“List of United States Army four-star generals”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

This is a complete list of four-star generals in the United States Army, past and present. The rank of general (or full general, or four-star general) is the highest rank normally achievable in the U.S. Army. It ranks above lieutenant general (three-star general) and below General of the Army (five-star general).

There have been 239 four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Army. Of these, 220 achieved that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Army; eight were promoted after retirement; five were promoted posthumously; and one (George Washington) was appointed to that rank in the Continental Army, the U.S. Army's predecessor. Generals entered the Army via several paths: 153 were commissioned via the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), 46 via Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university, 16 via direct commission (direct), 13 via Officer Candidate School (OCS), 7 via ROTC at a senior military college, one via ROTC at a military junior college, one via direct commission in the Army National Guard (ARNG), one via the aviation cadet program, and one 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,^[1] active-duty positions held while serving at four-star rank,^[2] number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank (Yrs),^[3] year commissioned and source of commission,^[4] number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank (YC),^[5] and other biographical notes.^[6]

The list is sortable by last name, date of rank, number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank, year commissioned, and number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank.

Timeline

1775–1799

In 1775, George Washington was appointed "General and Commander in Chief of the United Colonies" and all its forces. Although Washington ranked as a full general in the Continental Army, he resigned his commission prior to the establishment of the U.S. Army in 1784 and he is therefore considered never to have held the U.S. Army rank of general.^[36] In 1798, Washington was commissioned lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and appointed Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States. The following year, Congress created the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, but Washington died before accepting it and the rank lapsed until 1866.^[37] Washington was finally promoted to General of the Armies in 1976.

1866–1941

The grade of General of the Armies of the United States was revived in 1866, under the name "General of the Army of the United States" to honor the Civil War achievements of Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general of the U.S. Army (CGUSA).^[38] When Grant resigned his commission to become President in 1869, William T. Sherman was promoted to fill the vacant grade. Congress specified in 1870 that the rank would expire upon Sherman's retirement, but made an exception in 1888 to promote an ailing Philip H. Sheridan. This title is not to be confused with the later five-star rank of General of the Army.^[39]

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 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 and later Peyton C. March; and the commander of United States forces in France, John J. Pershing.^[40] When March replaced Bliss as chief of staff, Bliss was continued in four-star rank by brevet as the U.S. military representative to the Supreme War Council.^[41] In contrast to the previous grade of general held by Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, which was a permanent promotion, this new rank was a temporary appointment that was lost when the officer vacated the position bearing that rank, and while Pershing was ultimately advanced to General of the Armies in 1919, March and Bliss reverted to their permanent grades of major general in the Regular Army when the National Army disbanded in 1920.^[42]

In 1929, the temporary rank of general in the Regular Army was reauthorized for the office of chief of staff, whose occupant reverted to major general at the end of his term but was allowed to retire as a full general. When the draft force was reconstituted for World War II as the Army of the United States in 1941, the President was authorized to appoint as many temporary generals in that organization as he deemed necessary. 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.^[43]

1947–present

The modern rank of general was established by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, which authorized the President to designate certain positions of importance to carry that rank. Officers appointed to such positions bear temporary four-star rank while so serving, and are allowed to retire at that rank if their performance is judged satisfactory.^[44] The total number of active-duty four-star generals in the Army is limited to a fixed percentage of the number of Army general officers serving at all ranks.^[45]

Within the Army, the chief of staff (CSA) and vice chief of staff (VCSA) are four-star generals by statute. Since World War II, the commanders of the Army formations in Europe (USAREUR) and East Asia (FECOM/USFK) have been designated four-star generals by reason of importance. Other designated four-star Army commands have included the various training, readiness, and materiel organizations.

The Army also competes with the other services for a number of joint four-star positions, the most prestigious{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} of which are the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the NATO supreme allied commander in Europe (SACEUR). Other joint four-star positions have included unified combatant commanders; certain NATO staff positions; and the wartime theater commanders in Vietnam (MACV), Iraq (MNF-I), and Afghanistan (ISAF/RS).

