major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) (02/05/91)
From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > From: "John D. Karunananthan" <jkaruna@jarthur.Claremont.edu> > Can someone list the Rank of military officers in order of > command. (For the Army,Navy,Air Force and the Marines) > Thanks Army-AirForce-Marine Navy Insignia ----------------------------------------------------------- General Admiral 4-stars Lieutenant General Vice Admiral 3-stars Major General Rear Admiral 2-stars Brigadier General Rear Admiral(l/h*) 1-star Colonel Captain silver eagle Lieutenant Colonel Commander silver oak leaf Major Lieutenant Commander gold oak leaf Captain Lieutenant 2 silver bars First Lieutenant Lieutenant j.g. 1 silver bar Second Lieutenant Ensign 1 gold bar (*Rear Admiral (lower half) wears 2-stars) In the Army "Command Chain": Generals command Armies Lieutenant Generals command Corps Major Generals command Divisions Brigadier Generals are assistant division commanders Colonels command Brigades Lieutenant Colonels command Battalions Majors don't command anything - but are great staff officers, by god! Captains command Companies Lieutenants command Platoons "General Grade" are the general officers "Field Grade" are the colonel, lt col, and majors "Company Grade" are the captains and lieutenants mike schmitt The most dangerous weapon in the world? A second lieutenant with a map!
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (02/06/91)
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > General Admiral 4-stars Dept. of trivia: there are actually theoretically two higher Army ranks (don't know about USAF and USMC), although neither has been used lately. There is a five-star general, "General Of The Army"; insignia is five stars in a circle. And there is "General Of The Armies" -- note plural -- which was used only once, for Pershing in WWI; he was given authority to design his own insignia for it, but apparently never did so. -- "Maybe we should tell the truth?" | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology "Surely we aren't that desperate yet." | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
schweige@aldebaran.cs.nps.navy.mil (jeffrey schweiger) (02/07/91)
From: schweige@aldebaran.cs.nps.navy.mil (jeffrey schweiger) In article <1991Feb5.043249.6192@cbnews.att.com> bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) writes: | | Army-AirForce-Marine Navy Insignia | ----------------------------------------------------------- | Brigadier General Rear Admiral(l/h*) 1-star | (*Rear Admiral (lower half) wears 2-stars) Rear Admiral (lower half) is a one-star rank with one-star insignia. Prior to the re-creation of a USN one-star rank, the lower half of the Rear Admiral list did indeed wear two-star insignia, but this has not been the case since at least the mid-1980's. -- ******************************************************************************* Jeff Schweiger Standard Disclaimer CompuServe: 74236,1645 Internet (Milnet): schweige@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil *******************************************************************************
baldwin@cad.usna.mil (J.D. Baldwin) (02/07/91)
From: "J.D. Baldwin" <baldwin@cad.usna.mil> Henry Spencer writes (in response to Mike Schmitt): >> General Admiral 4-stars > >Dept. of trivia: there are actually theoretically two higher Army ranks >(don't know about USAF and USMC), although neither has been used lately. They have traditionally been considered wartime ranks--I don't think there's been any talk about reviving them for purposes of the current conflict. I suppose it's expected to be too short to be worth the trouble. Mr. Spencer added the Army ranks of General of the Army and General of the Armies to the list. There is also a Navy "Fleet Admiral" five-star rank. It has only ever been held by Nimitz, King, and a couple of others. It, too, is considered a wartime rank. There is not, to my knowledge, an "Admiral of the Navies" equivalent. Mr. Schmitt again: >> Army-AirForce-Marine Navy Insignia >> ----------------------------------------------------------- >> Brigadier General Rear Admiral(l/h*) 1-star >> >> (*Rear Admiral (lower half) wears 2-stars) Dept. of even-more-trivial-trivia: "Rear Admiral Lower Half" wasn't really a rank until very recently. In the old days, a 1-star "admiral" was called a "Commodore," but this caused some confusion with the traditional title of a squadron commander, whatever his rank, who is called "Commodore." (There exists similar confusion when a Navy Commander is the Captain of a ship, but no one seems to care too much about that one.) Until around 1982 or so, Commodore was considered a wartime rank, and when a Navy Captain made flag rank, he pinned on two stars and became a Rear Admiral (the "lower half/upper half" distinction was still made for purposes of pay, but no one really cared