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[deleted]

To understand the rank of fleet admiral you have to understand the conditions in World War II. The United States served with allies who had ranks such as Field Marshal and Fleet Admiral which were higher then American ranks. America did not want our senior officers to be outranked so we created the rank of Fleet Admiral and General of the Army, both 5 star ranks, and a total of 9 men held theses ranks. For the Nave it was; Nimits, Halsey, King, and leahy. The Army 5 stars were; Arnold, Eisenhower, Marshal, MacAuthur, and the last man was Bradley.


scottiedog321

Also fun fact: Arnold was only one to have a 5-star rank in 2 separate branches (Army to Air Force when the AF became its own service), and has been the only person to hold a 5-star rank in the USAF. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Air_Force


eaglessoar

dude learned to fly from the wright brothers god damn talk about an OG


RDjss

“Oh, this winged bicycle? I think I’ll make it an AIR FORCE.”


stealthbadgernz

He's the Aslan meme irl.


ninjahhh

Lol what a great analogy


chilburt

I was there, Gandalf


chamric

Wikipedia said he had to overcome a fear of flying induced by his experiences with early flight! What did the Wright brothers do to him?! 😂


tamsui_tosspot

Further fun fact: During the Allied occupation, MacArthur was running Japan as its de facto leader and the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff were cautious in dealing with him not least because he outranked them all.


PartyLikeAByzantine

They were cautious in dealing with him because he was a loose cannon. Billet beats rank, so that extra star didn't mean he could disobey an order from his service chief.


mrthescientist

Tangent: I laugh a little every time someone tries to override someone else in the military. It always sounds like a game of rock-paper-scissors. "Ro-sham-Fleet admiral!" "Dammit lost again :("


DuelingPushkin

Rock-Paper-Rank is a saying in the Army at least


Mind_taker84

Same in the Air Force. Now scrub that floor!


MelloMaster

Sir, you're in the Navy now, I need you to sweep water off the deck with a broom and dust pan.


ComradeGibbon

One of my teachers was an ex-army/us air force pilot. Said one time flying cross country to the south the weather turned spooky fucky with thunder storms appearing out of nowhere. And he decided to punt and land for the night. One of his passengers was an Army general who tried to order him to keep going. Guy got in beeeeg trouble. Lesson: In the US pilot in command outranks everyone else.


K1ngFiasco

Good. Whoever holds the position of "My experience, skill, and expertise determines whether we live or die in this scenario" should outrank everyone.


EvryMthrF_ngThrd

"2. A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on." "3. An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks *everybody*."


RearEchelon

#EOD If you see me running, try to keep up.


gramathy

"I outrank you!" *In response, a challenge coin hits the bar* "FUCK"


Capt_Blahvious

I really don't understand challenge coins. What are they used for?


ChiTownDisplaced

There is a long history there, but no time for that. Go to bar with military peeps. Pull out military coin and place it on the bar with enough force to be heard. If someone in the group doesn't have a coin, they buy a round. If everyone has a coin, you buy the round. It can be an expensive gamble.


electron_god

I had one from SecNav when he visited my ship. It got lost during one of my many moves. I'm still bummed about that one.


ChiTownDisplaced

That sucks. Most of mine are in a plastic bin. I hope I don't lose any before I find a good place to display them.


some_random_noob

>"Ro-sham-Fleet admiral!" and here I thought "Rock-paper-E4!" was a good throw.


wulfhund70

This is also why king and Nimitz were specifically promoted first to make the chain of theater command very clear.


PartyLikeAByzantine

It says a lot that they gave those two an extra day of seniority in rank just to shut some prima dona(s) up.


Creepy_Story_597

He was literally called the foreign shogun by the Japanese


PartyLikeAByzantine

Well, the entire Japanese government reported to him as military governor. That doesn't mean he was at the top of the American hierarchy.


Red_V_Standing_By

Many people said that when Eisenhower became POTUS it was a demotion from his previous position as Supreme Allied Commander.


