Major General

From Freepedia

Major General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A major general is a high-ranking officer normally subordinate to a Lieutenant General and senior to a Brigadier General. In countries which do not maintain the rank of Brigadier General, including much of Eastern Europe, Major General normally serves as the lowest General Officer rank.

Contents 1 Germany 2 Israel 3 Korea 4 United Kingdom 5 United States 6 Fictional references 7 See also

Germany

The German Army and Luftwaffe refer to the rank as as Generalmajor. It was the lowest general officer rank until 1950, when the rank of Brigadegeneral was introduced below it. Before that time, it was often equated with Brigadier General, and Generalleutnant was considered to be equivalent to Major General..

Israel

In the Israeli Defence Forces a Major General is called an Aluf and is the second highest rank, only outranked by Rav Aluf (Lieutenant General or General).

Korea

The rank of Major General is known as Sojang in South Korea.

The rank of Sojang is also used in North Korea, where it is the lowest general officer and flag officer rank, equivalent to both Brigadier General and Rear Admiral. The actual equivalent to Major General is Jungjang, which roughly translates as Lieutenant General.

United Kingdom

In the British Army and Royal Marines, Major-General ranks below Lieutenant-General and above Brigadier, and is thus the lowest of the general officer ranks, although always considered equivalent to Major General in other countries.

Major-General is equivalent to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy, and in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries to Air Vice-Marshal.

Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British officer ranks
	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1	OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Royal Navy:	OCdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Admiral of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt	OD	2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Field Marshal
Royal Air Force:	OCdt	OD	PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

United States

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps and United States Air Force, a Major General ranks immediately below a Lieutenant General and above a Brigadier General. An American Major General is also called a two-star general because of the insignia. A Major General is equivalent to a Rear Admiral (upper half) in the United States Navy.

In the Civil Air Patrol, the National Commander is also given the rank of Major General. He or she has the distinction of holding the highest rank in the organization. A CAP Major General is demoted to Brigadier General when they vacate the position of National Commander.

Image:Us flag large.png U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
United States Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
United States Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
United States Army:	Cdt	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
United States Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
United States Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)

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Fictional references

In fiction, the best-known Major General is probably Major-General Stanley, the "modern major general" from Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 operetta, The Pirates of Penzance. Stanley satirizes the aristocratic, learned officers in the British army of the day. He sings the immortal Major General's Song. Also, in the science-fiction television series Stargate SG-1, the commanding officer of Stargate Command from seasons 1 to 7 is Major General George Hammond (played by Don S. Davis).

See also

• Comparative military ranks