which admirals were lower or upper half). Then someone decided to bring back the Commodore rank (rumor is that the USAF and USA whined that the Navy guys didn't have to go through a period of wearing one star). That didn't work out for the "confusion" reason mentioned above. So, when they went back to the Rear Admiral Lower / Upper Half, it became a one-star/two-star distinction, and the actual abbreviation for the rank is different. A Rear Admiral, Lower Half, signs his correspondence, for example, with "Lower Half" after the rank. No one, of course, addresses such an officer with the "half" distinction. He's just "Admiral" or "Rear Admiral Smith." Not that it's pertinent, but I think all this is stupid! Bring back the Commodore rank, or let's just have Rear Admirals with two stars again. This "Lower Half" business sounds too much like Admiral (junior grade). Gross. -- From the catapult of: |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I _,_J. D. Baldwin, Comp Sci Dept |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to _|70|___:::)=}- U.S. Naval Academy|+| retract it, but also to deny under \ / baldwin@cad.usna.navy.mil |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) (02/07/91)
From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) > > Dept. of trivia: there are actually theoretically two higher Army ranks > (don't know about USAF and USMC), although neither has been used lately. > There is a five-star general, "General Of The Army"; insignia is five > stars in a circle. And there is "General Of The Armies" -- note plural -- > which was used only once, for Pershing in WWI; he was given authority to > design his own insignia for it, but apparently never did so. (a short side-note) The five-star rank was created - especially for Eisenhower so he could 'match' the British Field-Marshal rank. (It was also told that the 5-star rank was created so German Field-Marshals could properly surrender to an 'equal' officer (?)) 5-stars (from memory) Eisenhower, McArthur, Nimitz, Hap Arnold, Bradley - (did I forget anyone?). Does anyone know why the U.S. didn't use the rank Field-Marshal - like all the European forces? mts
jimcat@rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak) (02/07/91)
From: jimcat@rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak) Wasn't Douglas MacArthur given the rank of General Of The Armies sometime during either WWII or Korea? Or was he just your garden- variety five-star general? (-: Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the USAF once had a five-star general (presumably General Of The Air Force). Can anyone confirm or deny this? -- Jim Kasprzak kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu (internet) RPI, Troy, NY userfe0u@rpitsmts.bitnet "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission." -Rush
eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus) (02/08/91)
From: eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus)
As long as you are including such "trivia," as five star
Generals, there is a rank of Fleet Admiral, I think that Admiral King
was the only one. Also the Navy still carries the rank of Commodore
on the books. Officially it is a "flag rank" corresponding to
Brigadier General (or Rear Admiral (l.h.)), but its most recent use I
think has been to brevet Captains to command their peers. (i. e. A
small task force would be commanded by a Captain breveted to
Commodore.) I wish the Navy would make up their minds on this one one
way or the other.
--
Robert I. Eachus
Our troops will have the best possible support in the entire
world. And they will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind
their back. President George Bush, January 16, 1991ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) (02/08/91)
From: Allan Bourdius <ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu> >From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) > >Dept. of trivia: there are actually theoretically two higher Army ranks >(don't know about USAF and USMC), although neither has been used lately. >There is a five-star general, "General Of The Army"; insignia is five >stars in a circle. And there is "General Of The Armies" -- note plural -- There is also a rank of "General of the Armies of the United States of America" to which only one man has been promoted: George Washington. The US Congress voted to pothumously promote him in 1976. Allan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allan Bourdius [MIDN 3/C (Marine Option)/Brother, Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity] ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu or Box 4719, 5125 Margaret Morrison St., Pgh., PA 15213 "Give, expecting nothing thereof." "Phi Kappa Theta, just the best." "An unwarlike Marine is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar." Nothing that I have written is the opinion of anyone but myself. So there!