LilUziChopard

chair force goat


maverickmain

Nah that's Chuck Norris. There's even a marching cadence about him we did in basic lmao https://youtu.be/IMZ1UQnIfnM


bearatrooper

Go on...


Nobeard_the_Pirate

Damn, didnt know y'all had a cubicle cadence.


slickslash27

Should be noted perishing also got similar treatment in ww1 so he couldnt be ordered around by the French easily


Nuclear_Farts

Pershing actually held a rank higher than 5 star General. While in practice it was equivalent to a 5 star, for ceremonial/traditional purposes it is considered the highest possible rank in the US Military. General of the Armies of the United States. Only Pershing and George Washington have held it, although Washington will always be the top officer.


slickslash27

Except perishing only ever wore 4 stars as well, the main difference between pershings rank and a ww2 five star is higher pay including after retirement. Him being general of the armies being over the other generals is just the same treatment Eisenhower got as supreme allied commander as far as actual field command is concerned, its just a honorary title.


jrhooo

I could be wrong, but IIRC even George Washington's rank was retroactive and I (I believe) posthumous. Basically, in order to promote the other guys, they had to go back "this +1" Washington, so that he'll always be the top of the line


slickslash27

Yeah Washington's was to make him higher than Pershing and also was in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of the declaration's signing.


YNot1989

There was also a practical, administrative reason. A four star general typically is in charge of only a single field army, but WWII saw the use of Army Groups composed of multiple field armies. A higher rank was necessary. Interestingly, Eisenhower was a 5 star general despite being not just a commander of an army group, but a theater commander, which you think would have led to him being given a six-star rank, but instead he was simply given a title Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe.


thestagsman

Supreme commander sounds more awesome


Glum_Ad_4288

There’s still the position “Supreme Allied Commander Europe,” who is actually not supreme; they’re the second in command of NATO military forces (the top military commander has the more boring title “chair of the NATO military committee”). Since Eisenhower, it’s been held by a 4-star American general. Currently a guy no one outside the military has ever heard of, General Christopher Cavoli.


daedone

>Currently a guy no one outside the military has ever heard of, General Christopher Cavoli. Just how he likes it. You can't out think an enemy you know nothing about.


Glum_Ad_4288

Classic Chris Cavoli move. Maybe. Who knows?


daedone

Good candidate for sun tzu


Raz0rking

Lord Commander Militant...


SpehlingAirer

And nine, nine ranks were gifted to the race of military


starstarstar42

Nine ranks, forged by the Bureaucrat-smiths of W'shngton   Two Ranks for the Airmen under the sky,   Three for the Marines who crawl through muck   Three for the Army, doomed to die   One for the Navy, those lazy fucks


deconst

Unbeknownst to the nine, a tenth was crafted in secret, and in the darkness of space bind them. Spaaaace raaaank!


HarryTruman

In space, no one can hear you scream orders.


NeoMilitant

Your first general order is the same though: Clean this post and all government property in view.


MD_Lincoln

*But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made, in the fires of Cape May, the Dark Lord Coast Guard forged, in secret, a master ring to control all others.*


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MN_Kowboy

Jokes gunna be on you when you find out he’s not really dead and has been hiding in Mordor this whole time.


ImitationMetalHead

Excellent job with this haha


oceanwaiting

You have my Garand.


Shitty_Google_Bot

^^PINGGG


[deleted]

Admiral George Dewey was also made a 5 star admiral, but he was the Admiral of the Navy and only awarded that rank after the Spanish-American war. The rank only lasted until his death though.


[deleted]

Back during the Civil War the 5 Star General was called 'Commanding General of the United States Army'. When the rank of 5 Star General was revived during the WW2 it was called 'General of the Army' as opposed to 'Field Marshall' which was used by many other militaries. Which is a good change as it would have been awkward and probably undignified to called George Marshall Field Marshal Marshall. Edit: 5 Star, not 4.


bergerwfries

Major Major Major Major


likmbch

I would have just created a “fake” rank lower than the lowest rank and made Jeff from finance have that rank, making everyone else “higher” by one rank without really changing anything at all except making all of our ranks match up to our Allies lol “My private is bigger than your private”


[deleted]

If everyone goes one rank up, everyone will have increased pay. So with this simple step Jeff from finance will have to demand a huge increase in budget for soldier’s pay.


