Lieutenant general (United States)

(Redirected from US Lieutenant General) Military rank of the United States 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	Army Marine Corps Air Force Space Force
Abbreviation	LTG (Army) LtGen (Marine Corps) Lt Gen (Air Force and Space Force)
Rank	Three-star
NATO rank code	OF-8
Non-NATO rank	O-9
Next higher rank	General
Next lower rank	Major general
Equivalent ranks	Vice admiral in the other uniformed services which use naval ranks

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.

A lieutenant general ranks above a major general 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.

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. 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. 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. The president may also add three-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. All statutory limits may be waived at the president's discretion during time of war or national emergency.

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. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. 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. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. 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. Otherwise, all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. 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. 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. 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

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Main article: General officers in the United States

During the Quasi War with France, President John Adams promoted George Washington to lieutenant general to celebrate his service in the American Revolution. The rank of lieutenant general would not be awarded to an active American military commander until Ulysses S. Grant was promoted sixty years later, shortly before the end of the American Civil War, to recognize his position as overall commander of Union forces in the East.

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.

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

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.

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

This list of "famous" or "notable" people has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help improve this article by defining clear inclusion criteria to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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

Historic

Listed in order of receiving the rank:

George Washington, the first officer to be appointed to the grade of lieutenant general. He was later posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States in 1976.
Winfield Scott, received a brevet promotion to lieutenant general
Ulysses S. Grant, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
William T. Sherman, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
Philip Sheridan, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
John Schofield, while serving as Commanding General of the United States Army
Nelson A. Miles, while serving as Commanding General of the United States Army
Thomas Holcomb, the first U.S. Marine promoted to the rank as Commandant of the Marine Corps in January 1942

World War II

Frank Maxwell Andrews, U.S. Army Air Forces, commander of U.S. Forces in the European Theater, killed in an air crash
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., commander of U.S. Tenth Army, posthumously promoted to General
Jimmy Doolittle, U.S. Army Air Forces, leader of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in World War II and commander of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Twelfth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Force, later promoted to general, U.S. Air Force, after retirement
Hugh Aloysius Drum, commander of U.S. First Army
Lucian Truscott, commander of the U.S. Fifth Army
Ira C. Eaker, U.S. Army Air Forces, commander of U.S. Eighth Air Force, later posthumously promoted to general in 1986
Delos Carleton Emmons, commander of the Hawaiian Department
Lloyd Fredendall, commander of U.S. Second Army
Leslie Groves, who ran the Manhattan Project and oversaw The Pentagon design and construction.
Millard Harmon, U.S. Army Air Forces, commander of Army Air Forces Pacific, lost during plane flight
Thomas Holcomb, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps during the first half of World War II, later promoted to general on retirement
William S. Knudsen, director of production, Office of the Under Secretary of War. The first civilian to enter the Army at that rank.
Lesley J. McNair, commander of Army Ground Forces, later posthumously promoted to General
Richard K. Sutherland, chief of staff to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, present on the USS Missouri (BB-63) for the Empire of Japan's surrender signing.
George S. Patton, commander of U.S. Third Army, later promoted to General
Joseph Stilwell, Commander of the China Burma India Theater and later Deputy Allied Commander in China.

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

Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, U.S. Marine Corps, the most decorated Marine in Marine Corps history (only Marine ever to be awarded the Navy Cross five times)
Lewis Blaine Hershey, head of the Selective Service System 1940–70, lieutenant general 1956–70, then promoted to general, retired 1973 at age 79.
Edgar S. Harris Jr., former chief of staff and vice commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command and former commander of the Eighth Air Force.
Robert Sink, former commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers), the XVIII Airborne Corps and the Strategic Army Corps.
Hal Moore, former commander of the 1st Cavalry Division
Eugene Forrester, commander of United States Army Pacific (Western Command) from 1981 through .1983
Julius W. Becton Jr., former commander of the VII Corps in Europe, director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in the United States Agency for International Development (US AID), and Director of FEMA from 1985 to 1989
William Eldridge Odom, head of the National Security Agency under president Ronald Reagan, outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and warrantless wiretapping of US citizens.
Thomas P. Stafford, U.S. Air Force, NASA astronaut, flew on Gemini 6A, Gemini 9, Apollo 10 & Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1979 as deputy chief of staff, research development and acquisition, Headquarters USAF, Washington D.C.

Post-Cold War

Thomas L. Baptiste, deputy chairman, NATO Military Committee, Brussels, Belgium.
David Barno, USA (Ret): former commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan during the War in Afghanistan
Carol A. Mutter, USMC (Ret): first woman to be promoted to lieutenant general (1 September 1996)
Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret): first woman to be promoted to lieutenant general in the United States Army (17 June 1997)
Ricardo Sanchez, USA (Ret): former commander U.S. V Corps, former commander of US ground forces in Iraq
Samuel V. Wilson, USA (Ret): Ranger Hall of Fame, Delta Force co-founder, former commander of the 6th Special Forces: former Deputy to director, Central Intelligence Agency, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, former President of Hampden-Sydney College
John B. Sylvester: former deputy chief of staff for NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Mark Hertling
Jack Bergman, USMC (Ret): US Congressman, former commander United States Marine Corps Reserve
Susan Helms, United States Air Force (Ret): former commander 14th Air Force and former NASA astronaut
Michael T. Flynn, USA (Ret): former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (2012-2014) and National Security Advisor (2017)
H. R. McMaster, USA: National Security Advisor (2017-2018)
Nina M. Armagno, USSF: first Director of Staff, Space Staff (Since 2020)

References

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.
10 USC § 526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty
^ 10 USC 525. Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades.
10 USC 528. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions: military status; exclusion from distribution and strength limitations; pay and allowances.
10 USC 527. Authority to suspend sections 523, 525, and 526.
^ 10 USC 601. Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals.
10 USC 636. Retirement for years of service: regular officers in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half).
10 USC 1253. Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception.
DoD News Briefing on Thursday, June 6, 1996. Retirement of Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr.
Stilwell, Blake (May 5, 2022). "Why Ulysses S. Grant Might Be Getting a Promotion Soon". Retrieved August 4, 2023.
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.
"Revival of the Grade of Lieutenant-general". The New York Times. Washington. February 2, 1864. p. 5. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
"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.
Army finance officer attains historic third star (2014-08-13)
"Knudsen the Only Civilian To Enter Army at His Rank", The New York Times, p. 9, January 17, 1942.
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

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.

External links

United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks

Pay grade / branch of service	Officer candidate	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	Wartime grade	Special grade
Insignia
Army	CDT / OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	GA	GAS
Marine Corps	Midn / Cand	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen
Navy	MIDN / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM
Air Force	Cdt / OT	2d Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	GAF
Space Force	Cdt / OT	2d Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Coast Guard	CDT / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM
PHS Corps	OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM
NOAA Corps	OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM
No universal insignia for officer candidate rank No official insignia and not currently listed by the Army as an obtainable rank. John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: (collar) (epaulettes) These ranks are reserved for wartime use only, and are still listed as ranks within their respective services Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created Grade has never been created or authorized