:''Please see "
Lieutenant General" for other countries which use this rank''

US Army Lieutenant General insignia
In the
United States Army,
Marine Corps and
Air Force, a 'Lieutenant General' may be referred to as a 'three-star general', named for the three stars worn on the
uniform. The Naval equivalent is
Vice Admiral. A Lieutenant General normally ranks immediately above a
Major General and below a
General.
For most of the first half of the 19th Century this rank, like that of full
General, existed only on paper. Until the
American Civil War, only one officer was ever promoted to this rank,
Winfield Scott, an honorary, or
brevet, promotion in
1855.
George Washington was listed as a Lieutenant General on the
Continental Army rolls after his death since he wore three stars, but his actual military title was General and Commander In Chief. The first full promotion to Lieutenant General did not take place until
Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to that rank and elevated to
Commanding General of the United States Army in
1864.
[1]
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.
Famous American Lieutenant Generals
Historic usage
Listed in order of receiving the rank:
★
George Washington, 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
Modern usage
World War II
★
Frank Maxwell Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the
European Theater, lost in an air crash
★
Henry H. Arnold, commander of
United States Army Air Forces, later promoted to
General of the Army
★
Omar Bradley, commander of
U.S. First Army and
12th Army Group, later promoted to
General of the Army
★
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., commander of
U.S. Tenth Army, posthumously promoted to full
General
★
Mark Wayne Clark, commander of
U.S. Fifth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
John Lesesne DeWitt, commander of
U.S. Fourth Army and
Army-Navy Staff College
★
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
★
Robert L. Eichelberger, commander of
U.S. Ninth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of U.S. forces in the
European Theater, later promoted to
General of the Army
★
Delos Carleton Emmons, commander of the Hawaiian Department
★
Lloyd Fredendall, commander of
U.S. Second Army
★
Leonard T. Gerow, commander of
U.S. Fifteenth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Leslie Groves, who ran the
Manhattan Project
★
Millard F. Harmon, Commander
Army Air Forces Pacific, lost during plane flight.
★
Courtney Hodges, commander of
U.S. First Army and
U.S. Seventh Army, later promoted to full
General
★
George C. Kenney, commander of U.S.
Fifth Air Force
★
Walter Krueger, commander of
U.S. Sixth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Ben Lear, commander
U.S. Second Army and
Army Ground Forces, later promoted to full
General
★
Lesley J. McNair, commander of
Army Ground Forces, posthumously promoted to full
General
★
Joseph T. McNarney, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
★
Alexander Patch, commander of
U.S. Seventh Army, posthumously promoted to full
General
★
George S. Patton, commander of
U.S. Third Army and
U.S. Seventh Army, later promoted to full
General
★
William Hood Simpson, commander of
U.S. Ninth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Brehon B. Somervell, commander of
Army Service Forces, later promoted to full
General
★
Joseph Stilwell, commander of
China Burma India Theater,
Army Ground Forces and
U.S. Tenth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Richard K. Sutherland, chief staff to
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
★
Lucian Truscott, commander of
U.S. Fifth Army, later promoted to full
General
★
Walton Walker, Commander of
XX Corps, and
U.S. Eighth Army during the
Korean War. Posthumously promoted to full
General.
1950s through 1980s;
Korean War,
Vietnam War,
Cold War
★
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.
Post Cold War
★
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.
Notes