Lieutenant general (United States)

In the United States Armed Forces, a lieutenant general is a three-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.

This article is about a United States military rank. For other countries that use a similar rank, see Lieutenant general.

Lieutenant general
Three-star insignia of the rank of lieutenant general. Style and method of wear may vary between different uniforms and different service branches.
Shoulder boards
Country United States
Service branch
Abbreviation
  • LTG (Army)
  • LtGen (Marine Corps)
  • Lt Gen (Air Force and Space Force)
RankThree-star
NATO rank codeOF-8
Non-NATO rankO-9
Next higher rankGeneral
Next lower rankMajor general
Equivalent ranks

A lieutenant general ranks above a major general[Note 1] and below a general. The pay grade of lieutenant general is O-9. It is equivalent to the rank of vice admiral in the other United States uniformed services which use naval ranks. It is abbreviated as LTG in the Army, LtGen in the Marine Corps, and Lt Gen in the Air Force and Space Force.

Statutory limits
U.S. lieutenant general flags
Rank flag of a lieutenant general in the United States Army. The flag of a lieutenant general of the Army Medical Department has a maroon background; the flag of a chaplain (lieutenant general) has a purple background.
Flag of a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general.
Flag of a United States Air Force lieutenant general.
Flag of a United States Space Force lieutenant general.[1]

The United States Code explicitly limits the total number of generals that may be concurrently active to 231 for the Army, 62 for the Marine Corps, and 198 for the Air Force.[2] For the Army and Air Force, no more than about 25% of the service's active duty general officers may have more than two stars.[3] Some of these slots can be reserved by statute. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[4] The President may also add three-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services.[3] All statutory limits may be waived at the president's discretion during time of war or national emergency.[5]

Appointment and tour length

The three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office to which it is linked, so the rank is temporary. Officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank.[6] Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute.[6] Lieutenant generals are nominated for appointment by the president from any eligible officers holding the rank of brigadier general or above, who also meet the requirements for the position, with the advice of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[6] The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank.[6] The standard tour length for most lieutenant general positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute.

Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits, by their respective service secretaries, the Secretary of Defense, the president, 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. Three-star ranks may also be given by an act of Congress but this is extremely rare.

Retirement

Other than voluntary retirement, the statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Lieutenant generals must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer.[7] Otherwise, all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[8] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a three-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the president can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.

General 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 is a finite number of three-star slots available to each service, typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted.[9] Maintaining a three-star rank is a game of musical chairs; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, they have 60 days to be appointed or reappointed to a position of equal or higher importance or involuntarily retire.[6] Historically, officers leaving three-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.

History
Main article: General officers in the United States

During the Quasi War with France, President John Adams promoted George Washington to lieutenant general. The next person to receive a regular promotion to the rank was Ulysses S. Grant over sixty years later, before the end of the American Civil War.[10]

On February 28, 1855, President Franklin Pierce nominated Winfield Scott to be breveted lieutenant general, effective March 29, 1847, as an honor for his capture Veracruz and San Juan de Ulúa, during the Mexican–American War.[11]

The grade was re-established by a vote in House of Representatives on 1 February 1864, with 96 for and 41 against.[12] On June 1, 1888, the rank was merged with General of the Army and discontinued.[13]

Modern use

An Army or Marine Corps lieutenant general typically commands a corps-sized unit (20,000 to 45,000 soldiers for an Army Corps and a similar number of Marines for a Marine Expeditionary Force), while an Air Force lieutenant general commands a large Numbered Air Force consisting of several wings or a smaller USAF Major Command (MAJCOM) such as the Air Force Special Operations Command or the Air Force Reserve Command. Additionally, lieutenant generals of all services serve as high-level staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon, often as the heads of their departments. In 2014 five women were serving as lieutenant generals in the US Army.[14]

After the close of the Second World War, generals were normally promoted permanently to brigadier general and major general, with temporary promotions to lieutenant general and general to fill senior positions as needed. In theory, a general vacates their three or four-star rank at the termination of their assignment unless placed in an equal ranking billet. Douglas MacArthur, who served as a four-star general and Army Chief of Staff, reverted to two stars after his CoS tour ended but chose to stay on active duty in the United States Army.

The practice of using lieutenant general and general grades as a temporary rank continues, with the President and the Department of Defense creating temporary or indefinite three- and four-star assignments, with a fixed term of office, with the approval of the Senate. Even with the temporary status, such officers are also almost always granted permanent retirement in the last grade they held with the satisfactory completion of at least two or three years in grade.

Famous lieutenant generals
Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson wearing three-star rank, 1945

Historic

Listed in order of receiving the rank:

World War II

1950s through 1980s; Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War

Post-Cold War

See also

References
  1. Pawlyk, Oriana (August 27, 2020). "Space Force Was Set to Announce Its New Rank Structure. Then, Congress Stepped In". Military.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  2. 10 USC § 526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty
  3. 10 USC 525. Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades.
  4. 10 USC 528. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions: military status; exclusion from distribution and strength limitations; pay and allowances.
  5. 10 USC 527. Authority to suspend sections 523, 525, and 526.
  6. 10 USC 601. Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals.
  7. 10 USC 636. Retirement for years of service: regular officers in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half).
  8. 10 USC 1253. Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception.
  9. DoD News Briefing on Thursday, June 6, 1996. Retirement of Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr.
  10. Stilwell, Blake (May 5, 2022). "Why Ulysses S. Grant Might Be Getting a Promotion Soon". Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  11. Richardson, James D. (1903). A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Vol. V. Washington, DC: Bureau of National Literature and Art. pp. 305–306.
  12. "Revival of the Grade of Lieutenant-general". The New York Times. Washington. February 2, 1864. p. 5. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  13. "How many U.S. Army five-star generals have there been and who were they?". history.army.mil. U.S. Army Center of Military History. January 31, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  14. Army finance officer attains historic third star (2014-08-13)
  15. "Knudsen the Only Civilian To Enter Army at His Rank", The New York Times, p. 9, January 17, 1942.
  16. Patricia Tracey, VADM, USN (Ret), was the first woman to be promoted to three-star rank (vice admiral, the Navy rank equivalent to lieutenant general, both being the military grade of O-9), on 13 May 1996.

Notes
  1. The rank of major general originally began as sergeant major general, in the British Army, and was junior to the rank of lieutenant general. Over time, "sergeant" was dropped and by the late 17th/early 18th century it had been shortened to major general. It was first used in the newly formed Continental Army of the United Colonies (soon to be United States) on 17 June 1775, assigned to Artemas Ward and Charles Lee – second and third in command to Lt. General (rank at that time, as commander of the Continental Army) George Washington. As a result, the rank of lieutenant general continues to be senior to major general, even though the rank of major has always been senior to the rank of lieutenant.
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