List of active duty United States four-star officers

===Department of Defense=== ====Joint Chiefs of Staff==== ====Unified combatant commands==== Other joint positions ===Department of the Army=== ====United States Army==== ===Department of the Navy=== ====United States Marine Corps==== ====United States Navy==== ===Department of the Air Force=== ====United States Air Force==== ====United States Space Force==== ===Department of Homeland Security=== ====United States Coast Guard==== ===Department of Health and Human Services=== ====United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps==== ==List of pending appointments==

, commandant of the Marine Corps, addresses the Marines of Headquarters Battalion, Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, during his farewell tour on 26 May 1999. is pinned with four-star insignia by Air Force vice chief of staff Gen. Bruce K. Holloway. The U.S. Code explicitly limits the total number of four-star officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active-duty general or flag officers is capped at 219 for the Army, 150 for the Navy, 171 for the Air Force, 64 for the Marine Corps, and 21 for the Space Force. For the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, no more than 28% of each service's active-duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. speaks at a COVID-19 update briefing in the White House Rose Garden, 27 April 2020. Several of these slots are reserved by statute. For the Army and the Air Force, the chief of staff and the vice chief of staff for both services are all four-star generals. Additionally the commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command is a four-star general. For the Navy, the chief and vice chief of naval operations are both four-star admirals. Additionally the director of the naval nuclear propulsion program is a four-star admiral if they are a Navy officer. For the Marine Corps, the commandant and the assistant commandant are both four-star generals. For the Space Force, the chief and vice chief of space operations are both four-star generals. For the Coast Guard, the commandant and the vice commandant are both four-star admirals. For the National Guard, the chief and vice chief of the National Guard Bureau are four-star generals under reserve active duty in the Army or Air Force. And for the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the assistant secretary for health is a four-star admiral if they hold an active-duty appointment to the regular corps. Exceptions There are several exceptions to the limits allowing more than allotted four-star officers within the statute. Four-star officers serving as chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and vice chief of the National Guard Bureau. The president can also appoint up to five additional four-star officers in any one service in excess of that service's four-star limit, as long as they are offset by reducing an equivalent number of four-stars from other services. ==Appointment==

and Gen. Bernard A. Schriever testify at a 1962 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Four-star rank and grade are temporary in nature; officers may only achieve four stars if they are appointed to positions that require or allow the officer to hold the rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. but usually only convene for nominations of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, vice chairman, service chiefs, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, unified combatant commanders, and the commander of U.S. Forces Korea. , Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, and Adm. James G. Stavridis salute during the USEUCOM change of command ceremony on 30 June 2009. It is extremely unusual for a four-star nominee to draw even token opposition in a Senate vote, either in committee or on the floor, because the administration usually withdraws or declines to submit nominations that draw controversy before or during the confirmation process. • For example, upon encountering opposition in the Senate, the administration declined to submit the nomination for General Joseph W. Ralston to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997. • Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez was once the leading candidate to become commander of U.S. Southern Command in 2004. However, his name was never formally offered after members of the Senate Armed Services Committee took notice of his mismanagement of the Iraq War and the Abu Ghraib prison affair. • General David L. Goldfein was the leading candidate to replace General Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019; however, due to disagreements between the secretary of defense and the president, the president disregarded the recommendation. • Lieutenant General Walter E. Piatt was once the leading candidate to take over as the commanding general of U.S. Army Futures Command in 2022. Despite receiving recommendations from several top defense officials, his candidacy was rejected by the president, due to his handling of the National Guard's deployment during the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. • General Peter Pace would have faced tough scrutiny from the Senate over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had he been nominated for reappointment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007. • The president withdrew the nominations of Admiral Stanley R. Arthur to be commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command in 1994, and of General Gregory S. Martin to be commander of U.S. Pacific Command in 2004 over their handling of the Tailhook and Darleen Druyun scandals respectively. is pinned with his admiral's shoulder boards on 22 August 2019. When a doomed nomination is not withdrawn, the Senate typically does not hold a vote to reject the candidate, but instead allows the nomination to expire without action at the end of the legislative session. • For example, the Senate declined to schedule a vote for the nomination of Lieutenant General James A. Abrahamson to the rank of general, while serving as director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization in 1986. • The Senate also declined to vote on Lieutenant General Charles W. Bagnal's nomination to the rank of general, and as commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific in 1989. • Major General John D. Lavelle was nominated to be posthumously restored to the rank of general on the retired list in 2010, but the nomination also expired in the Senate without action. • And Rear Admiral Cristina V. Beato was nominated to be assistant secretary for health in 2003 but her nomination also was not placed on the Senate schedule for a vote. Had Beato been confirmed and assumed office, she would have been the first woman in any uniformed service to achieve four stars; instead that honor went to General Ann E. Dunwoody. Additionally, events that take place after confirmation may still delay or even prevent the nominee from assuming office, necessitating that another nominee be selected and considered by the Senate. • For example, Admiral William F. Moran was confirmed in May 2019 to be the chief of naval operations, but abruptly retired due to an investigation into his correspondence with a former subordinate accused of sexual harassment and usage of his personal email for military purposes. Consequently, Vice Admiral Michael M. Gilday was nominated for promotion to admiral and appointment as CNO, for which he was confirmed and assumed office in August 2019. ==Command elevation and reduction==

