Five-star rank

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The insignia used by US generals and admirals of OF-10 rank.

A five-star rank is a very senior military rank, first established in the United States in 1944, with a five-star insignia,[1] and corresponding ranks in other countries. The rank is that of the most senior operational military commanders, and within NATO's "standard rank scale" it is designated by the code OF-10.

Not all armed forces have such a rank, and in those that do the actual insignia of the "five-star ranks" may not contain five stars. For example: the insignia for the French OF-10 rank maréchal de France contains 7 stars; the insignia for the Portuguese marechal contains four gold stars; and many of the insignia of the ranks in Commonwealth of Nations contain no stars at all.

Typically, five-star officers hold the rank of general of the army, admiral of the fleet, field marshal, marshal of the air force, general of the air force, and several other similarly named ranks. Five-star ranks are extremely senior - usually the highest ranks. As an active rank, the position exists only in a minority of countries and is usually held by only a very few officers during wartime. In times of peace, it is usually held only as an honorary rank.

Despite the rarity and seniority of five-star officers, even more senior ranks have been adopted in the United States, namely, admiral of the navy and general of the armies. Other names for highly senior ranks from the twentieth century include généralissime (France), generalisimo (Spain) and generalissimus (USSR).

Australian five-star ranks

Only one Australian born officer (Sir Thomas Blamey) has held a substantive Australian five-star rank (field marshal).[nb 2] HM King George VI and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh have held all three Australian five-star ranks in an honorary capacity, and have been the only holders of the Australian ranks of admiral of the fleet and marshal of the RAAF.

Croatian five-star ranks

  • Stožerni general (lit. "staff general", usually translated as general of the army) awarded to six men, none of whom are in active duty.
  • Admiral flote (admiral of the fleet). The rank was called stožerni admiral (lit. "staff admiral") until 1999; only Sveto Letica was awarded this rank – in March 1996, three months before his retirement.

Indian five-star ranks

  • Field marshal epaulette

  • Marshal of the Indian Air Force shoulder insignia

  • Marshal of the Indian Air Force sleeve insignia

Around 1998, the Indian Air Force introduced gorget patches (or collar tabs) for its air officers. For marshals of the Indian Air Force (to date only Arjan Singh has attained this rank), the patches display five stars.[2]

Indonesian five-star ranks

The Indonesian five star ranks are:

  • Jenderal besar rank insignia

  • Laksamana besar rank insignia

  • Marsekal besar rank insignia

Italian five-star ranks

Pakistani five-star ranks

The following ranks have never been awarded:

Polish five-star ranks

Marshal of Poland (Marszałek Polski) is a Polish Army five-star rank. There are today no living marshals of Poland, since this rank is bestowed only on military commanders who have achieved victory in war.

  • Marshal of Poland cap insignia

  • Marshal of Poland shoulder-strap insignia

Spanish five-star ranks

These ranks have been reserved for the reigning monarch.

  • Capitán general ("captain general")
    shoulder board

  • Capitán general de la armada ("captain general of the Spanish Navy")
    shoulder board and sleeve

  • Capitán general del ejército del aire ("captain general of the Spanish Air Force")
    shoulder board and sleeve

UK five-star ranks

The worn insignia of British five-star commanders do not contain stars; the vehicle star plate, mounted on the front of a staff car, does display five stars.[3]

  • Royal Navy admiral of the fleet
    shoulder board

  • Royal Navy admiral of the fleet
    sleeve lace

  • Field marshal and captain general Royal Marines epaulette

  • Marshal of the RAF
    shoulder board

  • Marshal of the RAF
    sleeve insignia

Promotion to the ranks of admiral of the fleet and marshal of the Royal Air Force is now generally held in abeyance in peacetime with exceptions for special circumstances. Promotion to the rank of field marshal was generally stopped in 1995 as a cost-cutting measure but is still made in some cases.[4][5] The most recent appointments to five-star ranks are the promotions in 2012 of The Prince of Wales to honorary five-star rank in all three services, and of former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank to the honorary rank of field marshal.[5][6] In 2014 the former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Stirrup was promoted to the honorary rank of marshal of the RAF.[7]

US five-star ranks

Before the five-star ranks were established in 1944, two officers had previously been promoted from their four-star ranks to the superior ranks of admiral of the navy and general of the armies: Admiral George Dewey (appointment 1903 retroactive to 1899, died 1917) and General John J. Pershing (appointed 1919, died 1948).

Five-star ranks were created in the US military during World War II because of the awkward situation created when some American senior commanders were placed in positions commanding allied officers of higher rank.[8] US officers holding five-star rank never retire; they draw full active duty pay for life.[9] The five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General Omar Bradley.[8]

Nine Americans have been promoted to five-star rank, one of them, Henry H. Arnold, in two services. As part of the bicentennial celebration, George Washington was, 177 years after his death, permanently made senior to all other US generals/admirals, with the title general of the armies, effective on 4 July 1976. The appointment stated he was to have "rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present".[nb 3]

  • Fleet admiral collar device, shoulder board and sleeve

  • General of the Army shoulder board

  • General of the Air Force shoulder board

  • Rank insignia for a General of the Army from September 1959 to October 2014.

See also

Notes

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References

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  1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;"
  2. ↑ Indian Air Force :: Collar Tabs
  3. ↑ Dictionary of Vexillology, Rank Plate
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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