmen of the general staffs of the armed forces and the commander-in-chief of the cross-armed forces regional and functional commands is significantly higher at $ 21,147.70.

As a pension , members of the US armed forces are entitled to 50% of their wages for 20 years of active service, and 2.5% is added for each year after that. This means that after a service period of 40 years they will continue to receive their full salary even in retirement.

retirement

Generals and admirals are obliged to retire no later than one month after their 64th birthday or after 40 years of active service, unless they are nominated for a further term of office beyond these limits. The Minister of Defense can extend the age limit until retirement, if necessary, to the 66th birthday of an officer, and the President even to the 68th birthday of an officer.

For example, James Amos - born in 1946, initially Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2008 and in active service since 1970 - should have retired in 2010 at the end of his two-year term, but was instead nominated and confirmed as Commandant of the Marine Corps. At the end of his four-year service in this position, he was 67 years old and 44 years in the armed forces.

In principle, military ranks with three and four stars in the US armed forces are limited in time. In order to be able to continue to carry the rank of a general / admiral even after retirement from active service and to receive the corresponding pension, officers must have held the rank for at least three years in corresponding positions. If they do not reach these three years, when they retire they will be downgraded to the rank in which they last reached this period of service (but at most to that of major general ).

If a general / admiral leaves his current position, he must be nominated by the president for another within 60 days and confirmed by the Senate. If the new post is not vacant by the end of the deadline or if there is no new assignment, he will also be retired before he reaches the age of 65.

Composition of the United General Staff

→ Main article : Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS for short ) is a body consisting of the commanders of the individual armed forces . In addition to the chairman and his deputy, it also includes the chairman of the Army General Staff, the Chief of Staff of Naval Operations, the Chairman of the Air Force General Staff, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chief of Staff of the National Guard. The Coast Guard commander, on the other hand, is not a member of the staff because his authority's area of ​​responsibility is not clearly classified as military.

Protocol order of precedence

The Order of Precedence , the protocol-based order of precedence among generals and admirals, is determined in coordination with the US President by the Chief of Protocol in the United States Department of State :

• First is the Chairman of the United General Staff, followed by his Deputy;
• then the chairmen of the general staffs of the armed forces as well as the commanders of the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard,
• the commander-in-chief of the regional and functional commands across the armed forces,
• the Chief of Staff of the National Guard,
• the commander of the US Forces in Afghanistan,
• the Deputy Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces or the Deputy Commanders of the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard,
• then the holders of the remaining posts.

Within these “groupings”, the ranking is sorted according to the length of service time during which the officers already hold their position (“seniority”).

Trivia

• The first woman to hold the rank of general in the US armed forces was Ann Dunwoody (USA), who headed the US Army Materiel Command between November 2008 and June 2012 at the suggestion of then President George W. Bush . She was followed by Janet Wolfenbarger as Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command in June 2012, the first female general in the service of the US Air Force and the first female admiral with Michelle Howard , who took up the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Naval Operations in July 2014. The first woman to head one of the cross-armed regional or functional commandos was Lori Robinson (USAF), who took over command of USNORTHCOM in May 2016.
• The first Afro-American general in the armed forces was Roscoe Robinson (USA), who represented the United States between 1982 and 1985 on the NATO Military Committee , so far the only Afro-American chairman of the United Joint Chiefs of Staff, the future US Secretary of State Colin Powell (USA), as Chief of Staff in 1989 until '93.
• As the first general of Asian descent, Eric Shinseki (USA) commanded the US Army Europe , the Allied Land Forces Central Europe of NATO and the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1997 and then served from 1998 initially as Deputy Chairman from 1999 until 2003 then as Chairman of the General Staff of the US Army. After the end of his service, Shinseki served as Minister of War Veterans in Barack Obama's cabinet from 2009 to 2014 .
• The general with the longest period of service in the armed forces was Lewis Hershey (USA), who in 1911 at the age of 18 initially signed up for the Army National Guard of the state of Indiana and served in the US Army from the beginning of the First World War . Hershey served as a general director of the Selective Service System from 1970 and retired in 1973 at the age of 79 after 62 years of active service.
• Theoretically, there are (informally) ranks with 5 and even 6 stars in the US armed forces , but in fact they have so far only been awarded in times of war or on an honorary basis. The official title of a five-star general is General of the Army (for the US Army ; awarded a total of five times, most recently in 1950 to Omar N. Bradley ) or Fleet Admiral (for the US Navy ; awarded a total of four times, most recently in 1945 to William F. Halsey ) and General of the Air Force (for the US Air Force ; given only once, namely in 1949 to Henry H. Arnold ). In 1919, John J. Pershing was appointed General of the Armies of the United States for his services as Commander in Chief in World War I ; that corresponded to the later five-star general, but as a badge of rank he wore not five, but four gold stars instead of the usual silver stars. The same rank of General of the Armies of the United States was created in 1976 on the occasion of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of American independence as a six-star general especially for George Washington and was awarded to him posthumously in this context .

