General officer

A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations' air forces or marines.

The term "general" is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, which rank was taken from Middle French capitaine général. The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction.

Today, the title of "General" is known in some countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks. It has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies.

General officer ranks

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the military rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in land-centric military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers.

Council of Officers (Hetmanate)

Council of Officers (Ukrainian: Старшинська Рада) was composed out of the General Officer Staff and colonels. It took part in the General Military Council. During times of Kyrylo Rozumovsky (1750-64), the Council of Officers completely overtook all functions of the General Military Council.

After the death of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the Council of Officers (Ukrainian: Рада Старшин, Rada Starshyn) became the main state body that was electing the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host as well as other key administrative state posts. It reviewed decisions of the General Chancellery, and appellation to the decisions of the General Court and the General Chancellery. The council consisted of the most wealthy and influential representatives of officers' families. After the complete abolition of Hetman post, it was subordinated to the Collegium of Little Russia for a short period.

Key roles

General (United States)

In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an established grade above general. General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. Since the grades of General of the Army and General of the Air Force are reserved for war-time use only, and since the Marine Corps has no five-star equivalent, the grade of general is currently considered to be the highest appointment an officer can achieve in these three services.

Statutory limits

The United States Code explicitly limits the total number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 230 for the Army, 60 for the Marine Corps, and 208 for the Air Force. No more than about 25% of a service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star generals allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals, 4 four-star Marine generals, and 9 four-star Air Force generals.