, Coast Guard vice commandant, is pinned with his new rank by his wife Claudia on 1 June 2016. is sworn in as chief of the National Guard Bureau by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on 17 September 2012. Any billet in the armed forces may be designated as a position of importance requiring the position holder to be of three-star or four-star rank. An officer leading a command or office elevated to four-star rank can be promoted while in their present position, reassigned to another office of equal rank, or retire if another nominee is selected as their replacement. • For example, Lieutenant General Christopher G. Cavoli, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, was nominated for promotion to general in 2020 concurrent with the merger of his command and U.S. Army Africa into U.S. Army Europe and Africa. He was promoted on 1 October 2020 and assumed command of the consolidated USAREUR-AF on 20 November. • Lieutenant General Francis J. Wiercinski could have been nominated for promotion to general when U.S. Army Pacific became a four-star command since in May 2013, since he had more than 200 days remaining on his customary three-year tour. Lieutenant General Vincent K. Brooks was instead nominated for promotion, and Wiercinski retired on 4 June 2013. A lower level billet may be elevated to four-stars to highlight importance to the overall defense apparatus or to achieve parity with equivalent commands in the same area of responsibility or service branch. • For example, the statutory rank of the vice commandant of the Coast Guard was raised to admiral by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, to align the leadership structure of the Coast Guard to that of the other armed services and recognize the important role of the vice commandant at the national level. and assumed rank on 1 June 2016. • The statutory rank of the chief of the National Guard Bureau was raised to general by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, with significant congressional support. Lieutenant General Craig R. McKinley, then director of the Air National Guard, was confirmed for promotion to general, and assumed rank and office on 17 November 2008. • The rank of the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command was announced for elevation to general in 2014, in conjunction with Air Education and Training Command being reduced from a four-star to a three-star command. General Robin Rand, outgoing commander of Air Education and Training Command, succeeded Lieutenant General Stephen W. Wilson as Global Strike commander on 28 July 2015, with Lieutenant General Darryl Roberson succeeding him as Air Education and Training commander. ==Tour length==

(right), the new Naval Reactors director, at his change of command ceremony, 10 January 2024. The standard tour length for most four-star positions is three years, bundled as a two-year term plus a one-year extension, with the following exceptions: • The chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serve for a nominal four-year term. • Service chiefs of staff serve a nominal four-year term. All appointees serve at the pleasure of the president. Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits, by their respective service secretaries, the secretary of defense, the president, and/or Congress but these are rare, as they block other officers from being promoted. Some statutory limits of tour length under the U.S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare. ==Retirement==

with Vice President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger during Jones' retirement ceremony on 18 June 1982. presents Gen. Peter Pace with his certificate of retirement as his wife Lynne looks on, 1 October 2007. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Regular four-star officers must retire after 40 years of active commissioned service unless reappointed to rank to serve longer. Reserve four-star officers must retire after five years in rank or 40 years of commissioned service, whichever is later, unless reappointed to rank to serve longer. Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the secretary of defense can defer a four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday Once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, they have no more than 60 days to be appointed or reappointed to a position of equal or greater importance before they are expected to retire. The president and Congress must also receive certification by the secretary of defense that the retiree served satisfactorily in rank. Four-star officers who do not meet the service-in-rank requirement will revert to the next highest rank in which they served satisfactorily for at least six months which is normally the three-star rank. and Stanley A. McChrystal were retired as full generals as certified by the president and were not subjected to senatorial confirmation. • Admirals Husband E. Kimmel and Richard C. Macke were not certified to retire at three-star or four-star grade, and retired as two-star rear admirals. • General Kevin P. Byrnes had over two years in grade but was being investigated for misconduct, and retired as a lieutenant general. • In 1972 General John D. Lavelle was relieved for misconduct and certified to retire as a lieutenant general, but was rejected by a Senate Armed Services Committee vote of 14 to 2 and retired as a major general; in 2010 he was nominated posthumously for advancement to general on the retired list based on newly declassified evidence; however, as stated above, the Senate did not vote on the nomination and let it expire at the end of the Congressional session. • After achieving the statutory time in grade, Admirals Frank B. Kelso II and Henry H. Mauz Jr. were retired as full admirals, but only after going through a full senatorial confirmation vote of 54 to 43 and 92 to 6, respectively. Four-star officers who are under investigation for misconduct typically are not allowed to retire until the investigation completes, so that the secretary of defense can decide whether to certify that their performance was satisfactory enough to retire in their highest rank. • General William E. Ward relinquished his four-star command as scheduled, but remained on active duty in his permanent grade of major general pending an investigation by the Department of Defense inspector general, before being allowed to retire as a lieutenant general over a year after his original scheduled retirement. • Admiral Samuel J. Locklear was held in his four-star command for months beyond his original scheduled retirement by the Navy's Consolidated Disposition Authority, while under investigation for the Fat Leonard corruption scandal before being cleared of any wrongdoing. reviews troops at his retirement ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, 31 August 2011. Furthermore, retired four-star officers may still be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and disciplinary action, including reduction in retirement rank, by the secretary of defense or the president if they are deemed to have served unsatisfactorily in rank, post-retirement. • General David H. Petraeus, who had retired from the Army as a four-star general on 31 August 2011, faced punitive action from the secretary of defense over four years past his retirement date for mishandling classified materials while serving as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. He was allowed to retain his four-star rank in retirement with the recommendation of the secretary of the Army • General Arthur J. Lichte, who had retired from the Air Force as a four-star general on 1 January 2010, received a letter of reprimand from the secretary of the Air Force for sexually assaulting a subordinate female officer on multiple occasions, over six years after his retirement date. The secretary of defense withdrew Lichte's certification of satisfactory service, and reduced his retirement grade to major general, In today's military rules and regulations, an officer who initially begins their career through a military academy does not begin their service until upon receiving their commission after graduation, even though they are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice while attending the academy. ==See also==