Four-star positions

See also

Notes

1. ^¹Dates of rank are taken, where available, from the U.S. Army register of active and retired commissioned officers, or from the World Almanac and Book of Facts. The date listed is that of the officer's first promotion to general.
2. ^¹Positions listed are those held by the officer when promoted to general. Dates listed are for the officer's full tenure, which may predate promotion to four-star rank or postdate retirement from active duty.
3. ^¹The number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Date of rank" column from the last year in the "Position" column. Time spent between active-duty four-star assignments is not counted, nor is time spent on special duty as an unassigned general of the Army.
4. ^¹Sources of commission are listed in parentheses after the year of commission and include: the United States Military Academy (USMA); Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university; ROTC at a senior military college such as the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Norwich University (Norwich), Pennsylvania Military College (PMC), or Widener University (Widener); Officer Candidate School (OCS); the aviation cadet program (cadet); the Army National Guard (ARNG); direct commission (direct); and battlefield commission (battlefield).
5. ^¹The number of years in commission before being promoted to four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column.
6. ^¹Notes include years of birth and death; awards of the Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with other four-star officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and unusual career events such as premature relief or death in office.
7. ^Commissioned general in the Continental Army, 1775; resigned, 1783; commissioned lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, 1798; promoted to General of the Armies, October 11, 1976, with date of rank July 4, 1976 (Public Law 94-479).
8. ^Resigned, 1869, to serve as President; reappointed general and placed on the retired list, March 3, 1885.
9. ^Brevetted general, May 1918.
10. ^¹Reverted to major general upon expiration of wartime legislation, June 30, 1920; advanced to general on the retired list, June 21, 1930, as highest grade held during World War I.
11. ^Reverted to major general, November 20, 1930; retired as general, March 31, 1931.
12. ^Reverted to major general, October 1, 1935; retired as general, December 31, 1937; recalled as major general, July 26, 1941; promoted to lieutenant general, July 27, 1941; promoted to general, December 18, 1941, with rank from September 16, 1936; promoted to general of the Army, December 18, 1944; rank made permanent, April 11, 1946; restored to active list, July 9, 1948; relieved of all commands, April 11, 1951.
13. ^Retired as general, August 1939; recalled as major general, September 1941.
14. ^¹²Received a direct commission following graduation from a military college prior to the creation of ROTC.
15. ^Promoted to general of the Army, December 16, 1944; rank made permanent, April 11, 1946; retired as general of the Army, February 28, 1947; restored to active list, March 1, 1949.
16. ^Advanced to general on the retired list, June 15, 1940, as former chief of staff of the Army.
17. ^Retired from active service as general of the Army, 1948; recalled as general of the Army, December 1950; resigned, 1952, to run for President; reappointed general of the Army, March 1961.
18. ^¹²³Transferred to U.S. Air Force, September 18, 1947.
19. ^Retired as major general, January 31, 1945; recalled February 1, 1945; promoted to general, March 5, 1945; advanced to general on the retired list, July 12, 1946; retired, July 20, 1946.
20. ^Retired as major general, April 30, 1946; advanced to general on the retired list, June 4, 1948.
21. ^Nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Vatican City withdrawn, 1951.
22. ^Died in car crash, December 23, 1950; posthumously promoted to general, January 2, 1951.
23. ^Retired as general, July 1959; recalled as general, July 1961.
24. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰Advanced to general on the retired list, July 19, 1954, as a lieutenant general who, during World War II, commanded Army Ground Forces, commanded an army in any of the Theaters of Operations, was commanding general of U.S. forces in China and chief of staff to Chiang Kai-shek, or commanded Western Defense Command (Public Law 83-508).
25. ^Retired as general, August 1963; recalled as general, September 1963.
26. ^Retired as general, December 1959; recalled as general, January 1960.
27. ^Retired as general, July 1970; recalled as general, August 1970.
28. ^Retired as general, December 1974; recalled as lieutenant general, June 1977; retired as general, July 1981.
29. ^Transferred from Army National Guard, 1920; retired, 1947; retained on active duty until 1973; advanced to general on the retired list, February 1970, with date of rank December 23, 1969.
30. ^{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/27/us/schwarzkopf-obit/?hpt=hp_t1 | work=CNN | title='Stormin' Norman' Schwarzkopf, lauded Gulf War commander, dies - CNN.com | date=2012-12-28}}
31. ^Graduated from Pennsylvania Military College, which was reorganized as a civilian institution in 1972 and is now Widener University.
32. ^https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/30/shinseki-va-veteran-scandal-health-care-delays/9758061/
33. ^Retired as general, November 2000; recalled as general, August 2003.
34. ^Relieved, July 2005, and retired as lieutenant general.
35. ^Nomination as Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (VCSA) withdrawn, 2008.
36. ^{{citation| title = Washington Never a General of U.S. Army; Rank Created for Him, but Not Conferred| newspaper = The New York Times| date = February 2, 1936| page = N8| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70E14FF3E5F167B93C0A91789D85F428385F9&scp=1&sq=%22george+washington%22+%22u.s.+army%22+general+&st=p}}
37. ^{{citation| title = 45 U.S. Officers Outrank George Washington| date = September 27, 1953| newspaper = The Associated Press| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D12F93E5A107B93CAAB1782D85F478585F9&scp=1&sq=%22george+washington%22+outrank&st=p}}
38. ^{{Citation |title=The military laws of the United States, 1915, Volume 1, Issue 915 (also The military laws of the United States, 1915, Volume 1, Issue 915) |last=Office of the Judge Advocate General, United States Army |authorlink= |year=1915 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, DC}}
39. ^{{citation| last = Bell| pages = 19–24}}
40. ^{{citation| last = Public Law 65-12, Section 8| date = May 18, 1917}}; {{citation| last = Public Law 65-90, Section 3| date = October 6, 1917}}
41. ^{{citation| title = Rank Of General For Bliss And March; Former Gets Brevet Title for Services Abroad — Latter Becomes Chief of Staff| newspaper = The New York Times| date = May 21, 1918| page = 6| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1918/05/21/archives/rank-of-general-for-bliss-and-march-former-gets-brevet-title-for.html}}
42. ^{{citation| title = March to Lose Two Stars on June 30; Going Back to Rank of Major General| newspaper = The New York Times| date = June 23, 1920| page = 13| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1920/06/23/archives/march-to-lose-two-stars-on-june-30-going-back-to-rank-of-major.html?sq=march+revert&scp=1&st=p}}
43. ^{{citation| last = Officer Personnel Act of 1947 (Public Law 80-381), Sections 504(b,d)| date = August 7, 1947}}
44. ^{{citation| title = Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals| last = 10 USC 601| url = http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/10/subtitles/a/parts/ii/chapters/35/sections/section_601.html}}
45. ^{{citation| title = Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades| last = 10 USC 525| url = http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/10/subtitles/a/parts/ii/chapters/32/sections/section_525.html}}