WikiPortallus: List of United States four-star officers.html

U.S. Code of law 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 302 for the Army, 216 for the Navy, 279 for the Air Force, 80 for the Marine Corps.² For the Army, Navy, and Air Force, no more than 16.3% of the service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and no more than 25% of those may have four stars.³⁴⁵ This corresponds to 12 four-star Army generals, 9 four-star Navy admirals, 11 four-star Air Force generals and 3 four-star Marine generals.

There are several exceptions to these limits allowing more than allotted within the statute. A four-star officer serving as Chief of Staff to the President, or as Chairman ³ or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ³ does not count against his or her service's general or flag officer cap. An officer serving as Chief of the National Guard Bureau ³ does not count against his or her service's general officer cap. An officer serving in one of several joint positions does not count against his or her service's four-star limit, but he or she does count against his or her service's limit on officers with more than two stars; these positions include the commander of a unified combatant command ³, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea ³, and the deputy commander of U.S. European Command ³ but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. ⁹ Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. ¹⁰ The President may also add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services.³ Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency. ¹¹

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.¹² 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 and tour length

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 that require the officer to hold such a rank. ¹³ Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute.¹³ Four-star officers are nominated for appointment by the President under the advice and/or suggestion of their respective department secretary, service secretary, and if applicable the joint chiefs.¹³ The nominee must be confirmed via majority by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank.¹³ The standard tour length for most four-star positions is three years, bundled as a two-year term plus a one-year extension, with the following exceptions:

Note: Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits, by their respective service secretaries, the Secretary of Defence, the President, and/or Congress but these are rare, as they block other officers from being promoted. Some statutory limits under the U.S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare.

Retirement

Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Four-star officers must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to grade to serve longer.¹⁴ Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.¹⁵ However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday¹⁵ and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.¹⁵

Senior officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there are a finite number of four-star slots available to each service, typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted.¹⁶ Maintaining a four-star rank is a game of musical chairs; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, he or she has no more than 60 days to be appointed or reappointed to a position equal importance before he or she must involuntarily retire ¹³. Historically, officers leaving four-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.

To retire at four-star grade, an officer must accumulate at least three years of satisfactory active duty service in that grade, as certified by the Secretary of Defense and confirmed by the Senate.¹⁷ The Secretary of Defense may reduce this requirement to two years, but only if the officer is not being investigated for misconduct. Officers who do not meet the service-in-grade requirement revert to the next highest grade in which they served satisfactorily for at least six months. It is extraordinarily rare for a four-star officer not to be nominated to retire in grade, or for such a nomination not to be confirmed by the Senate unanimously.

Four-star officers typically step down from their posts up to 60 days in advance of their official retirement dates. Officers retire on the first day of the month, so once a retirement month has been selected, the relief and retirement ceremonies are scheduled by counting backwards from that date by the number of days of accumulated leave remaining to the retiring officer. During this period, termed transition leave or terminal leave, the officer is considered to be awaiting retirement but still on active duty.

Statutory limit can be waived by the President with the consent of Congress if it serves national interest however this is extremely rare.

Notes

^ Note: Historically, the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion is held by an officer in the Navy, however a civilian can be appointed to that position without joining or being a serving member of the Navy.
^ [1] 10 USC 526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h [2] 10 USC 525. Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades.
^ ^a ^b [3] Pub.L. 110-181: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008
^ ^a ^b [4] Pub.L. 110-181: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 full text
^ [5] 14 USC 44. Commandant; appointment.
^ [6] 10 USC 10502 Chief of the National Guard Bureau: appointment; adviser on National Guard matters; grade; succession.
^ [7] 42 USC 207. Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps.
^ [8] 10 USC 604. Senior joint officer positions: recommendations to the Secretary of Defense.
^ [9] 10 USC 528. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions: military status; exclusion from distribution and strength limitations; pay and allowances.
^ [10] 10 USC 527. Authority to suspend sections 523, 525, and 526.
^ [11] Proclamation 7463 of September 14, 2001. Declaration of national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e [12] 10 USC 601. Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals.
^ [13] 10 USC 636. Retirement for years of service: regular officers in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half).
^ ^a ^b ^c [14] 10 USC 1253 Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception
^ [15] DoD News Briefing on Thursday, June 6, 1996. Retirement of Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr.
^ [16] 10 USC 1370. Commissioned officers: general rule; exceptions.
^ [17] Casey, Aloysius & Patrick Casey (February 2007), "Lavelle, Nixon, and the White House Tapes", Air Force Magazine 90 (2)
^ [18] Congressional Record, October 18, 2005 - H8917. Executive communications, etc.

List of United States four-star officers.html

Contents

List of designated four-star positions

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Unified Combatant Commands

Other joint positions

U.S. Army

U.S. Navy

U.S. Marine Corps

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

List of pending appointments

Statutory limits

Appointment and tour length

Retirement

Notes

See also