5 star rank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An officer of 5 star rank is a very senior commander in any of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-10. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, 5 star officers would hold the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, Grand Admiral, Field Marshal or General of the Army or, in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, Marshal of the Air Force. Five-star ranks are extremely senior and thus very rare; the position only exists in a minority of countries and is usually only held by a very few men during wartime.
[edit] United Kingdom 5 star ranks
[edit] United States 5 star ranks
The following persons were promoted to five star rank
| • | Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy | 15 December 1944, |
| • | General of the Army George C. Marshall | 16 December 1944 |
| • | Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King | 17 December 1944, |
| • | General of the Army Douglas MacArthur | 18 December 1944 |
| • | Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz | 19 December 1944, |
| • | General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower | 20 December 1944 |
| • | General of the Army Henry H. Arnold | 21 December 1944 |
| • | Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. | 11 December 1945. |
| • | General of the Army Omar Bradley | 20 September 1950 |
The timing of the first seven appointments was to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the Army and Navy services. On May 7, 1949, Arnold was honored by being made the first and to date only General of the Air Force, being the only American to serve in five-star rank in two of its military services.
