Four star general
In common parlance, a four-star general is the highest officer rank of the rank group of generals , which usually corresponds to the NATO rank code OF-9 . His salutation is usually just general , without any additions.
Concept formation
The term four-star general originated from the rank badge of the general of the United States Armed Forces , which shows four silver, five-pointed stars. With the exception of the armies of France and the United Kingdom , all other NATO armies have now adapted to this system, although the external design of the rank symbols differs from one another.
Examples and special features
In the past or in armies that do not belong to NATO, other systems of rank existed or still exist. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that there is not the rank of brigadier general in every army (or, as the brigadier of the British armed forces is not counted as a generals at all ), on the other hand, the lowest general ranks can also be marked with two (e.g. in France ) or begin without a star (e.g. earlier in the German Wehrmacht ). For this reason, the armed forces of the NATO member states have agreed a code system for the ranks for better comparability : The four-star generals of most member states are assigned the code OF-9.
Germany
In the Wehrmacht, the rank of colonel general corresponded to today's four-star general. The colonel general, however, only wore three stars, since the lowest general rank (at that time major general ) only wore general shoulder pieces without a star - as was the case with all other ranks of the Wehrmacht .
In the Bundeswehr , a general wears four gold, four-pointed stars over a wreath of oak leaves of the same color.
Russia
In the armed forces of the Russian Federation , the army general ( Russian генера́л а́рмии ) is the rank corresponding to the rank of a four-star general. That name was adopted from the armed forces of the Soviet Union in 1991 .
France
The highest general rank in France is the Général d'armée (five stars), which corresponds to the current German rank of general (four stars). The rank of six-star general does not exist in the French army, but the military governor of the capital Paris has a sixth star. However, this is not a rank, but a position. It was reintroduced in 1918 at the special request of the French Général d'armée Foch in order to emphasize his priority as commander-in-chief of the Allied troops on the Western Front over US General Pershing and British Field Marshal Haig .
The Maréchal de France bears seven stars ( arranged in a hexagon ), but this is not a military rank, but only an honorable appointment. The comparable Amiral de France also has seven stars.
United States
The United States has the rank of General (OF-9) in the US Army , US Air Force, and United States Marine Corps
As a five-star general (OF-10) in the Army United States a General of the Army are appointed. This military rank corresponds to that of a European marshal . In the US Air Force , the corresponding rank is General of the Air Force .
Remarks
- ↑ See also “One Star General” , “Two Star General” , “Three Star General” .