A brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below a major general. The pay grade of brigadier general is O-7. It is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) in the other United States uniformed services which use naval ranks. It is abbreviated as BG in the Army, BGen in the Marine Corps, and Brig Gen in the Air Force and Space Force.
Rank flag of a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. The background is maroon on an Army Medical Dept. brigadier general's flag and purple on a chaplain brigadier general's.
Flag of a United States Marine Corps brigadier general.
Flag of a United States Air Force brigadier general.
Flag of a United States Space Force brigadier general.
The rank of brigadier general has existed in the U.S. military since the inception of the Continental Army in June 1775. To prevent mistakes in recognizing officers, a general order was issued on July 14, 1775, establishing that brigadier generals would wear a ribbon, worn across the breast, between coat and waistcoat, pink in color.[1] Later, on June 18, 1780, it was prescribed that brigadier generals would instead wear a single silver star on each epaulette.[1] At first, brigadier generals were infantry officers who commanded a brigade; however, over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the responsibilities of the rank expanded significantly.
During the period from March 16, 1802, to January 11, 1812, the rank of major general was abolished and brigadier general became the highest rank in the U.S. Army. Foreseeing the need for an expanded general staff in case of war, which seemed imminent, Congress restored the rank of major general in January 1812.[2][3]
The first brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps was CommandantArchibald Henderson, brevetted to the rank of brigadier general in the 1830s for his service in the Second Seminole War.[citation needed] The first non-brevet brigadier general in the Marines was Commandant Jacob Zeilin who was promoted to the rank in 1874, but when he retired in 1876, colonel once again became the highest rank in the Marines until March 1899 when Commandant Charles Heywood was promoted. Ever since then, the office of Commandant has been held by a general officer, with the permanent rank of the commandant raised to major general in 1908, and then to lieutenant general and subsequently to general during World War II, which rank it has held ever since.[citation needed]
The insignia for a brigadier general is one silver star worn on the shoulder or collar, and has not changed since the creation of the rank two centuries ago. Since the Mexican–American War, however, the lower rank of colonel has been the normal rank appointed to command a brigade that is organic to a division (e.g., the 1st Brigade of the 94th Infantry Division, vice the 187th Infantry Brigade). While separate brigades (e.g. the 187th, commanded by then-BG William Westmoreland in Korea) were traditionally commanded by brigadier generals, this practice has ceased in recent history.
Today, an Army or Marine Corps "BG" or "BGen," respectively, typically serves as deputy commander to the commanding general of a division or division-sized units and assists in overseeing the planning and coordination of a mission. A Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), as the medium capability (and sized) scalable Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with up to 20,000 Marines, is normally commanded by a Marine BGen.[4] An Air Force brigadier general typically commands a large wing or serves as the deputy commander for a NAF. Additionally, one-star officers of all services may serve as high-level staff officers in large military organizations.
Statutory limits
U.S. law explicitly limits the total number of general officers who may be on active duty.[5] 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. The President or Secretary of Defense may increase the number of slots for one branch, so long as they subtract an equal number from another.[6] Some of these slots are reserved by statute.
Promotion, appointment and tour length
For promotion to the permanent grade of brigadier general, eligible officers are screened by a promotion board consisting of general officers from their branch of service.[7] This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank.[8] This list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense, for consideration.[9] 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.[10] The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, but this is uncommon.[11] The Senate must then confirm the nominee before the officer can be promoted. Once the nominee is confirmed, they are promoted to that rank once they assume or hold an office that requires or allows an officer of that rank. For positions of office reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position. For all three uniformed services, because the grade of brigadier general is a permanent rank, the nominee may still be screened by an in-service promotion board. The rank does not expire when the officer vacates a one-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, or when the officer receives a new assignment. The average tour length of a one-star billet is two to four years.
