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Fleet Admiral Rank


ShooterMcGavin
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ShooterMcGavin

I have always been confused about the 5-Star ranks the U.S. used in wartime. The way the rank was described to me over the years, it seems as though it was a rank given to ONE man who commanded the ENTIRE service to which the rank belonged, however this chart makes me feel as though multiple people held it at one time:

 

So as far as Fleet Admiral is concerned, was the rank given to one man from each "fleet"? (Pacific, Atlantic, etc..) cause the list makes it seem like all four held the rank at the exact same time. And did General of the Army mean the officer in command of a specific army? (1st Army, 2nd Army, etc...)?

 

Thanks for clearing this up, as it has been a constant source of confusion for me and one which I kept forgetting to ask the right people!!

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Well for the Army at least it will be a variety, Theater, Chief of Staff, and in the case of Arnold, the whole Danged Aar Force.

 

George C. Marshall (16 Dec 1944) Chief of Staff
Douglas MacArthur (18 Dec 1944) Pacific, or if you like Southwest Pacific

Dwight D. Eisenhower (20 Dec 1944) European Theater, though he only commanded after his promotion Western France/Germany.
Henry H. Arnold (21 Dec 1944) The whole USAAF

 

Omar Bradley (20 Sept 1950) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he was the very first. CJCS

 

So perhaps it was the same in the Navy, Theater and High Staff.

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Basically it was a reward for the outstanding leaders of the Army and Navy. Leahy, for example, was Roosevelt's personal advisor throughout the war and never saw combat. The 5 star rank is permanent in that even in retirement you continue to draw full pay. There is also a 6 star rank but it has only ever been held by two people, Dewey and Pershing. It was also posthumously awarded to Washington (I think).

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ShooterMcGavin

But there was not only one holder per service, it was awarded to multiple people who held 5-star rank at the same time?

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Don't get wrapped around the title of the rank. It's just another rank, only very rarely given out. I've read that it is somewhat equivalent to the British "Field Marshal."

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Garth Thompson

Don't get wrapped around the title of the rank. It's just another rank, only very rarely given out. I've read that it is somewhat equivalent to the British "Field Marshal."

 

That is correct. The five star rank was created in WW2 to put our senior officers on the same rank level as British Field Marshals and Fleet Admirals.

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  • 8 months later...

 

That is correct. The five star rank was created in WW2 to put our senior officers on the same rank level as British Field Marshals and Fleet Admirals.

That is my understanding as well and it was not merely done as a matter of prestige. Particularly in the European Theater where the Allies had many joint commands, you had situations where, for instance, Eisenhower as a four star General was technically outranked by British Field Marshalls who in some case were his subordinate. I believe there was initially some discussion about actually naming the new rank Field Marshall for the Army but that idea was abandoned both because in the U.S. we use the term marshall for other things such as fire marshall, etc. and interestingly also because one of the first officers promoted to the new rank would thus have been Field Marshall Marshall.

 

Another example of how the U.S. had to adapt to European military ways was the creation of the Legion Of Merit with its four degrees to somewhat mirror the the awards of many European nations which were granted in different degrees based on the position of the recipient.

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