Four-star positions 1775–1799 In June 1775, the
Continental Congress appointed
George Washington as general and commander in chief of the
Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War. At the war's end in 1783, Washington
resigned his commission. As this occurred before the establishment of the
United States Army in 1784, he is therefore considered never to have held the U.S. Army rank of general. Washington died later that year, and the rank lapsed when not mentioned in the
Military Peace Establishment Act of 1802. ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Define $start = 1770 Define $end = 1860 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:$start Colors = id:csa value:rgb(1,0,0) id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:category value:rgb(0.9,0.9,1) id:period value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1770 at:1780 at:1790 at:1800 at:1810 at:1820 at:1830 at:1840 at:1850 at:1860 BarData = barset:PM bar:period_0 bar:end_period bar:start_officers bar:officers bar:washington bar:end_officers PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:period_0 from:1775 till:1783 color:period text:"
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George Washington"
1866–1941 Civil War and aftermath , March 1865. The rank of General of the Armies was revived in 1866, with the name "General of the Army of the United States" to reward the
Civil War achievements of
Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general of the United States Army (
CGUSA). As with the prior rank and that of lieutenant general revived for Grant in 1864, the holder was authorized to command the armies of the United States, subject to presidential authority. Grant vacated his commission to become president in March 1869, and the lieutenant general of the Army,
William Tecumseh Sherman, was promoted to succeed him as general. The grade was abolished after Sherman's retirement in February 1884, in accordance with legislation passed in 1870. After Sherman's retirement, the ban on new appointments to the grade of general was relaxed twice. In March 1885, Grant was out of office, bankrupt, and dying, so Congress authorized the president to reappoint him to the rank and full pay of general on the retired list. Congress made a similar exception in June 1888 to promote the ailing lieutenant general of the Army,
Philip Sheridan, by discontinuing the grade of lieutenant general and merging it with the grade of general until Sheridan's death two months later. Since there was only one active duty four-star general in the Army during this period, the grade was interchangeably referred to as "general", "the General", and "the General of the Army", a title not to be confused with the five-star grade of
general of the Army created in 1944.
World War I In 1917, the rank of general was recreated in the
National Army, a temporary force of conscripts and volunteers authorized for the duration of the
World War I emergency. To give American commanders parity of rank with their Allied counterparts, Congress allowed the president to appoint two emergency generals in the National Army, specified to be the chief of staff of the Army (
CSA),
Tasker H. Bliss and later
Peyton C. March; and the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (
CG AEF) in France,
John J. Pershing. When Bliss reached the retirement age of 64 and stepped down as chief of staff, he was reappointed emergency general by
brevet to serve alongside full generals from allied nations as the U.S. military representative to the
Supreme War Council. Pershing's promotion was authorized on 3 September 1919, just in time for the secretary of war to hand him his new commission when he returned from Europe. The temporary rank of general was reauthorized for the chief of staff in 1929, elevating Summerall. As with the National Army emergency generals, these appointments expired after the end of the war, although postwar legislation allowed officers to retire in their highest active-duty rank. On 19 December 1941, the Senate confirmed
Douglas MacArthur to be the first temporary general in the
Army of the United States, the reconstituted draft force, as he fought the
Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Three new Army generals were appointed over the next two years.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed temporary general in February 1943, to command Allied forces in North Africa and later Europe;
Henry H. Arnold in March 1943, as commanding general of
Army Air Forces and member of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
Joseph W. Stilwell in August 1944, as commander of the
China Burma India Theater and chief of staff to Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek. Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Arnold were further promoted to the temporary five-star grade of
general of the Army in December 1944, made permanent in March 1946.
Malin Craig, Marshall's predecessor as Army chief of staff, was recalled to active duty in his four-star grade to run the War Department's Personnel Board. More temporary generals were appointed to command postwar occupation forces in Germany and Japan, as well as the stateside Army commands.
Omar Bradley, who had commanded the
Twelfth Army Group—the bulk of American forces on the
Western Front—also received a permanent promotion to general as a one-time personal honor, with full active-duty pay for life. This was superseded by Bradley's promotion to general of the Army while serving as the first
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in 1950. By the official termination of the World War II national emergency in April 1952, the Army had eight four-star generals.
