General

A General is a high ranking military officer in several militaries.

United States

In the United States, general officers are the highest set of officers in the US Army, the US Marine Corps, and the US Air Force. There are four grades in use today, each sometimes referred to by the number of stars in that rank's insignia. In descending order, they are:

• General (four star)
• Lieutenant General (three star)
• Major General (two star)
• Brigadier General (one star)

There are two ranks higher than General, though none are in use today. General John J. Pershing was appointed General of the Armies after World War 1, but continued wearing four stars. No official insignia for General of the Armies exists. General of the Army was created during World War 2 as a five star rank (although it was explicitly below General of the Armies in precedence). The five-star ranks were used during the war and for a short time afterward. Current policy reserves five star ranks for use in wartime.

Origins of names

The title orginates from the adjective describing the office or position of the overal leader during a campaign in many European armies as the "Captain General" in a similar way that we may refer to the Surgeon General of the United States today.

A lieutenant was the title of leader under a captain and able to act in place of the captain (from the words "lieu" meaning in place of and "tenant" meaning position) hence the rank of "Lieutenant General" preceded Captain General.

The senior commander in charge of the infantry on a field of battle took the title of "Serjeant Major" (using the older English spelling with a j). When this title became used for smaller units such as regiments, the title was renamed Sejeant-Major General. During the eighteenth century the two ranks were shortened respectively to Major and Major General. The rank of Sergeant Major as a senior non-commissioned officer (enlisted ranks) was introduced later.

A Brigadier General was orginally the senior officer in charge of a Brigade.