Everything about Admiral United States totally explained
» Please see "Admiral" for other nations which use this rank
In the
United States Navy, the
United States Coast Guard and the
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,
admiral (ADM) is a
four-star flag officer, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above
vice admiral and below
Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service doesn't have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to a
general in the other
uniformed services. Since the five-star fleet admiral rank is reserved for war-time use only, the four-star admiral rank is considered to be the highest promotion an officer can achieve in these three services.
History
The
United States Navy didn't have any Admirals until
1862 because many people felt the title too reminiscent of royalty, such as the
British Royal Navy, to be used in the country's navy. Others saw the need for ranks above Captain, among them
John Paul Jones, who pointed out that the Navy had to have officers who "ranked" with Army Generals. He also felt there must be ranks above Captain to avoid disputes among senior Captains. The various
secretaries of the Navy repeatedly recommended to
Congress that Admiral ranks be created because the other navies of the world used them and American senior officers were "often subjected to serious difficulties and embarrassments in the interchange of civilities with those of other nations." Congress finally authorized nine Rear Admirals on
July 16,
1862, although that was probably more for the needs of the rapidly expanding Navy during the
American Civil War than any international considerations. Two years later Congress authorized the appointment of a Vice Admiral from among the nine Rear Admirals:
David Farragut. Another bill allowed the
President of the United States to appoint Farragut to full Admiral on
July 25,
1866, and
David Dixon Porter to Vice Admiral. When Farragut died in
1870 Porter became Admiral and
Stephen C. Rowan Vice Admiral. Even after they died, Congress didn't allow the promotion of any of the Rear Admirals to succeed them, so there were no more Admirals or Vice Admirals by promotion until
1915 when Congress authorized an Admiral and a Vice Admiral each for the Atlantic, Pacific and Asiatic fleets.
There was one Admiral in the interim, however. In
1899, Congress recognized
George Dewey's accomplishments during the
Spanish-American War by authorizing the President to appoint him
Admiral of the Navy. He held that rank until he died in
1917. Nobody has since held that title. In
1944, Congress approved the five-star
Fleet Admiral rank. The first to hold it were
William D. Leahy,
Ernest J. King, and
Chester W. Nimitz. The Senate confirmed their appointments
December 15,
1944. The fourth Fleet Admiral,
William F. Halsey, got his fifth star in December
1945. None has been appointed since.
The sleeve stripes now used by Admirals and Vice Admirals in the
United States date from
March 11,
1869, when the
Secretary of the Navy's General Order Number 90 specified that for their "undress" uniforms Admirals would wear a two-inch stripe with three half-inch stripes above it and Vice Admirals the two-inch stripe with two half-inch stripes above it. The Rear Admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in
1866.
The sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the Rear Admiral rank started in
1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace. It was some ten inches from top to bottom. The Vice Admiral, of course, had even more stripes and when Farragut became Admiral in
1866 he'd so many stripes they reached from his cuffs almost to his elbow. On their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns.
The admirals of the
1860s wore the same number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today. In
1899, the Navy's one Admiral (Dewey) and 18 Rear Admirals put on the new shoulder marks, as did the other officers when wearing their white uniforms, but kept their stars instead of repeating the sleeve cuff stripes.
During the
20th century, the ranks of the modern U.S. Admiralty were firmly established. An oddity that did exist was that the U.S. Navy didn't have a one star rank except briefly during the
Second World War and then not permanently until
1986. (See
Commodore)
Statutory limits
U.S. Code of law explicitly limits the total number of four-star admirals that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty flag officers is capped at 216 for the Navy. For Navy, no more than 16.3% of the service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and no more than 25% of those may have four stars. This corresponds to 9 four-star Navy admirals.
Some of these slots are reserved by statute. For the Navy, the
Chief of Naval Operations and the
Vice Chief of Naval Operations are both four-star admirals. In addition, the
Commandant of the Coast Guard is a four-star admiral; and the
Assistant Secretary for Health is four-star admiral if the appointee is a serving or is commissioned as a serving member of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
There are several exceptions to these limits allowing more than allotted within the statute. A four-star navy admiral serving as
Chief of Staff to the President, or as
Chairman or
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff doesn't count against the navy's flag officer cap. A navy admiral serving in one of several joint positions doesn't count against his service's four-star limit, but he does count against his service's limit on officers with more than two stars; these positions include the commander of a
unified combatant command, the commander of
U.S. Forces Korea, and the deputy commander of
U.S. European Command (but only if the commander is also the
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe). Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add four-star slots to one service if they're offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency.
Appointment and tour length
Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office they're linked to, so these ranks are temporary. Officers may only achieve four-star grade if they're appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the
Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. and all flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a or four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.
Flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there are a finite number of four-star slots available to each service, typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted. Maintaining a four-star rank is a game of musical chairs; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, he's 60 days to find another job of equal importance before he must retire.
Historically, officers leaving four-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.
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