Cold War (
third from left) and
Roscoe Robinson Jr. (
third from right) are the first Hispanic and first African-American four-star generals in the Army. The modern grade of general was established by the Officer Personnel Act (OPA) of 1947, which authorized the president to designate positions of importance and responsibility to carry the grade
ex officio, to be filled by officers with the permanent or temporary grade of major general or higher. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the office of which was created in 1949, was exempted from the caps. Escalating global commitments during the
Cold War created more generals, both at home and abroad; a majority were appointed under renewed national emergency authority in excess of grade caps. the commander of multinational and U.S. forces in
Korea (
UNC/
FECOM, later
USFK); and until 1973, the commander of U.S. forces in
Vietnam (
USMACV). At the height of the
Vietnam War in 1971, the Army had 17 four-star generals. The
Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980 standardized four-star appointments across all services, replacing the previous service-specific mechanisms. Personal four-star grades held regardless of assignment, once the norm in the post-Civil War era, were abolished under DOPMA. In 1982,
Richard E. Cavazos and
Roscoe Robinson Jr. became the first
Hispanic and first
African-American four-star generals in the Army respectively. ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:20 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Define $start = 1940 Define $end = 2000 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:$start Colors = id:jcs value:rgb(0,0,0) legend: CJCS/VJCS id:csa value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: CSA id:vcsa value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7) legend: VCSA id:europe value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: Europe id:fareast value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0) legend: FECOM/USFK id:theater value:rgb(0,1,1) legend: Vietnam id:forscom value:rgb(0,0.7,0.7) legend: FORSCOM id:army value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Other_Army id:joint value:rgb(0.7,0,1) legend: Joint_(military) id:federal value:rgb(1,0,1) legend: Joint_(other) id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:category value:rgb(0.9,0.9,1) id:period value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1941 at:1950 at:1960 at:1970 at:1980 at:1990 at:1991 BarData = barset:PM bar:period_0 bar:period_1 bar:period_2 bar:end_period bar:start_officers bar:officers bar:macarthur bar:craig bar:marshall bar:eisenhower bar:arnold bar:josephstilwell bar:krueger bar:somervell bar:mcnarney bar:devers bar:kenney bar:markclark bar:spaatz bar:bradley bar:handy bar:patton bar:hodges bar:wainwright bar:clay bar:lawtoncollins bar:haislip bar:ridgway bar:smith bar:hull bar:vanfleet bar:gruenther bar:hodge bar:taylor bar:bolte bar:hoge bar:dahlquist bar:mcauliffe bar:lemnitzer bar:willistonpalmer bar:white bar:wyman bar:schuyler bar:decker bar:hodes bar:clarke bar:magruder bar:charlespalmer bar:eddleman bar:ruffner bar:moore bar:herbertpowell bar:jamescollins bar:meloy bar:adams bar:harkins bar:wheeler bar:hamlett bar:freeman bar:wood bar:waters bar:omeara bar:parker bar:howze bar:harris bar:besson bar:johnson bar:westmoreland bar:creightonabrams bar:porter bar:beach bar:bonesteel bar:conway bar:polk bar:haines bar:woolnough bar:goodpaster bar:harrell bar:spivy bar:brucepalmer bar:mather bar:chesarek bar:rosson bar:throckmorton bar:michaelis bar:hershey bar:weyand bar:miley bar:mildren bar:davison bar:underwood bar:bennett bar:haig bar:kerwin bar:depuy bar:richardstilwell bar:zais bar:rogers bar:hennessey bar:deane bar:blanchard bar:kroesen bar:knowlton bar:vessey bar:guthrie bar:walker bar:starry bar:shoemaker bar:meyer bar:wickham bar:warner bar:keith bar:otis bar:cavazos bar:sennewald bar:robinson bar:richardson bar:gorman bar:nutting bar:thurman bar:livsey bar:thompson bar:kingston bar:galvin bar:mahaffey bar:merritt bar:vuono bar:palastra bar:lindsay bar:wagner bar:woerner bar:menetrey bar:arthurbrown bar:saint bar:schwarzkopf bar:riscassi bar:colinpowell bar:foss bar:burba bar:tuttle bar:sullivan bar:stiner bar:joulwan bar:end_officers PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:period_0 from:1941 till:1945 color:period text:"
