List of active duty United States four-star officers
There are currently 44 active-duty four-star officers in the uniformed services of the United States: 15 in the Army, 3 in the Marine Corps, 9 in the Navy, 13 in the Air Force, 1 in the Space Force, 2 in the Coast Guard, and 1 in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Of the eight federal uniformed services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps is the only service that does not have an established four-star position.
List of designated four-star positions
Department of Defense">United States Department of Defense">Department of Defense
[Joint Chiefs of Staff]
[Unified Combatant Command]s
Other joint positions
Department of the Army">United States Department of the Army">Department of the Army
[United States Army]
Department of the Navy">United States Department of the Navy">Department of the Navy
[United States Marine Corps]
[United States Navy]
Department of the Air Force">United States Department of the Air Force">Department of the Air Force
[United States Air Force]
[United States Space Force]
[Department of Homeland Security]
[United States Coast Guard]
Department of Health and Human Services">United States Department of Health and Human Services">Department of Health and Human Services
[United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps]
List of pending appointments
Statutory limits
The U.S. Code explicitly limits the total number of four-star officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active-duty general or flag officers is capped at 231 for the Army, 162 for the Navy, 198 for the Air Force, and 62 for the Marine Corps. For the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, no more than about 21% of each service's active-duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals, 6 four-star Navy admirals, 9 four-star Air Force generals and 2 four-star Marine generals.Several of these slots are reserved by statute. For the Army and the Air Force, the Chief of Staff and the Vice Chief of Staff for both services are all four-star generals; for the Navy, the Chief and Vice Chief of Naval Operations are both four-star admirals; for the Marine Corps, the Commandant and the Assistant Commandant are both four-star generals. For the Coast Guard, the Commandant and the Vice Commandant are both four-star admirals. For the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a four-star general under reserve active duty in the Army or Air Force. And for the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the Assistant Secretary for Health is a four-star admiral if he or she holds an active-duty appointment to the regular corps.
Exceptions
There are several exceptions to the limits allowing more than allotted four-star officers within the statute. A four-star officer serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not count against his or her service's general- or flag-officer cap. An officer serving as Chief of the National Guard Bureau does not count against his or her service's general-officer cap. The Secretary of Defense can designate no more than 20 additional four-star officers, who do not count against any service's general- or flag-officer limit, to serve in one of several joint positions. These positions include the commander of a unified combatant command and the commander of U.S. Forces Korea. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against statutory limit, including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add up to 5 four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency.On September 14, 2001, the President declared a national emergency and invoked his authority to waive all statutory limits on the number and grade distribution of general and flag officers on active duty. On this basis, a number of senior officers in the Middle East have been appointed in excess of the normal limits, including the four-star commanders of the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters, and the temporary authorization for their positions will expire shortly following the termination of the national emergency.
Appointment
Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office they are linked to, so these ranks are temporary. Officers may only achieve four-star grade if they are appointed to positions of office that require and/or allow the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. Four-star officers are nominated for appointment by the President from any eligible officers holding a one-star grade or above, who also meets the other requirements for the position, under the advice and/or suggestion of their respective executive department secretary, service secretary, and if applicable the joint chiefs. The nominee must be confirmed via majority by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank.It is extremely unusual for a four-star nominee to draw even token opposition in a Senate vote, either in committee or on the floor, because the administration usually withdraws or declines to submit nominations that draw controversy before or during the confirmation process.
- For example, upon encountering opposition in the Senate, the administration declined to submit nominations for General Joseph W. Ralston to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997.
- Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez was once the leading candidate to become commander of U.S. Southern Command in 2004.
- General Peter Pace would have faced tough scrutiny from the Senate over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had he been nominated for reappointment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007.
- The President withdrew the nominations of Admiral Stanley R. Arthur to be commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command in 1994, and of General Gregory S. Martin to be commander of U.S. Pacific Command in 2004 over their handling of the Tailhook and Darleen Druyun scandals respectively.
- For example, the Senate declined to schedule a vote for the nomination of Lieutenant General James A. Abrahamson to be elevated to four-star rank as director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization in 1986.
- The Senate also declined to vote on Lieutenant General Charles W. Bagnal's nomination for four-star rank and as commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific in 1989.
- Major General John D. Lavelle was nominated to be posthumously restored to four-star rank on the retired list in 2010, but the nomination also expired in the Senate without action.
- And Rear Admiral Cristina V. Beato was nominated to be assistant secretary for health in 2003 but her nomination also was not placed on the Senate schedule for a vote. Had Beato been confirmed and assumed office, she would have been the first woman in any uniformed service to achieve four-star grade; instead that honor went to General Ann E. Dunwoody.
Tour length
- The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serves for a nominal four-year term.
- The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serve for a nominal two-year term of office but may serve for up to six years, in three consecutive terms. The President can appoint them to serve a fourth term, for a combined total of eight years, if it serves in the interest of the nation. Typically, the vice chairman serves for four years.
- Service chiefs of staff serve a nominal four-year term.
- The Commandant of the Coast Guard serves for a nominal four-year term.
- The Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four-year term.
- The Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion serves for a nominal eight-year term.
- The Assistant Secretary for Health is a civilian or a Public Health Service officer who serves for a nominal four-year term.