leem@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Lee Mellinger) (02/08/91)
From: leem@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Lee Mellinger) In article <1991Feb7.020213.4132@cbnews.att.com> jimcat@rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak) writes: : : Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the USAF once had :a five-star general (presumably General Of The Air Force). Can :anyone confirm or deny this? Yes, General of the Air Force "Hap" Arnold. Lee "Mit Pulver und Blei, die Gedanken sind frei." |Lee F. Mellinger Caltech/Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA |4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 818/393-0516 FTS 977-0516 |leem@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV
emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery) (02/08/91)
From: emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery) Mike forgot the first, and most important 5-star General: George Marshall. The story I understand is that the rank was created so that Marshall could deal with British Field Marshalls on an equal basis, and also because we figured out we needed a new rank for Army Group commander. Legend has it that the name "General of the Army" came from Marshall's insistence that he'd "be damned if he'd be called Field Marshall Marshall!" I think there were 5 Army/Army Air Force and 2 or 3 Navy 5-stars. dave
howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) (02/08/91)
From: howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) [mod.note: I think we've hammered this one about enough, haven't we ? No more rank amateurs, please ! 8-) - Bill ] In article <1991Feb6.032439.22085@cbnews.att.com> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: > >Dept. of trivia: there are actually theoretically two higher Army ranks >(don't know about USAF and USMC), although neither has been used lately. >There is a five-star general, "General Of The Army"; insignia is five >stars in a circle. And there is "General Of The Armies" -- note plural -- To trivialize even further, Fleet Admiral was the Navy's WWII five-star rank. Army Air Force officers did (at least Arnold -- did Spaatz?) but I don't know if they carried this into General of the Air Force; I think I've seen the latter in USAF charts. From memory, the five-stars were (not positive about Spaatz): ARMY: Marshall (Army CoS), Arnold (USAAF), Spaatz (?-SAC equivalent) MacArthur (SWPAC Theater), Eisenhower (European Theater), Bradley (senior Army Group commander) NAVY: Leahy (FDR's chief of staff), Nimitz (CINCPAC), Halsey (3rd Fleet CO) BOOO HISS! Spruance, 5th fleet CO, had exactly the same ships as Halsey; different staff. He had to settle for four stars. -- howard@cos.com OR {uunet, decuac, sun!sundc, hadron, hqda-ai}!cos!howard (703) 883-2812 [W] (703) 998-5017 [H] DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Corporation for Open Systems, its members, or any standards body.
gjw@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Mr Garry J. Wardrope) (02/08/91)
From: "Mr Garry J. Wardrope" <gjw@cs.glasgow.ac.uk>
For those of you interested the UK ranks are slightly different ( particularly
the RAF ). Entries at each level in each list are equivalent.
Royal Navy Insignia (Gold lace worn on sleeve or
on shoulder straps )
Admiral of the Fleet 1 Broad stripe and 4 stripes
Admiral 1 " " 3 "
Vice Admiral 1 " " 2 "
Rear Admiral 1 " " 1 "
Commodore 1 Broad stripe
Captain 4 Stripes
Commander 3 Stripes
Lieutenant commander 2 Stripes with one half stripe between
Lieutenant 2 Stripes
Sub Lieutenant 1 Stripe
Midshipman On each side of the collar of the coat,
a white patch with a buttonhole of white
twist and a corresponding button.
(Each branch had a different colour beetween the stripes but this is only used
my the medical branch now.)
Until recently there were different ranks for WRNS but they have now been
integreated with the men. ( No jokes please)
Army Insignia (Shoulder straps )
Field Marshal Crown, crossed guns surrounded by laurel
General Crown, 1 star, crossed sword and gun
Lieutenant General Crown, crossed sword and gun
Major General 1 star, crossed sword and gun
Brigadier Crossed sword and gun
Colonel Crown, 2 stars
Lieutenant Colonel Crown, 1 star
Major Crown
Captain 3 stars
Lieutenant 2 stars
2nd Lieutenant 1 star
( Stars are often referred to a pips )
RAF Insignia (As RN only narrower stripes and they
are blue and black)
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Air Chief Marshal
Air Marshal
Air Vice Marshal
Air Commodore
Group Captain
Wing Commander
Squadron Leader
Flight Lieutenant
Flying Officer / Observation Officer
Pilot Officer
Senior Naval Officers (Commodore and above) were shoulder badges when in
dress uniform, similar to the army insignia. Army officers were a type of stripe
system when in dress uniform !
Marines use army ranks.
Most if not all these ranks are currently in use in the UK armed forces. As far
as the Navy goes there is an Admiral of the Fleet (naughty of me but I've
forgotten his name ) The Senior Naval Officer Middle East is
Commodore Chris Crag. I'm not so up on the army and RAF. (Dont make bets on the
Army insignia .)
--
Mail: Garry Wardrope, Computing Science Dept., Tel: (041) 339 8855 x5322
Glasgow Univ., 17 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
ARPA: gjw%cs.glasgow.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk USENET: gjw@cs.glasgow.uucp
JANET:gjw@uk.ac.glasgow.cs useBANGnet: ...mcsun!ukc!cs.glasgow.ac.uk!gjw