General of the Army (United States)
Rank in the United States Army / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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General of the Army (abbreviated as GA)[1] is a five-star general officer rank in the United States Army. It is generally equivalent to the rank of Field Marshal in other countries. In the United States, a General of the Army ranks above generals and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a general of the Air Force.[2] The General of the Army insignia consisted of five 3⁄8-inch (9.5 mm) stars in a pentagonal pattern, with touching points. The insignia was paired with the gold and enameled United States coat of arms on service coat shoulder loops. The silver colored five-star metal insignia alone would be worn for use as a collar insignia of grade and on the garrison cap. Soft shoulder epaulets with five 7⁄16-inch (11 mm) stars in silver thread and gold-threaded United States coat of arms on green cloth were worn with shirts and sweaters.
| General of the Army | |
|---|---|
 Rank flag of a General of the Army | |
.svg) Army service uniform shoulder strap with the rank of General of the Army | |
| Country |  United States |
| Service branch |  United States Army |
| Abbreviation | GA |
| Rank group | General officer |
| Rank | Five-star |
| NATO rank code | OF-10 |
| Pay grade | Special grade |
| Formation | 25 July 1866 |
| Next higher rank | General of the Armies |
| Next lower rank | General |
| Equivalent ranks | |
The rank of "General of the Army" has had two incarnations. The first was introduced in 1866, following the American Civil War. It was nominally a four-star rank reserved for the Commanding General of the United States Army, and was held by three different men from 1866 to 1888: Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan. When it was created by Congress for Grant, Grant had already reached the highest rank historically used in the United States, lieutenant general.[3] The "General of the Army" rank was revived during World War II as the modern five-star rank, and may be awarded to more than one serving officer at a time. It has been held by five different men since 1944: George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H. Arnold, and Omar Bradley.
A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above the second incarnation of General of the Army, exists but has been conferred only three times — to World War I's John J. Pershing in 1919, and posthumously to George Washington in 1976. In December 2022, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 authorized Ulysses S. Grant to be posthumously promoted to the rank, 137 years after his death.[4][5] President Biden signed the Act into federal law on December 23, 2022.