List of active duty United States four-star officers

As a general or admiral, the highest military ranks in the armed forces of the Army and Air Force ( General ) or the Navy and the Coast Guard ( Admiral ) are referred to in peacetime in the United States, as in many other countries; they are the top in rank group of generals. [A 1] Legally a certain number of officers in positions corresponding service is provided, but the actual number may vary by the circumstances (→ see Legal Framework ).

Currently there are 39 generals and admirals in the active service of the armed forces of the United States: 12 in the United States Army, 4 in the United States Marine Corps, 11 in the United States Navy, 11 in the United States Air Force and one in the United States Coast Guard (April 2014). Of the seven uniformed services of the U.S. federal agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the only one without a proven 4-star service position.

Unless otherwise specified by the type of service position, follow the hierarchy of generals and admirals to the principle of seniority.

• 3.1 Number of service positions
• 3.2 nomination
• 3.3 tenure
• 3.4 grade
• 3.5 Retirement
• 3.6 Composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

List of designated service positions

Ministry of Defence

Joint Chiefs of Staff ( Joint Chiefs of Staff )

Unified Combatant Commands (Part Force Cross- regional and functional commands)

Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR )

North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD )

Staff departments

Commander International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) and U.S. Forces Afghanistan ( USFOR -A)

Commander United Nations Command ( UNC), Republic of Korea - U.S. Combined Forces Command ( CFC) and U.S. Forces Korea ( USFK )

Commander, U.S. Cyber ​​Command ( USCYBERCOM )

Department of the Army ( Army Office )

Department of the Navy ( Navy Office )

U.S. Navy

Deputy Head of NNSA 's Naval Reactors [A 3]

U.S. Naval Forces Africa ( USNAVAF ) and Allied Joint Force Command Naples ( JFC Naples )

U.S. Marine Corps

Department of the Air Force ( Air Force Office )

U.S. Air Forces Africa ( AFAFRICA ) Allied Air Command Ramstein (AIR -COM Ramstein ) and Director Joint Air Power Competence Centre ( JAPCC )

Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Coast Guard ( Coast Guard )

List of pending appeals

U.S. Naval Forces Africa ( USNAVAF ) and Allied Joint Force Command Naples ( JFC Naples )

(currently Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Naval Operations )

December 20, 2013 Service commencement date pending

December 20, 2013 Service commencement date pending

(currently acting commander of Air Mobility Command )

On February 7, 2014 Confirmation of the Senate pending

On March 4, 2014 Confirmation of the Senate pending

On March 11, 2014 Confirmation of the Senate pending

On March 11, 2014 Confirmation of the Senate pending

Legal framework

Constitutes the legal basis for military matters relating to the United States Code (USC ), in which the general and permanent federal law of the United States is codified.

Number of service positions

Certain service positions - namely the Chairman of the General Staff of the Army, the Chairman of the General Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps and their deputies - are in principle always subject to a four -star general / admiral. The same applies to the Chief of Staff of the Office of the National Guard, the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Deputy Health Minister (if the office is not staffed civil ).

The United States Code limits the number of concurrent properties under active service officers in the rank of general or admiral. The total number of officers of the general staff is limited for the Army to 230, for the Navy to 162, for the Air Force to 208 and for the Marine Corps at 60, in the Army, Navy and Air Force no more than 25 % of these officers more than two stars may have. The total number of allowed four -star officers in the Army is at 7, in the Navy at 6, in the Air Force at 9 and in the Marine Corps at 2

However, there are some exceptions to these rules. To count as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his deputy not to the quota of their respective branches of the armed force, nor the Chief of Staff of the Office of the National Guard and the Director of the National Security Agency. In addition, the Secretary of Defense to create up to 20 additional staff positions, which include, for example, the commander in chief of the regional and functional commands, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea and deputy supreme commander of the U.S. European Command, the latter, however, only if his superior at the same time as Supreme Allied Commander Europe serves.

In addition, the President is authorized to change the limits for members of the general staff of individual branches of the armed forces, provided that they are appropriately compensated in another part of armed force; Moreover, it may create unscheduled positions in case of war or in case of national emergency, last happened after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when George W. Bush appointed commander for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nomination

The rank of four -star officer is fundamentally linked to one of the approved sharps service positions and beyond time-limited (→ cf retirement). Candidates are nominated by the president on the proposal of the Ministry of Defense, the Senate must confirm the nomination by a simple majority. For transport in the general or flag rank in principle also ranks may be skipped, so candidates do not necessarily have the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral (3 stars), but at least hold the one Brigedagenerals or Flotillenadmirals ( 1 star ).