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Vietnam War" bar:period_2 from:1990 till:1991 color:period text:"
Gulf War" bar:start_officers from:$start till:1991 color:category bar:macarthur from: 1941 till: 1951 color:fareast text:"
Douglas MacArthur" bar:craig from: 1941 till: 1945 color:army text:"
Malin Craig" bar:marshall from: $start till: 1945 color:csa text:"
George C. Marshall Jr." bar:eisenhower from: 1943 till: 1945 color:europe bar:eisenhower from: 1945 till: 1948 color:csa bar:eisenhower from: 1951 till: 1952 color:joint text:"
Dwight D. Eisenhower" bar:arnold from: 1943 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Henry H. Arnold" bar:josephstilwell from: 1944 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Joseph W. Stilwell" bar:krueger from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Walter Krueger" bar:somervell from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Brehon B. Somervell" bar:mcnarney from: 1945 till: 1947 color:europe bar:mcnarney from: 1947 till: 1949 color:army bar:mcnarney from: 1949 till: 1952 color:joint text:"
Joseph T. McNarney" bar:devers from: 1945 till: 1949 color:forscom text:"
Jacob L. Devers" bar:kenney from: 1945 till: 1951 color:army text:"
George C. Kenney" bar:markclark from: 1945 till: 1949 color:army bar:markclark from: 1949 till: 1952 color:forscom bar:markclark from: 1952 till: 1953 color:fareast text:"
Mark W. Clark" bar:spaatz from: 1945 till: 1948 color:army text:"
Carl A. Spaatz" bar:bradley from: 1945 till: 1948 color:federal bar:bradley from: 1948 till: 1949 color:csa bar:bradley from: 1949 till: 1953 color:jcs text:"
Omar N. Bradley" bar:handy from: 1945 till: 1947 color:vcsa bar:handy from: 1947 till: 1949 color:army bar:handy from: 1949 till: 1952 color:europe bar:handy from: 1952 till: 1954 color:joint text:"
Thomas T. Handy" bar:patton from: 1945 till: 1945 color:army text:"
George S. Patton Jr." bar:hodges from: 1945 till: 1949 color:army text:"
Courtney H. Hodges" bar:wainwright from: 1945 till: 1946 color:army text:"
Jonathan M. Wainwright IV" bar:clay from: 1947 till: 1949 color:europe text:"
Lucius D. Clay" bar:lawtoncollins from: 1948 till: 1949 color:vcsa bar:lawtoncollins from: 1949 till: 1953 color:csa bar:lawtoncollins from: 1953 till: 1956 color:joint text:"
J. Lawton Collins" bar:haislip from: 1949 till: 1951 color:vcsa text:"
Wade H. Haislip" bar:ridgway from: 1951 till: 1952 color:fareast bar:ridgway from: 1952 till: 1953 color:joint bar:ridgway from: 1953 till: 1955 color:csa text:"
Matthew B. Ridgway" bar:smith from: 1951 till: 1953 color:federal text:"
Walter Bedell Smith" bar:hull from: 1951 till: 1953 color:vcsa bar:hull from: 1953 till: 1955 color:fareast text:"
John E. Hull" bar:vanfleet from: 1951 till: 1953 color:army text:"
James A. Van Fleet" bar:gruenther from: 1951 till: 1956 color:joint text:"
Alfred M. Gruenther" bar:hodge from: 1952 till: 1953 color:forscom text:"
John R. Hodge" bar:taylor from: 1953 till: 1955 color:army bar:taylor from: 1955 till: 1955 color:fareast bar:taylor from: 1955 till: 1959 color:csa bar:taylor from: 1961 till: 1962 color:federal bar:taylor from: 1962 till: 1964 color:jcs text:"
Maxwell D. Taylor" bar:bolte from: 1953 till: 1953 color:europe bar:bolte from: 1953 till: 1955 color:vcsa text:"
Charles L. Bolte" bar:hoge from: 1953 till: 1955 color:europe text:"
William M. Hoge" bar:dahlquist from: 1954 till: 1956 color:forscom text:"
John E. Dahlquist" bar:mcauliffe from: 1955 till: 1956 color:europe text:"
