General of the Air Force
General of the Air Force is a five-star general officer and is the highest possible rank in the United States Air Force. General of the Air Force ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to a General of the Army and a Fleet Admiral; there is no established equivalent five-star rank in the other four uniformed services. General of the Air Force is reserved for war-time use only and the grade is not currently in use by the Air Force.
History
Following the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1947, the Air Force rank of General of the Air Force was established as an equivalent to the Army rank of General of the Army. The insignia for General of the Army and General of the Air Force were originally the same. The insignia for General of the Air Force was slightly modified in the 1950s for wear on the new blue Air Force dress uniform. General of the Air Force, however, has never been worn by an officer of the modern Air Force on active duty.
The only person to hold the rank of General of the Air Force was Henry H. Arnold. Arnold was a General of the Army (promoted December 21, 1944) and became inactive (five star officers do not retire, but remain on active duty for life) while the Army Air Force (AAF) was a component of the U.S. Army. On May 7, 1949, he was awarded the rank of General of the Air Force, and was photographed in an Air Force uniform wearing the insignia of that rank.
During the Cold War, with the rise of the Strategic Air Command, it was proposed that General of the Air Force be reestablished and granted to Curtis Lemay with the rank continued for use and granted to such senior generals such as the commander of NORAD. As a result, General of the Air Force can still be seen on modern insignia charts and it is still considered an official rank of the United States Air Force.
All five star officers are, technically, unable to retire from active duty. This is more of a convention of honor than a practical matter, as five star officers continue to be paid full salary for life, unless (as Dwight D. Eisenhower did upon his election to the Presidency) they formally resign their commission. President Eisenhower's commission was retroactively reinstated back to 1944 by Pub.L. 87-3 on March 23, 1961, signed by President Kennedy after President Eisenhower left office.
Equivalent Ranks
The Air Force's rank of General of the Air Force is equivalent to the U.S. Army's rank of General of the Army and the U.S. Navy's rank of Fleet Admiral.
The United States' rank of General of the Air Force is equivalent to the Air Force rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force in other countries.
See also
- List of United States four-star officers
- List of United States Air Force four-star generals
- List of United States military leaders by rank
- United States Air Force officer rank insignia
Sources
- Service record of Henry Arnold, Military Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri
- Service record of Curtis Lemay, Military Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri
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