General officer

The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction.

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the military rank structure. Lower-ranking officers are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers.

Common systems

There are two common systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition, there is a third system, the Arab system of ranks, which is used throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

In the old European system, general officer ranks are named by prefixing "general", as an adjective, with field officer ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled field marshal or marshal.

The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.

Old European system

The system uses either a brigadier general or a colonel general rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.

French Revolutionary system

Arab system

Other variations

Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks:

• Adjutant general
• Commandant-general
• Inspector general
• General-in-chief
• General of the Air Force (USAF only)
• General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant
• Generaladmiral ("general admiral") (German Navy)
• Air general and aviation general
• Wing general and group general
• General-potpukovnik (transl. Lieutenant colonel general, a Serb/Slovenian/Macedonian rank immediately inferior to colonel general, and roughly equivalent to Commonwealth/US major general)
• Director general (a common administrative term sometimes used as an appointment in military services)
• Director general of national defence (most senior rank in the Mexican Armed Forces)
• Controller general (general officer rank in the French National Police)
• Prefect general (the most senior rank of the Argentine Naval Prefecture)
• Master-General of the Ordnance (very senior British military position)
• Police General (most senior rank in some national police)
• Commissioner (highest rank of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration)

In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of the most senior chaplain, (chaplain general), is also usually considered to be a general officer rank.

In the old European system, a general, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above lieutenant general and directly below field marshal as a four-star rank (NATO OF-9).

Usually it is the most senior peacetime rank, with more senior ranks (for example, field marshal, marshal of the air force, fleet admiral) being used only in wartime or as honorary titles.

In some armies, however, the rank of captain general, army general or colonel general occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a "full" general or to a field marshal five-star rank (NATO OF-10).

The rank of general came about as a "captain-general", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of captain-general began appearing around the time of the organisation of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "captain-general" contracted to just "general".

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of general, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries:

• General (Australia)
• General (Bangladesh)
• General (Canada)
• Shangjiang (China), People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan)
• General (Denmark), General
• General (Estonia), Kindral
• General (Finland), Kenraali
• General (Germany), General
• Strategos (Greece)
• General (India)
• Daejang (North and South Korea)
• General (Mexico)
• General (Nigeria)
• General (Pakistan)
• General (Poland), Generał
• General (Sri Lanka)
• General (Sweden), General
• General (Switzerland)
• General (United Kingdom)
• General (United States)
• General (Yugoslav People's Army)

Army generals' insignia

Air force generals' insignia

Naval infantry generals' insignia

Some countries (such as the United States) use the general officer ranks for both the army and the air force, as well as their marine corps; other states only use the general officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use air officers as the equivalent of general officers. They use the air force rank of air chief marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of general. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and many current and former Commonwealth air forces, e.g. Royal Australian Air Force, Indian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Nigerian Air Force, Pakistan Air Force, etc.

In most navies, flag officers are the equivalent of general officers, and the naval rank of admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of general. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank "general at sea". In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use flag officer and flag rank to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.