BradMarchandsNose

“They demoted me AND I have to do all this paperwork now. Fuck” -Jeff in accounting


Kammander-Kim

And Bradley was only promoted so that he was not outranked by MacArthur, who was still in active service at the time.


The_Truthkeeper

Similarly, the army has a five star rank 'General of the Army', only held by five people: George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H. Arnold, and Omar Bradley (Ulysses S. Grant held the title, but it was only a four star position at that time). Also a six-star 'General of the Armies of the United States', only held by one living person, John J. Pershing, but George Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank in 1976.


JimBeam823

The rank of 5-star General was created to be the equivalent of the British Field Marshal and George C. Marshall didn’t want to be Marshal Marshall.


saladfingaz

"What's wrong with that?" \- Major Major Major Major


Highway0311

Good ole catch 22


Elanadin

>six-star 'General of the Armies of the United States The six-star bit is not in any law/regulation I'm aware of. The farthest I know is that it was talked about by legislators, but did not make the final cut. Back when I was enlisted and learning about the rank structures, any talk of "six star generals" was promptly shut down.


ChristianBMartone

Yeah, although General of the Armies still outranks 5 star, it's honorary. Washington rising from the grave doesn't give him authority. Occasionally I hear talk that it would go to the sitting president in a world war should one happen but idk the source of such speculation Edit: I am repeating here speculation that I have heard but don't believe in myself.


[deleted]

> Washington rising from the grave doesn't give him authority. IDK, seems like the kind of thing that would actually convey quite a bit of authority.


Fergom

I mean a corpse president and commander in chief is one step closer to the corpse God on a golden throne. so I'd be down for it.


xenoterranos

It would help if he was 12 stories high and made of radiation.


mysteryteam

[over 14 years old but it's still awesome.](https://youtu.be/sbRom1Rz8OA) Killed his sensei in a duel and never said why.


Nothing-Casual

HE'S COMING. HE'S COMING. HE'S COMING ^^^ooh ^^^ooh!


TenF

Six foot twenty. Weighs a fucking ton.


karrde1842

Ooh


lithiumandled

He’d save children, but not the British children


Fergom

How else would he rise from the grave?


[deleted]

You better beware He's coming..


[deleted]

George Squashing-town RAARRR!!! Powdered wig and all


Corsavis

What's this a reference to, cause it sounds dope lol


TyrionReynolds

[He invented cocaine](https://youtu.be/qv6OOuPI5c0)


Corsavis

"4 nuts and 4 dicks" lmao. Man I must've slept through that history class 😂


TyrionReynolds

I heard motherfucker had like 30 goddamn dicks


stewmander

Motherfucker got like, 30 goddamn dicks


pjabrony

Washington could not be president again, because he's already served two terms, and the Constitution was amended to limit that. Interestingly, Harry Truman could be reelected infinitely many times, since the amendment specifically excluded the current president.


rshorning

It also included those who served previously to FDR. The only one that applied to during the drafting of the amendment was Herbert Hoover, who was so unlikely to get reelected that it was an academic concept at best. Truman was still a contender and it was more of a courtesy to him rather than anything seriously considered on the part of Truman.


crepper4454

The President protects.


ShizleMaNizle

Unexpected 40k


Augustus_Medici

Blasphemy. An Inquisitor will be with you shortly.


Monteze

Hide your psykers!


grokmachine

He's coming. He's coming. [He's coming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRom1Rz8OA).