Anthony C. McAuliffe" bar:lemnitzer from: 1955 till: 1955 color:army bar:lemnitzer from: 1955 till: 1957 color:fareast bar:lemnitzer from: 1957 till: 1959 color:vcsa bar:lemnitzer from: 1959 till: 1960 color:csa bar:lemnitzer from: 1960 till: 1962 color:jcs bar:lemnitzer from: 1962 till: 1969 color:joint text:"
Lyman L. Lemnitzer" bar:willistonpalmer from: 1955 till: 1957 color:vcsa bar:willistonpalmer from: 1957 till: 1962 color:federal text:"
Williston B. Palmer" bar:white from: 1955 till: 1961 color:army text:"
Isaac D. White" bar:wyman from: 1956 till: 1958 color:forscom text:"
Willard G. Wyman" bar:schuyler from: 1956 till: 1959 color:joint text:"
Cortlandt V. R. Schuyler" bar:decker from: 1956 till: 1957 color:joint bar:decker from: 1957 till: 1959 color:fareast bar:decker from: 1959 till: 1960 color:vcsa bar:decker from: 1960 till: 1962 color:csa text:"
George H. Decker" bar:hodes from: 1956 till: 1959 color:europe text:"
Henry I. Hodes" bar:clarke from: 1958 till: 1960 color:forscom bar:clarke from: 1960 till: 1962 color:europe text:"
Bruce C. Clarke" bar:eddleman from: 1959 till: 1960 color:europe bar:eddleman from: 1960 till: 1962 color:vcsa text:"
Clyde D. Eddleman" bar:magruder from: 1959 till: 1961 color:fareast text:"
Carter B. Magruder" bar:charlespalmer from: 1959 till: 1962 color:joint text:"
Charles D. Palmer" bar:ruffner from: 1960 till: 1962 color:joint text:"
Clark L. Ruffner" bar:moore from: 1960 till: 1963 color:joint text:"
James E. Moore" bar:herbertpowell from: 1960 till: 1963 color:forscom text:"
Herbert B. Powell" bar:jamescollins from: 1961 till: 1964 color:army text:"
James F. Collins" bar:meloy from: 1961 till: 1963 color:fareast text:"
Guy S. Meloy Jr." bar:adams from: 1961 till: 1966 color:joint text:"
Paul D. Adams" bar:harkins from: 1962 till: 1964 color:theater text:"
Paul D. Harkins" bar:wheeler from: 1962 till: 1962 color:joint bar:wheeler from: 1962 till: 1964 color:csa bar:wheeler from: 1964 till: 1970 color:jcs text:"
Earle G. Wheeler" bar:hamlett from: 1962 till: 1964 color:vcsa text:"
Barksdale Hamlett" bar:freeman from: 1962 till: 1965 color:europe bar:freeman from: 1965 till: 1967 color:forscom text:"
Paul L. Freeman Jr." bar:wood from: 1962 till: 1965 color:federal bar:wood from: 1968 till: 1969 color:federal text:"
Robert J. Wood" bar:waters from: 1963 till: 1964 color:forscom bar:waters from: 1964 till: 1966 color:army text:"
John K. Waters" bar:omeara from: 1963 till: 1965 color:joint bar:omeara from: 1965 till: 1967 color:europe text:"
Andrew P. O'Meara" bar:parker from: 1963 till: 1969 color:joint text:"
Theodore W. Parker" bar:howze from: 1963 till: 1965 color:fareast text:"
Hamilton H. Howze" bar:harris from: 1964 till: 1965 color:forscom text:"
Hugh P. Harris" bar:besson from: 1964 till: 1969 color:army bar:besson from: 1969 till: 1970 color:federal text:"
Frank S. Besson Jr." bar:johnson from: 1964 till: 1968 color:csa text:"
Harold K. Johnson" bar:westmoreland from: 1964 till: 1968 color:theater bar:westmoreland from: 1968 till: 1972 color:csa text:"
William C. Westmoreland" bar:creightonabrams from: 1964 till: 1967 color:vcsa bar:creightonabrams from: 1967 till: 1972 color:theater bar:creightonabrams from: 1972 till: 1974 color:csa text:"
Creighton W. Abrams Jr." bar:porter from: 1965 till: 1969 color:joint text:"
Robert W. Porter Jr." bar:beach from: 1965 till: 1966 color:fareast bar:beach from: 1966 till: 1968 color:army text:"
Dwight E. Beach" bar:bonesteel from: 1966 till: 1969 color:fareast text:"
Charles H. Bonesteel III" bar:conway from: 1966 till: 1969 color:joint text:"
Theodore J. Conway" bar:polk from: 1967 till: 1971 color:europe text:"
James H. Polk" bar:haines from: 1967 till: 1968 color:vcsa bar:haines from: 1968 till: 1973 color:forscom text:"
Ralph E. Haines Jr." bar:woolnough from: 1967 till: 1970 color:forscom text:"
James K. Woolnough" bar:goodpaster from: 1968 till: 1969 color:theater bar:goodpaster from: 1969 till: 1974 color:joint text:"
Andrew J. Goodpaster" bar:harrell from: 1968 till: 1971 color:joint text:"
