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A five-star rank is a very senior military rank, first established in the United States in 1944, with a five-star insignia, 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.
Contents
- Australian five star ranks
- Brazilian five star ranks
- Croatian five star ranks
- Indian five star ranks
- Indonesian five star ranks
- Pakistani five star ranks
- Polish five star ranks
- Spanish five star ranks
- Thai five star ranks
- UK five star ranks
- US five star ranks
- References
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). 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.
Brazilian five-star ranks
Five-star ranks in Brazil are only used in wartime.
Croatian five-star ranks
Indian five-star ranks
Around 1998, the Indian Air Force introduced gorget patches (or collar tabs) for its air officers. For marshals of the Indian Air Force, the patches display five stars.
Indonesian five-star ranks
The Indonesian five star ranks are:
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.
Spanish five-star ranks
These ranks have been reserved for the reigning monarch.
Thai five-star ranks
The monarch of Thailand is appointed to the three ranks automatically upon accession as he is the constitutional Head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Since 1973 the three ranks have been reserved for members of the royal family.
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.
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. 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. In 2014 the former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Stirrup was promoted to the honorary rank of marshal of the RAF.
During World War II and (later) serving NATO, a small number of British five-star commanders have held the additional title Supreme Allied Commander, given operational control over all air, land, and sea units led by the four-star commanders of multi-national forces.
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 and unique 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). In 1944 the Navy and Army specified that these officers were considered senior to any officers promoted to the five-star ranks within their services (but it was not clear if they were senior by rank or by seniority due to an earlier date of rank).
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. US officers holding five-star rank never retire; they draw full active duty pay for life. The five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General of the Army Omar Bradley.
Nine Americans have been promoted to five-star rank, one of them, Henry H. Arnold, in two services (US Army then later in the US Air Force). 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".
During World War II and (later) serving NATO, a small number of American five-star commanders have held the additional title Supreme Allied Commander, given operational control over all air, land, and sea units led by the four-star commanders of multi-national forces.