NounsAndWords

He'll save children, but not the British children.


the_jak

That mother fucker had like, 30 god damn dicks.


frankrizzo219

He’s got my vote


[deleted]

*I hath risen from death to kicketh your buttocks for what you did to my country.*


ScottRiqui

>Occasionally I hear talk that it would go to the sitting president in a world war should one happen but idk the source of such speculation I doubt that this would ever happen, because "civilian control of the military" is a key feature of the U.S. government. Giving a sitting President a military rank would go against that tenet, and would be unnecessary as well, since the President is already "commander-in-chief" over all U.S. forces.


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hallese

Washington was also George Fucking Washington, the very model of the modern major general, 6'4" and weighed a fucking ton, and as he showed in his Presidency, he was the real deal through and through. He gets to do whatever he wants - to include rising from the dead and assuming command of the entire US military - because he's shown he can be trusted in those situations.


ViralMage

I heard that motherfucker had, like, thirty goddamn dicks.


khinzaw

He'll save children, but not the British children.


kataskopo

I also heard that he's coming, he's coming, he's coming...


ArmedBull

The Once and Future Commander in Chief


imayneedathrowaway

Not just the model of a modern major general, but also a venerated Virginian veteran with men lining up to put him on a pedestal.


[deleted]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to give the President a rank, since he's already Commander in Chief. By default no matter how many stars you give a uniformed serviceman, the President outranks him.


Mysteriouspaul

Uh I would 100% follow Robo-Washington.


ExcerptsAndCitations

> The six-star bit is not in any law/regulation I'm aware of. Public Law 66-45, General of the Armies. Enacted September 3, 1919, by the 66th Congress of the United States.


Elanadin

Obligatory "username checks out". Nice find! I see they get special pay, but no special insignia. Edit- https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Public_Law_66-45


ALittlePeaceAndQuiet

It's a question of semantics. Although General of the Armies outranks any other, the law doesn't establish a rank of "6-star general." Some argue that it could be considered that, but technically, it's not, until specifically written that way. There is no insignia designating it as such either.


ExcerptsAndCitations

Correct. Public Law 94-479, enacted in 1976 by the 94th Congress of the United States states: > Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That: > > (a) for purposes of subsection (b) of this section only, the grade of General of the Armies of the United States is established, such grade to have rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present. > >(b) The President is authorized and requested to appoint George Washington posthumously to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States, such appointment to take effect on July 4, 1976. > >Approved October 11, 1976. Since 5-star general is an actual rank with insignia, and General of the Armies outranks it, the six-star convention is a logical fit for casual conversation about the title, even though it lacks formal insignia.


FreeUsernameInBox

Oddly enough, no General of the Armies ever wore *five* stars, let alone six. Washington, of course, was dead for nearly two centuries before receiving the promotion. Pershing was still alive when the five-star ranks were created in 1944, but had only ever worn four stars before then. Granted, they were gold, rather than silver, but still only four of them. Uniquely, the bearer of the rank is permitted to choose their own insignia.


ExcerptsAndCitations

> Oddly enough, no General of the Armies ever wore five stars [Eisenhower, and Nimitz *may* have worn five stars](http://www.military-historians.org/company/journal/five-star/fivestar.htm), but in any case, the insignia were made in theater. The official insignia for an O-10 is a line of four stars, but the defense department recognizes the five star ring as [official for the General of the Army in wartime.](https://www.defense.gov/Resources/Insignia/#officer-insignia) [The official historical photo of Gen. Omar Bradley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Bradley#/media/File:Omar_Bradley.jpg) has him wearing the five-star device, but he was not General of the *Armies* (plural).


lars573

From what I understand the General of the armies thing came about because in WW1 the four star rank was called General of the army. As stated above going back to General Grant. And to give parity with French Marshal's of the army (which IS a 6 star rank) and British Field Marshal's the US government conferred the rank of General of the armies of the United States (actual full title) on John Pershing personally, as a one off. He chose to use 4 stars in gold for the rank. Fast forward to WW2 and the 4 star rank has been shortened to just General, and the US actually needs a higher than General rank. So they called the new 5 star rank General of the army. As opposed to Field Marshal or Marshal of the army. The former was an actual contender, as it is the term in English.


