en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Army_(United_States)
1 correction found
The rank of "General of the Army" (the highest rank in the army) has had two incarnations.
General of the Army is not the highest rank in the U.S. Army. General of the Armies is senior to it.
Full reasoning
This sentence is inaccurate because General of the Army is not the Army's highest rank.
A U.S. law enacted in 1976 states that the grade of General of the Armies of the United States "shall have rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present." That makes General of the Armies senior to General of the Army.
An official U.S. Army history page says George Washington was appointed General of the Armies of the United States in 1976 and was specified to "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present." So the highest Army grade is General of the Armies, not General of the Army.
A more accurate wording would be that General of the Army is the Army's five-star rank, but it is below General of the Armies.
2 sources
- 90 STAT. 2078
Public Law 94-479 states that 'the grade of General of the Armies of the United States is established, such grade to have rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present.'
- U.S. Army Five-Star Generals
The U.S. Army Center of Military History says that in 1976 President Ford posthumously appointed George Washington General of the Armies of the United States and specified that he would rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present.