Ben Harrell" bar:spivy from: 1968 till: 1971 color:joint text:"
Berton E. Spivy Jr." bar:brucepalmer from: 1968 till: 1973 color:vcsa bar:brucepalmer from: 1973 till: 1974 color:joint text:"
Bruce Palmer Jr." bar:mather from: 1969 till: 1971 color:joint text:"
George R. Mather" bar:chesarek from: 1969 till: 1970 color:army text:"
Ferdinand J. Chesarek" bar:rosson from: 1969 till: 1970 color:theater bar:rosson from: 1970 till: 1973 color:army bar:rosson from: 1973 till: 1975 color:joint text:"
William B. Rosson" bar:throckmorton from: 1969 till: 1973 color:joint text:"
John L. Throckmorton" bar:michaelis from: 1969 till: 1972 color:fareast text:"
John H. Michaelis" bar:hershey from: 1970 till: 1973 color:joint text:"
Lewis B. Hershey" bar:weyand from: 1970 till: 1973 color:theater bar:weyand from: 1973 till: 1974 color:vcsa bar:weyand from: 1974 till: 1976 color:csa text:"
Frederick C. Weyand" bar:miley from: 1970 till: 1975 color:army text:"
Henry A. Miley Jr." bar:mildren from: 1971 till: 1973 color:joint text:"
Frank T. Mildren" bar:davison from: 1971 till: 1975 color:europe text:"
Michael S. Davison" bar:underwood from: 1971 till: 1973 color:joint text:"
George V. Underwood Jr." bar:bennett from: 1972 till: 1973 color:fareast bar:bennett from: 1973 till: 1974 color:army text:"
Donald V. Bennett" bar:haig from: 1973 till: 1973 color:vcsa bar:haig from: 1973 till: 1974 color:federal bar:haig from: 1974 till: 1979 color:joint text:"
Alexander M. Haig Jr." bar:kerwin from: 1973 till: 1974 color:forscom bar:kerwin from: 1974 till: 1978 color:vcsa text:"
Walter T. Kerwin Jr." bar:depuy from: 1973 till: 1977 color:army text:"
William E. DePuy" bar:richardstilwell from: 1973 till: 1976 color:fareast text:"
Richard G. Stilwell" bar:zais from: 1973 till: 1976 color:joint text:"
Melvin Zais" bar:rogers from: 1974 till: 1976 color:forscom bar:rogers from: 1976 till: 1979 color:csa bar:rogers from: 1979 till: 1987 color:joint text:"
Bernard W. Rogers" bar:hennessey from: 1974 till: 1979 color:joint text:"
John J. Hennessey" bar:deane from: 1975 till: 1977 color:army text:"
John R. Deane Jr." bar:blanchard from: 1975 till: 1979 color:europe text:"
George S. Blanchard" bar:knowlton from: 1976 till: 1980 color:joint text:"
William A. Knowlton" bar:kroesen from: 1976 till: 1978 color:forscom bar:kroesen from: 1978 till: 1979 color:vcsa bar:kroesen from: 1979 till: 1983 color:europe text:"
Frederick J. Kroesen Jr." bar:vessey from: 1976 till: 1979 color:fareast bar:vessey from: 1979 till: 1982 color:vcsa bar:vessey from: 1982 till: 1985 color:jcs text:"
John W. Vessey Jr." bar:guthrie from: 1977 till: 1981 color:army text:"
John R. Guthrie" bar:walker from: 1977 till: 1978 color:joint text:"
Sam S. Walker" bar:starry from: 1977 till: 1981 color:army bar:starry from: 1981 till: 1983 color:joint text:"
Donn A. Starry" bar:shoemaker from: 1978 till: 1982 color:forscom text:"
Robert M. Shoemaker" bar:meyer from: 1979 till: 1983 color:csa text:"
Edward C. Meyer" bar:wickham from: 1979 till: 1982 color:fareast bar:wickham from: 1982 till: 1983 color:vcsa bar:wickham from: 1983 till: 1987 color:csa text:"
John A. Wickham Jr." bar:warner from: 1979 till: 1981 color:joint text:"
Volney F. Warner" bar:keith from: 1981 till: 1984 color:army text:"
Donald R. Keith" bar:otis from: 1981 till: 1983 color:army bar:otis from: 1983 till: 1988 color:europe text:"
Glenn K. Otis" bar:cavazos from: 1982 till: 1984 color:forscom text:"
Richard E. Cavazos" bar:sennewald from: 1982 till: 1984 color:fareast bar:sennewald from: 1984 till: 1986 color:forscom text:"
Robert W. Sennewald" bar:robinson from: 1982 till: 1985 color:joint text:"
Roscoe Robinson Jr." bar:richardson from: 1983 till: 1986 color:army text:"
William R. Richardson" bar:gorman from: 1983 till: 1985 color:joint text:"
Paul F. Gorman" bar:nutting from: 1983 till: 1985 color:joint text:"
Wallace H. Nutting" bar:thurman from: 1983 till: 1987 color:vcsa bar:thurman from: 1987 till: 1989 color:army bar:thurman from: 1989 till: 1990 color:joint text:"