Retirement
Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. All brigadier generals must retire after five years in grade or 30 years of service, whichever is later, unless selected or appointed for promotion, or reappointed to grade to serve longer.[12] Otherwise, all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[13] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a general or flag officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday. Because there are a finite number of General officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, General and 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.[14]
^ ab. The Institute of Heraldry. Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
^. U.S. Marine Corps. 2013-12-11. Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
^James Clark (May 16, 2016) Does The US Military Have Too Many Generals?: 411 one stars, 299 two stars, 139 three stars, and 37 four-stars across DoD
^10 U.S.C. § 526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty
^Law.cornell.edu, 10 U.S.C. 611. Convening of selection boards
^Law.cornell.edu, 10 U.S.C. 616. Recommendations for promotion by selection boards
^Law.cornell.edu, 10 U.S.C. 618. Action on reports of selection boards
^Law.cornell.edu, 10 U.S.C. 624. Promotions: how made.
^Law.cornell.edu, 10 U.S.C. 5149. Office of the Judge Advocate General: Deputy Judge Advocate General; Assistant Judge Advocates General
^Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com, 10 U.S.C. 635. Retirement for years of service: regular brigadier generals and rear admirals (lower half).
^thomas.loc.gov 2015-11-01 at the Wayback Machine, 10 U.S.C. 1253. Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception.
^Defenselink.mil, DoD News Briefing on Thursday, June 6, 1996. Retirement of Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr.
March 04, 2023
brigadier, general, united, states, united, states, armed, forces, brigadier, general, star, general, officer, united, states, army, marine, corps, force, space, force, brigadier, generalone, star, insignia, rank, brigadier, general, style, method, wear, vary,. In the United States Armed Forces a brigadier general is a one star general officer in the United States Army Marine Corps Air Force and Space Force Brigadier GeneralOne star insignia of the rank of Brigadier General Style and method of wear may vary between different uniforms and different service branches Shoulder boardsCountry United StatesService branchArmyMarine CorpsAir ForceSpace ForceAbbreviationBG Army BGen Marine Corps Brig Gen Air Force Space Force RankOne starNATO rank codeOF 6Non NATO rankO 7Next higher rankMajor GeneralNext lower rankColonelEquivalent ranksRear admiral Lower Half in the other uniformed services which use naval ranksA brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below a major general The pay grade of brigadier general is O 7 It is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral lower half in the other United States uniformed services which use naval ranks It is abbreviated as BG in the Army BGen in the Marine Corps and Brig Gen in the Air Force and Space Force Contents 1 History 2 Statutory limits 3 Promotion appointment and tour length 4 Retirement 5 See also 6 ReferencesHistory EditU S brigadier general insignias Rank flag of a brigadier general in the U S Army The background is maroon on an Army Medical Dept brigadier general s flag and purple on a chaplain brigadier general s Flag of a United States Marine Corps brigadier general Flag of a United States Air Force brigadier general Flag of a United States Space Force brigadier general The rank of brigadier general has existed in the U S military since the inception of the Continental Army in June 1775 To prevent mistakes in recognizing officers a general order was issued on July 14 1775 establishing that brigadier generals would wear a ribbon worn across the breast between coat and waistcoat pink in color 1 Later on June 18 1780 it was prescribed that brigadier generals would instead wear a single silver star on each epaulette 1 At first brigadier generals were infantry officers who commanded a brigade however over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries the responsibilities of the rank expanded significantly During the period from March 16 1802 to January 11 1812 the rank of major general was abolished and brigadier general became the highest rank in the U S Army Foreseeing the need for an expanded general staff in case of war which seemed imminent Congress restored the rank of major general in January 1812 2 3 The first brigadier general in the U S Marine Corps was Commandant Archibald Henderson brevetted to the rank of brigadier general in the 1830s for his service in the Second Seminole War citation needed The first non brevet brigadier general in the Marines was Commandant Jacob Zeilin who was promoted to the rank in 1874 but when he retired in 1876 colonel once again became the highest rank in the Marines until March 1899 when Commandant Charles Heywood was promoted Ever since then the office of Commandant has been held by a general officer with the permanent rank of the commandant raised to major general in 1908 and then to lieutenant general and subsequently to general during World War II which rank it has held ever since citation needed The