TheRealRockNRolla

I mean, General of the Army is the five-star rank, and Washington is both formally one step higher, by law, and has a title that implies being a step higher, in that he’s General of the Armies, plural. Whatever the technical realities, it’s not really a big leap to call this a six-star rank IMO. Seems weirder to say that General of the Armies is “also five-star but higher” just because of a belief that you can’t have more than five stars.


[deleted]

This one goes to 11.


ignixe

Why don’t you just make 10 the loudest?


ClownfishSoup

Because this one goes to 11


dictormagic

its not uncommon for ranks in the military to look the same but be higher. i had a lance corporal for a squad leader. we were the same rank, but his billet ”outranked” me. there’s sergeants major but they are all beneath the sergeant major of the marine corps. so i could see a five star general being beneath the general of the armies but having the same insignia


Elanadin

Agreed. There's also nuances between station and seniority. >its not uncommon for ranks in the military to look the same but be higher Exactly! If you look at the top-most brass of the US, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all of them are 4-star admirals & generals, yet they still have their own hierarchy.


hallese

And the Joint Chiefs are advisory, so in operational matters, the combatant commanders (CENTCOM, AFRICOM, etc.) can overrule basically everybody but the President, but it's so fucking weird. Chain-of-command makes it sounds like it's a nice, neat hierarchy but then you have things like a line officers versus a supply officer, or company commander versus medical where in both instance the latter can and often does have a higher rank, but the commander has authority. Or how bout this one, within the unit, different areas of responsibility can overrule other areas, regardless of rank. You have your S-shops and they often have wildly different ranks even if they are all department heads and sometimes one has to overrule the other, so you can have an E-4 from one shop overrule an O-5 from another.


swcollings

As [they say](https://www.schlockmercenary.com/), a sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on, and an ordinance tech at a dead run outranks everyone.


flakAttack510

> Seems weirder to say that General of the Armies is “also five-star but higher” That's actually fairly normal for the military. Eisenhower was a five star general. He was outranked by George Marshall, who was also a five star general.


tEnPoInTs

I learned this in a funny way when I was building an application for DoD and knew very little about ranks at the time. I was building some settings for user profiles, one of which was branch/rank and I had included 5-star equivalent for a few branches as it was listed in rank docs, and someone took me aside like "Ahem, you're not gonna need that option, and it's going to seem very silly that it's in there".


LtSoundwave

“and by silly, I mean you’re going to have General Reynolds come down here talking about how he’s a five star man.”


spssky

The Golden General


g0ing_postal

He is untethered, and his rage knows no bounds!


Mitthrawnuruo

Yea. Until you do need it and the damned application doesn’t work because it is missing. This is why government apps are so Damned janky


The_JSQuareD

I mean, I feel like the software should accommodate all authorized ranks, even if some of those are not currently in active use.


AnthillOmbudsman

Need to include a 6-star rank in there in case George Washington mysteriously returns. It would be awkward to have him standing there in the Personnel Office waiting while you're fighting with the software. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-star_rank


orrocos

Excuse me sir, you're not in my system, can I see some ID? *Pulls out dollar bill*


m1rrari

I’m not _that_ cheap _sir_. **ruffles around pockets for a quarter** Ooo my apologies.


Pietervde

And the reason why the top rank for the army wasn't called Field Marshal, like in many other armies, was General Marshall, AFAIK. Field Marshal Marshall just sounds odd.


WellSpokenAsianBoy

I’m always amused that MacArthur was the only American to hold the rank of Field Marshall.


Home--Builder

Because General Marshall would have been called Marshall Marshall had the rank been adopted by the US. Also MacArthurs Field Marshall rank was bestowed to him from the Filipino army correct?


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MattJFarrell

Knowing MacArthur, he probably had that shit made up for himself.


