Major general (United States)
In the United States Armed Forces, a major general is a two-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
Major General
United States
- MG (Army)
- MajGen (Marine Corps)
- Maj Gen (Air Force, Space Force)
- Rear admiral in the other uniformed services which use naval ranks
A major general ranks above a brigadier general and below a lieutenant general.[Note 1] The pay grade of major general is O-8. It is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other United States uniformed services which use naval ranks. It is abbreviated as MG in the Army, MajGen in the Marine Corps, and Maj Gen in the Air Force and Space Force.
Major general is the highest permanent peacetime rank that can be conferred upon a commissioned officer in the uniformed services (except when General of the Army & General of the Air Force have been authorized and granted by Congress) as higher ranks are technically temporary and linked to specific positions, although virtually all officers promoted to those ranks are approved to retire at their highest earned rank. A major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers.
The Civil Air Patrol also uses the rank of major general, which is its highest rank and is held only by its national commander.
Rank flag of a major general in the United States Army. The flag of a major general of the Army Medical Department has a maroon background; the flag of a chaplain (major general) has a purple background.
Flag of a United States Marine Corps major general.
Flag of a United States Air Force major general.
Flag of a United States Space Force major general.
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 231 for the Army, 62 for the Marine Corps, and 198 for the Air Force.[1] Some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. For example, the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Army[2] is a major general in the Army; the same rank is held by the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Air Force;[3] the Army's Chief of Engineers[4] is also appointed as a major general and thereafter promoted to lieutenant general.
The United States Code also limits the total number of general officers that may be on the Reserve Active Status List (RASL) in the Reserve Component, which is defined in the case of general officers as the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve.
Promotion, appointment, and tour length[edit]
To be promoted to the permanent grade of major general, officers who are eligible for promotion to this rank are screened by an in-service promotion board composed of other general officers from their branch of service.[5] This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank.[6] This list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the president, through the secretary of defense for consideration.[7] The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the secretary of defense, the service secretary, and if applicable, the service's chief of staff or commandant.[8]
Retirement[edit]
Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers (called flag officers in the Navy and Coast Guard). All major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer.[9] Otherwise, all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[10]