Maxwell R. Thurman" bar:livsey from: 1984 till: 1987 color:fareast text:"
William J. Livsey" bar:thompson from: 1984 till: 1987 color:army text:"
Richard H. Thompson" bar:kingston from: 1984 till: 1985 color:joint text:"
Robert C. Kingston" bar:galvin from: 1985 till: 1992 color:joint text:"
John R. Galvin" bar:mahaffey from: 1985 till: 1986 color:joint text:"
Fred K. Mahaffey" bar:merritt from: 1985 till: 1987 color:joint text:"
Jack N. Merritt" bar:vuono from: 1986 till: 1987 color:army bar:vuono from: 1987 till: 1991 color:csa text:"
Carl E. Vuono" bar:palastra from: 1986 till: 1989 color:forscom text:"
Joseph T. Palastra Jr." bar:lindsay from: 1986 till: 1990 color:joint text:"
James J. Lindsay" bar:wagner from: 1987 till: 1989 color:army text:"
Louis C. Wagner Jr." bar:woerner from: 1987 till: 1989 color:joint text:"
Frederick F. Woerner Jr." bar:menetrey from: 1987 till: 1990 color:fareast text:"
Louis C. Menetrey" bar:arthurbrown from: 1987 till: 1989 color:vcsa text:"
Arthur E. Brown Jr." bar:saint from: 1988 till: 1992 color:europe text:"
Crosbie E. Saint" bar:schwarzkopf from: 1988 till: 1991 color:joint text:"
H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr." bar:riscassi from: 1989 till: 1990 color:vcsa bar:riscassi from: 1990 till: 1993 color:fareast text:"
Robert W. RisCassi" bar:colinpowell from: 1989 till: 1989 color:forscom bar:colinpowell from: 1989 till: 1993 color:jcs text:"
Colin L. Powell" bar:foss from: 1989 till: 1991 color:army text:"
John W. Foss" bar:burba from: 1989 till: 1993 color:forscom text:"
Edwin H. Burba Jr." bar:tuttle from: 1989 till: 1992 color:army text:"
William G. T. Tuttle Jr." bar:sullivan from: 1990 till: 1991 color:vcsa bar:sullivan from: 1991 till: 1995 color:csa text:"
Gordon R. Sullivan" bar:stiner from: 1990 till: 1993 color:joint text:"
Carl W. Stiner" bar:joulwan from: 1990 till: 1997 color:joint text:"
George A. Joulwan"
1991–present (
right), the first woman to become a four-star general in the Army, is sworn into her new rank by Army chief of staff
George W. Casey Jr. (
back facing camera) on 14 November 2008. The distribution of four-star Army generals remains broadly similar to that of 1947, with a statutory chief and vice chief of staff (CSA, VCSA); stateside commands for readiness, materiel, and training; overseas component commands; and joint duty positions that are exempted from grade caps. Among the latter are the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS); the NATO supreme allied commander in Europe (SACEUR); and during the
war on terror, the wartime theater commanders in
Iraq (
MNF-I, later
USF-I) and
Afghanistan (
ISAF, later
RSM). In 2002, under defense secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, usage of the title "commander in chief" and its acronym "CINC" was reserved for the president and discontinued for military officers, mostly combatant commanders, who were redesignated as "commander". In 1997,
Eric Shinseki became the first
Asian-American four-star general in the Army. In 2012,
Frank J. Grass became the first Army National Guard officer to attain the rank of general, to relieve his Air Force predecessor as CNGB. In 2009, Congress directly specified the maximum number of four-star officers in each service, replacing the OPA- and DOPMA-era percentage cap formulas. In 2021, the Army was authorized eight four-star generals for positions within the service by the
2021 National Defense Authorization Act: the CSA and VCSA; the commanding generals of
Army Forces Command (FORSCOM),
Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC),
Army Materiel Command (AMC), and
Army Futures Command (AFC); and the Army component commanders in
Europe/Africa (USAREUR-AF) and the
Pacific (USARPAC). By the end of 2020, the Army had 18 four-star generals on active duty, exceeding the 17 four-star generals it had at the height of the Vietnam War, its previous peak. ==Legislation==