Once nominated, candidates must be confirmed within 60 days of the adoption of the proposed service position; is a controversial nomination, the Senate usually does not match against the candidate, but the phasing out period without a vote. That the Senate vetoed a candidate, is rare but it happens - often due to political circumstances - before. For example, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez (USA) in 2004, denied the command of the U.S. Southern Command and the transport related to the general result of the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib; 2007 was General Peter Pace (USMC ) is a ( usual ) second term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff failed.

Tenure

The term of office of most 4-star service positions is three years, however, some exceptions apply:

• The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his deputy serve two years and may be re-elected twice, so exercise their office about six years; usual is a service of four years.

• The chairman of the general staffs of the armed services serve a four- year long tenure.

• The deputy chairman of the General Staff of the armed forces are nominally also a term of four years, to be confirmed but usually after one or two years in their new office. The term of office of the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps is, however, only two years.

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

• The deputy health minister officiates also nominally four years; but as the Office may not necessarily be military but also civilian occupied, the length of the term is often subject to political circumstances.

• The Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion is nominally eight years in this function.

Grade

The basic pay of generals and admirals is set at $ 14,975.10 per month, according to the U.S. Sold stage O -10; but the actual merit according to the number of years of service and also depends on the type of service position. For example, the wages up to $ 19,239.90 for officers increases with more than 40 years on active duty, added also come possible allowances for use abroad ( usually $ 250 per month) and in crisis regions ( depending on the type of insert between $ 150 and $ 225).

The basic pay of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman of the General Staff of the armed forces and the commander of the branches of the armed force cross- regional and functional commands is, however, considerably higher at $ 20,587.80.

As a board are members of the U.S. Armed Forces for 20 years of active service to 50 % of their olds, for each year beyond 2.5% will be added. This means that they also retired continue to receive their full salary from a service life of 40 years.

Retirement

Generals and admirals are bound to occur no later than one month after their 64th birthday or after 40 years of active service to retire, unless they are nominated for a further, beyond these limits tenure. The Secretary of Defense may postpone the retirement age up to retirement if necessary until the 66th, the President even up to the 68th birthday of an officer.

For instance, could James Amos - born in 1946, from 2008 onwards, first deputy commander of the Marine Corps and since 1970 in active service - must go 2010 to the end of his two-year tenure in retirement, but was instead nominated as commander of the Marine Corps and confirmed. Should he make his now four years of service in this position until the end, he is 67 years old and have been active 44 years in the armed forces.

Basically military ranks 3 and 4 stars in the U.S. armed forces are temporary. To be allowed to wear the rank of General / Admiral even after retirement from active service continue and get the rank relevant board, officers must have a corresponding service position filled at least 3 years. Not reaching them these three years, they will be demoted to retirement at the rank in which they have this service recently achieved ( but at most that of a major general ).

Composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs ( Joint Chiefs of Staff, in short: JCS ) is a body consisting of the commanders of the various branches of the armed forces. In addition to the chairman and his deputy, he also belong to the Chairman of the General Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of Naval Operations, the Chairman of the General Staff of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Chief of Staff of the Office of the National Guard. The commander of the Coast Guard, however, is due to the ambiguous classified as military tasks of his authority is not a member of the bar.

Trivia

• The first woman who held the rank of general in the U.S. armed forces, was Ann Dunwoody (USA), who led at the suggestion of then-President George W. Bush, the U.S. Army Materiel Command between November 2008 and June 2012. It was followed by Janet Wolfenbarger as Befehlshaberin of the Air Force Materiel Command in June 2012 the first female general in the U.S. Air Force.

• First African-American general in the armed forces was Roscoe Robinson, Jr. ( USA), who represented the United States 1982-1985 in the NATO Military Committee, so far the only African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the later U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in office from 1989 to '93.

• Theoretically exist in the U.S. armed forces ( informal) also ranks 5 and even 6 stars awarded fact they were, however, so far only in times of war or honorary. The official title of a five- star general is General of the Army ( for the U.S. Army; given a total of five times, most recently in 1950 Omar N. Bradley ) or Fleet Admiral ( for the U.S. Navy; awarded four times, most recently in 1945 to William F. Halsey ) and General of the Air Force ( for the U.S. Air Force, assigned only once, in 1949 Henry H. Arnold). 1919 John J. Pershing was appointed for his services as commander in World War I to the General of the Armies of the United States, which corresponded to the later five- star general, as a badge of rank, he wore four golden However, instead of the usual silver stars. This rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of American independence especially for George Washington re-created as a six -star general and given to him posthumously in this framework.