See also

• Ranks of the United States Armed Forces

Web links

• Index page of the US Department of Defense with links to all the facilities of the armed forces (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ Although actually only officers who hold a 4-star service carry these rank designations, the designations "generals" and "admirals" are also used as a collective term for the entire rank groups of the generality and admiralty.
2. ↑ The date of taking office is not to be equated with the date of promotion to the rank of general or admiral. Some of the listed officers were promoted shortly before or shortly after taking office or had already held another of the positions listed here before taking up their current command.
3. ↑ Traditionally, this position is held by a member of the Navy, although according to 50 USC § 2511 it can also be filled by civil law.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 10 USC § 10502 - Chief of the National Guard Bureau: appointment; adviser on National Guard matters; grade; succession .
2. ↑ 14 USC § 44 - Commandant; appointment .
3. ↑ 42 USC § 207 - Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps .
4. ↑ ^{a b} 10 USC § 526 - Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty .
5. ↑ ^{a b} 10 USC § 525 - Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades .
6. ↑ 10 USC § 668 - Definitions .
7. ↑ 10 USC § 604 - Senior joint officer positions: recommendations to the Secretary of Defense .
8. ↑ Declaration of National Emergency of September 14, 2001 in the US Federal Register (English) accessed on August 6, 2013.
9. ↑ ^{a b} 10 USC § 601 - Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals .
10. ↑ John Hendren: 4-Star plans after Abu Ghraib . In: Los Angeles Times , October 15, 2004 (English). Retrieved November 28, 2013.
11. ↑ Tom Shanker: Chairman of Joint Chiefs will not be reappointed . In: The New York Times , June 9, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
12. ↑ 42 USC § 207 - Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps .
13. ↑ ^{a b} Salary table from January 1, 2014 on militaryfactory.com (English) accessed on July 16, 2014.
14. ↑ James Joyner: Some Generals Will Make More In Retirement Than Active Duty . outsidethebeltway.com, February 3, 2012 (English) Retrieved October 20, 2013.
15. ↑ 10 USC § 636 - Retirement for years of service: regular officers in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half) .
16. ↑ 10 USC § 1253 - Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception .
17. ↑ ^{a b} 10 USC § 1370 - Commissioned officers: general rule; exceptions .
18. ↑ 10 USC § 151 - Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions .
19. ↑ ^{a b} Department of the Army Protocol Precedence List (PDF; 182 kB) March 10, 2010 (English) accessed on December 1, 2015.
20. ↑ C. Todd Lopez: First female four-star general retires from Army . army.mil, August 15, 2012 (English) accessed on October 24, 2013.
21. ↑ Alex Dobuzinskis, Tim Gaynor: Obama nominates Air Force's first female four-star general . Reuters , February 6, 2012 (English). Accessed February 21, 2014.
22. ↑ Jennifer Pompi: Michelle J. Howard becomes Navy's first female 4-star admiral . In: The Washington Times , July 1, 2014 (accessed July 2, 2014).
23. ^ Pellerin, Cheryl: Carter names first female Combatant Commander. US Department of Defense, March 18, 2016, accessed September 1, 2016 . 
24. ^ African Americans in the US Army: Gen. Roscoe Robinson, Jr. Entry at army.mil accessed December 23, 2013.
25. ↑ Richard Halloran:: Bush plans to name Colin Powell to head Joint Chiefs, Aides say . In: The New York Times , August 10, 1989 (accessed February 21, 2014).
26. ^ Entry on Hershey on the Arlington National Cemetery website, accessed January 12, 2016.
27. ↑ US Army Five-Star Generals. Entry on history.army.mil (English) accessed on December 23, 2013.
28. ↑ Resolution of the US Congress on the Promotion of Washington at Wikisource (Public Law 94-479 of October 11, 1976).