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This article is about a United States military rank. For other countries that use a similar rank, see Lieutenant General.

Lieutenant General is a high rank in the United States military.

In the modern United States military, Lieutenant General is a three-star rank that is immediately above the two-star rank of Major General and immediately below the four-star rank of General (also known as full General).

The rank of Lieutenant General is used in the Army, Air Force, and Marines.

Contents 1 History 2 Modern use 3 Navy Equivalent Rank 4 Famous American Lieutenant Generals 4.1 Historic usage 4.2 World War II 4.3 1950s through 1980s; Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War 4.4 Post Cold War 5 References 6 External links 7 See also

Main article: General (United States)#History

For the history of the Lieutenant General rank, see General (United States)#History.

Lieutenant General - An Army or Marine Corps Lieutenant General typically commands a corps-sized unit (20,000 to 45,000 soldiers), while an Air Force Lieutenant General commands a large Numbered Air Force consisting of several wings. Additionally, Lieutenant Generals of all services serve as high-level staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon, often as the heads of their departments.

After the close of the Second World War, Generals were normally promoted permanently to Brigadier General and Major General, with temporary promotions to Lieutenant and full General to fill senior positions as needed. In theory, a General would be expected to vacate their three- or four-star rank at the termination of their assignment, unless they were placed in an equal ranking billet. Douglas MacArthur, who served as four-star general and Army Chief of Staff, reverted to two stars after his CoS tour ended but chose to stay on active duty in the United States Army.

The practice of using Lieutenant and full General as a temporary rank continues to the current day, although the term “temporary” is in name only since most three- and four-star generals are expected to retain their rank regardless of their assignment. Such officers are also almost always granted permanent retirement rank, as well, in the last grade they held.

The rank of Lieutenant General is equivalent to the United States Navy's rank of Vice Admiral.

Listed in order of receiving the rank:

• George Washington, later posthumously promoted to General of the Armies in 1976.
• Winfield Scott, received a brevet promotion to Lieutenant General
• Ulysses S. Grant, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
• William Sherman, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States
• Philip Sheridan, later promoted to General of the Army of the United States

• Frank Maxwell Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the European Theater, lost in an air crash
• Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., commander of U.S. Tenth Army, posthumously promoted to full General
• Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in World War II and commander of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Twelfth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Force, later promoted to full General after retirement.
• Hugh Aloysius Drum, commander of U.S. First Army
• Ira C. Eaker, commander of U.S. Eighth Air Force, later promoted to full General in 1986
• Delos Carleton Emmons, commander of the Hawaiian Department
• Lloyd Fredendall, commander of U.S. Second Army
• Leslie Groves, who ran the Manhattan Project
• Millard F. Harmon, Commander Army Air Forces Pacific, lost during plane flight.
• Lesley J. McNair, commander of Army Ground Forces, posthumously promoted to full General
• Richard K. Sutherland, chief staff to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

• Robert Sink, former Commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers), the XVIII Airborne Corps and the Strategic Army Corps.
• Hal Moore, former commander of the 1st Cavalry Division
• William Eldridge Odom, head of the National Security Agency under president Ronald Reagan, outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and warrantless wiretaping of US citizens.

• Claudia Kennedy, first female lieutenant general in the US Army
• Ricardo Sanchez former Commander U.S. V Corps, former Commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq
• Samuel V. Wilson, Ranger Hall of Fame, Delta Force co-founder, former Commander of the 6th Special Forces, former Deputy to Director, Central Intelligence Agency, former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, former President of Hampden-Sydney College.
• John B. Sylvester, former Deputy Chief of Staff for NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

• The Origin of the Ranks and Rank Insignia Now Used by the United States Armed Forces
• Abandoned proposal for six-star rank in Second World War
• General of the Armies of the United States and General of the Army of the United States

• List of United States military leaders by rank
• United States Army officer rank insignia
• United States Marine Corps officer rank insignia
• United States Air Force officer rank insignia

U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	Special (wartime only)	Special (post war honor only)
Army:	CDT/OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	GA	General of the Armies
Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
Air Force:	Cadet (CDT)/OT	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Gen of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
PHSCC:	(no equivalent)	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
NOAA Corps:	(no equivalent)	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)