Retirement
Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Four-star officers must retire after 40 years of commissioned service unless reappointed to grade to serve longer. Four-star officers serving in the reserve active duty must retire after five years in grade or 40 years of commissioned service, whichever is later, unless reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday. Officers that served several years in the enlisted ranks prior to receiving their commission typically don't make it to the 40 years in commission mark, because they are still subject to the age restrictions for retirement.- For example, Admiral Michael G. Mullen was born on October 4, 1946; placed on active duty in 1968 and promoted to admiral on August 23, 2003. Ordinarily, he would have been expected to retire at the end of his four-year term as chief of naval operations in 2008 after 40 years of service. Instead, he was reappointed as an admiral and appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2007. He retired from the Navy after serving two, two-year terms as chairman on October 1, 2011, at the age of 65 with 43 years of service and eight years in grade.
- General James F. Amos was born on November 12, 1946; placed on active duty in 1970 and promoted to general on July 3, 2008. Ordinarily, he would have been expected to retire at the end of his two-year term as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps in 2010 after 40 years of service. Instead, he was reappointed as a general and appointed as commandant of the Marine Corps on October 22, 2010. He retired from the Marine Corps after completing his four-year term as commandant on October 17, 2014, at the age of 67 with 44 years of service and six years in grade.
- General Frank J. Grass was born on May 19, 1951; enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard in October 1969 and received his commission in 1981. He was appointed as a general in the active duty reserves and assignment as chief of the National Guard Bureau on September 7, 2012. He remained on reserve active duty until he completed of his four-year term as chief and retired from the Army on August 3, 2016, at 65 years of age with 35 years in commissioned service, 47 years of total service, and four years in grade.
- For example, Vice Admiral Patrick M. Walsh was promoted to admiral and appointed as vice chief of naval operations in 2007. The incumbent vice chief, Admiral Robert F. Willard, was appointed as commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The incumbent Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Gary Roughead, was appointed as commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, whose incumbent commander, Admiral John B. Nathman, received no further appointment and retired at the age of 59, with 37 years of service and three years in grade.
- Lieutenant General Gary L. North was promoted to general and appointed as commander of Pacific Air Forces in 2009. The incumbent Pacific Air Forces commander, General Carrol Chandler, was appointed as vice chief of staff of the air force, while the incumbent vice chief, General William M. Fraser III, was appointed as commander of Air Combat Command, whose incumbent commander, General John D. W. Corley, received no further appointment and retired at the age of 58, with 36 years of service and four years in grade.
- For example, when removed from office after less than the statutory time in grade, Generals Frederick F. Woerner and Stanley A. McChrystal were retired as full generals as certified by the President and were not subjected to senatorial confirmation.
- Admirals Husband E. Kimmel and Richard C. Macke were not certified to retire at three-star or four-star rank, and retired as two-star rear admirals.
- General Kevin P. Byrnes had over two years in grade but was being investigated for misconduct, and retired as a lieutenant general.
- In 1972 General John D. Lavelle was relieved for misconduct and certified to retire as a lieutenant general, but was rejected by a Senate Armed Services Committee vote of 14 to 2 and retired as a major general; in 2010 he was nominated posthumously for advancement to general on the retired list based on newly declassified evidence, however as stated above, the Senate did not vote on the nomination and let it expire at the end of the Congressional session.
- General Michael J. Dugan retired as a full general as certified by the President, but only after receiving approval from the Senate Armed Services Committee.
- After achieving the statutory time in grade, Admirals Frank B. Kelso II and Henry H. Mauz Jr. were retired as full admirals, but only after going through a full senatorial confirmation vote of 54 to 43 and 92 to 6, respectively.
- For example, an investigation by the Department of Defense comptroller held Generals Roger A. Brady and Stephen R. Lorenz in their four-star commands for up to 13 months beyond their originally scheduled retirements.
- General William E. Ward relinquished his four-star command as scheduled, he remained on active duty in his permanent grade of major general, pending an investigation by the Department of Defense inspector general before being allowed to retire as a lieutenant general over a year after his original scheduled retirement.
- Admiral Samuel J. Locklear was held in his four-star command for months beyond his original scheduled retirement by the Navy's Consolidated Disposition Authority, while under investigation for the Fat Leonard corruption scandal before being cleared of any wrongdoing.
- General David H. Petraeus, who had retired from the Army as a four-star general on August 31, 2011, faced punitive action from the Secretary of Defense, over four years past his retirement date, for mishandling classified materials while serving as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. He was allowed to retain his four-star rank in retirement with the recommendation of the Secretary of the Army and strong support from ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
- General Arthur Lichte, who had retired from the Air Force as a four-star general on January 1, 2010, received a letter of reprimand from the secretary of the Air Force, for sexually assaulting a subordinate female officer on multiple occasions, over six years after his retirement date. The Secretary of Defense withdrew Lichte's certification of satisfactory service, and reduced his retirement rank to major general, which the Air Force determined was his last permanent rank he served in satisfactorily. Lichte could have faced charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, however since the allegations were not reported or investigated until over five years past when they occurred, the statute of limitations bars having charges being brought up for prosecution.
- For example, General Michael Hagee was relieved as commandant of the Marine Corps on November 13, 2006, and held his retirement ceremony the same day, but remained on active duty until his official retirement date on January 1, 2007.
- For example, the record for the longest tenure in any service is held by General Lewis B. Hershey who enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard in 1911 at the age of 18. He was called up for federal active duty during World War I, receiving a commission in 1916, and subsequently transferred to the regular army at the end of the war. He served in active duty in the Army until the age of 80 before being involuntarily retired in 1973 after 62 years of continuous service.
- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover is listed as serving for 63 years in the Navy from 1918 to 1982. However his service reflects a time when attending any military academy was considered active duty service due in part from World War I. In today's military rules and regulations, an officer who initially begins their career through a military academy does not begin their service until upon receiving their commission after graduation, even though they are subjected to the Uniform Code of Military Justice while attending the academy.