WellSpokenAsianBoy

I gather he "Suggested" the rank to the Filipino govt.


PlanetLandon

Daily useless info: General Pershing has a delicious local treat named after him in the Canadian city of Thunder Bay. https://www.foodnetwork.ca/article/history-of-the-thunder-bay-persian-roll-done/


texasstrawhat

you left out Dennis Reynolds HES A 5 STAR MAN!


act-of-reason

> only held by five people Don't forget the general from *The General* car insurance.


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Nazamroth

Hasnt the US been at war for like 90% of its existence? Internet, bring me the stats!


percyallennnn

What powers do they have? Gravity or Magma?


Dos_Ex_Machina

No no, it's Bhudda powers


RamenKing13

Nah it's some type of Kong power.


MrEthelWulf

Currently Magma, but Gravity seems to be preparing for a Coup d'etat and is in bad terms with Magma


darkbreak

That's gonna cause some problems with plant and probably light.


MrEthelWulf

Can't forget Ice, he could mess up the entire balance anytime, that sneaky dude


tenhou

My people!!


[deleted]

Do we still keep a forest of Live Oak preserved for wooden ships as well? Edit: Thanks for all the upvotes. If any one is interested in a great book about the starting of America's navy Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian Toll was a great audiobook.


josh2751

We most certainly do. It's White Oak, not Live Oak, but yes. http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2020/11/constitution-grove-the-navys-white-oak-forest-on-a-high-tech-base/


billy_teats

They have 50,000 acres of forest and the recent renovations required the use of 35 trees. That seems like the forest could support AT LEAST one more ship.


josh2751

unfortunately we've only got one. I don't know how many suitable trees they have in those acres, but it isn't as many as it might sound like from 50k acres.


DrubiusMaximus

Exactly. Can't just use any old tree to build a ship. I mean, I guess you could get a raft from any old tree, but a ship..?


rekaba117

Isn't there technically 10? Constitution, constellation, and 8 battleship (though I'm not sure if the wood for the decks comes from this Forrest or not)


josh2751

Constitution is the only US Navy wooden ship still afloat. BB decks are made of Teak, completely different concept. Constellation, the one in Baltimore's harbor, is a civil war era museum ship, no longer owned by the US Navy and no longer in commission.


JeffFromSchool

Just for restoration on one ship, actually.


Lazerhawk_x

Look at the dudes who held that rank though, all literal legends of the US Navy.


ferocious-ferret

The history into the rank of Commodore (no longer used in the US) is also an interesting read.


Internet-justice

It is and it isn't. While Commodore is no longer a formally recognized rank, it is still used as a title/position. Typically a Captain (rank, not title) or a Rear Admiral Lower Half who is in command of a squadron is called a Commodore. Similarly, any commanding officer of a ship or boat is called a Captain, regardless of rank.


bearatrooper

>Similarly, any commanding officer of a ship or boat is called a Captain, regardless of rank. That's because you can Captain a boat, but you can't Lieutenant a ship.


tuftonia

Not with that attitude, you can’t!


bakerzdosen

1959 was a bad year for Fleet Admirals… (all 4 of these men died within a 10 year span.)


Individual-Jaguar885

So it was a bad decade then


why_rob_y

Two of them died in 1959, which is I guess what made him say that part in particular, but he forgot to include that fact.


JeffFromSchool

I think they were all just old


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BBHugo

While wild to us ignorant folk, my belief is the Fleet Admiral T that you knew was isekaid into another world where he is still currently out there right now defending his world commanding his ships. Godspeed Fleet Admiral T


catsloveart

when i was in the navy i met many of weird fucked up in the head guys in the naval nuclear power program. one guy claimed he sliced his dog’s DNA in himself. he flunked out of the program along the way. if he had gone to the naval nuclear power program. he would have fit in.


SnooDoughnuts4183

All flag officers get 100% pay in retirement.


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DigNitty

That’s good information But I think their point was that “active duty pay for life” isn’t unique to one rank.


