Fleet Admiral (United States)
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A Fleet Admiral, or as known by its complete title, Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy, is an admiral considered to be the equivalent of the United States Army's General of the Army and the United States Air Force's General of the Air Force. The United States rank of Fleet Admiral was created on a temporary basis under Pub.L. 78-482 on December 14, 1944 [1] and made permanent by Pub.L. 79-333 on March 23, 1946, [2] and was held during and after World War II by the following officers:
| • | William D. Leahy | December 15, 1944, |
| • | Ernest King | December 17, 1944, |
| • | Chester Nimitz | December 19, 1944, |
| • | William Halsey | December 11, 1945. |
- Note the careful timing of the first three appointments. The dates of rank for the corresponding five-star generals promoted at the same time are December 16, 18, 20, and 21, 1944, to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the services.
The insignia for Fleet Admiral comprises five stars in a pentagon design with a thick rank stripe, below four smaller stripes, on the service dress blue uniform.
A close contender to the rank of Fleet Admiral was Raymond A. Spruance; however, U.S. Representative Carl Vinson, a strong supporter of William F. Halsey, was reported to have on several occasions blocked the final promotion of Spruance to Fleet Admiral.
Since the close of the Second World War, there have been no additional Fleet Admirals appointed in the United States Navy. However, the rank still remains listed on official U.S. rank insignia precedence charts and could be reestablished at the discretion of the United States Congress. Some Navy documents, especially those teaching new sailors the rank structure, have stated that the rank officially expired upon the death of Fleet Admiral Nimitz in 1966. Its reenactment will require another act of Congress.
U.S. Naval tradition holds that the rank Admiral of the Navy is considered senior to that of Fleet Admiral. The only person to ever hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy was George Dewey. Dewey was awarded the rank after his service in the Spanish-American War.