insignia for a brigadier general is one silver star worn on the shoulder or collar and has not changed since the creation of the rank two centuries ago Since the Mexican American War however the lower rank of colonel has been the normal rank appointed to command a brigade that is organic to a division e g the 1st Brigade of the 94th Infantry Division vice the 187th Infantry Brigade While separate brigades e g the 187th commanded by then BG William Westmoreland in Korea were traditionally commanded by brigadier generals this practice has ceased in recent history Today an Army or Marine Corps BG or BGen respectively typically serves as deputy commander to the commanding general of a division or division sized units and assists in overseeing the planning and coordination of a mission A Marine Expeditionary Brigade MEB as the medium capability and sized scalable Marine Air Ground Task Force MAGTF with up to 20 000 Marines is normally commanded by a Marine BGen 4 An Air Force brigadier general typically commands a large wing or serves as the deputy commander for a NAF Additionally one star officers of all services may serve as high level staff officers in large military organizations Statutory limits EditU S law explicitly limits the total number of general officers who may be on active duty 5 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 The President or Secretary of Defense may increase the number of slots for one branch so long as they subtract an equal number from another 6 Some of these slots are reserved by statute Promotion appointment and tour length EditFor promotion to the permanent grade of brigadier general eligible officers are screened by a promotion board consisting of general officers from their branch of service 7 This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank 8 This list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs for review before it can be sent to the President through the Secretary of Defense for consideration 9 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 10 The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation but this is uncommon 11 The Senate must then confirm the nominee before the officer can be promoted Once the nominee is confirmed they are promoted to that rank once they assume or hold an office that requires or allows an officer of that rank For positions of office reserved by statute the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position For all three uniformed services because the grade of brigadier general is a permanent rank the nominee may still be screened by an in service promotion board The rank does not expire when the officer vacates a one star position Tour length varies depending on the position by statute or when the officer receives a new assignment The average tour length of a one star billet is two to four years Retirement EditOther than voluntary retirement statute sets a number of mandates for retirement All brigadier generals must retire after five years in grade or 30 years of service whichever is later unless selected or appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer 12 Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday 13 However the Secretary of Defense can defer a general or flag officer s retirement until the officer s 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer s 68th birthday Because there are a finite number of General officer positions one officer must retire before another can be promoted As a result General and 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 14 See also EditRear admiral Commodore admiral List of brigadier generals in the United States Regular Army before February 2 1901 List of United States military leaders by rank United States Army officer rank insignia United States Marine Corps officer rank insignia United States Air Force officer rank insigniaReferences Edit a b Officer Insignia of Rank Origin The Institute of Heraldry Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army Archived from the original on 2012 07 15 Retrieved 20 May 2013 Memory loc gov Act of January 11 1812 ch 14 2 Stat 671 Types of MAGTFs U S Marine Corps 2013 12 11 Archived from the original on 2018 03 16 Retrieved 2018 03 16 James Clark May 16 2016 Does The US Military Have Too Many Generals 411 one stars 299 two stars 139 three stars and 37 four stars across DoD 10 U S C 526 Authorized strength general and flag officers on active duty Law cornell edu 10 U S C 611 Convening of selection boards Law cornell edu 10 U S C 616 Recommendations for promotion by selection boards Law cornell edu 10 U S C 618 Action on reports of selection boards Law cornell edu 10 U S C 624 Promotions how made Law cornell edu 10 U S C 5149 Office of the Judge Advocate General Deputy Judge Advocate General Assistant Judge Advocates General Caselaw lp findlaw com 10 U S C 635 Retirement for years of service regular brigadier generals and rear admirals lower half thomas loc gov Archived 2015 11 01 at the Wayback Machine 10 U S C 1253 Age 64 regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades exception Defenselink mil DoD News Briefing on Thursday June 6 1996 Retirement of Admiral Leighton W Smith Jr Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brigadier general United States amp oldid 1132896052, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