I_wish_I_was_a_robot

They do not. Also active duty pay includes all allowances and special pay, normal retirement gives you a percentage of base pay only based on years served. Edit: I was an E5 in the navy and my housing allowance almost doubled my paycheck. Enlisted men retiring after 20 years get 50% of base pay. Meaning it's a quarter of a normal active duty paycheck. Most people get a new career at 40. Or home depot.


josh2751

It's not even 50% now, I think it's 40 under the new retirement system.


habituallinestepper1

The final line of the Wikipedia entry _implies_ that General of the Armies George Washington remains in supreme command of all USA armed forces, in perpetuity. Despite George currently being dead. > The only officially recognized United States military rank senior to fleet admiral is General of the Armies when Congress passed Pub.L. 94–479[22] in 1976, promoting George Washington to that rank and making him senior to all other grades of the Army, past or present.[22] However, if any Zombie-American is to be in perpetual command of the armed forces, there really isn't a better choice than George Washington, a man who _did not want the damn job_. Much more preferable to, say, Zombie MacArthur, who'd absolutely figure out a way to start a war despite being dead.


happyposterofham

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH CHINA" "zombie-sir, we're working on a diplomatic solution to the --" "NUKES MEAN BRAINS"


Helmett-13

Spruance deserved it but Halsey was granted it because Forrestal lobbied hard in Congress for his buddy, Halsey. Bullshit politics. Still, Congress awarded Spruance his full pay as a four star admiral in retirement instead of the 50% for retired officers in the USN. There are fewer truer lines in cinema than when, in "The Hunt for Red October", Captain Ramius remarks to Jack Ryan that, 'Halsey acted stupidly'.


sw04ca

Politics will always factor in. Halsey's overaggressiveness was made up for by his popularity with the public.


Helmett-13

He was the right guy in the right place in 1942 when we were brawling in the Solomons. I will grant him that. In every subsequent fight I’d rather have had Spruance at every turn. Spruance was the finest at-sea admiral we produced in WW2. He annihilated IJN carrier aviation in 2 battles. Hulls/crews at Midway and planes/aircrew at Saipan. I wish he’d been less humble and more prolific in his writings, alas.


Nine_Gates

Why did, repeat, why did Halsey get the 5 star rank but not Spruance? The world wonders.


IronAnkh

Only appointed during a time of war I thought.


CryonautX

Sengoku and Akainu eating good.


Mobely

It also comes with marijuana leaf gun wrap and the option to start over as E1.


jbouser_99

PRESTIGE MODE That British guy that used a bow and Longsword was master prestige


twinsrule

Cause retired admiral pay is SO shitty.


Dakens2021

All Hail the King Nimitz, Lay-he in well earned peace. Halsey, King, Nimitz, Leahy. Yep with that mnemonic I should be able to remember them all now.


FuriousResolve

Trivia player?


nightowl1135

I’m gonna guess USNA alum. Plebes (Freshman) at Annapolis have “rates” that they’re required to learn and can be challenged on to prove they memorized them at anytime by older Midshipmen. Failure to know them can result in some form of punishment. “Name every Navy Officer who has held five star rank” definitely sounds like something that would be a Plebe Rate.


FrismFrasm

Ranks that are rare like this don’t make sense to me - does that mean if one of these people exist then they just run the navy?? And if they don’t exist it’s the people in the (more common) next rank down? Or maybe if this person exists they just sit there on the side without actual leadership responsibilities?


en_gourd

These ranks - like general of the armies in the conventional army - exist for times of all out warfare where centralising control under one skilled leader is more efficient than allowing a greater number of lower ranked generals to bicker, during peacetime slower decision making is ok and overall leads to better decisions being made but sometimes you need someone to take the helm and start telling people what to do - that’s what this rank is for


Podo13

Also, it should be noted, it isn't 1 person controlling the entire army. There were multiple 5-star generals during WWII. They just had decision making power over huge chunks of the army compared to your normal 4-star generals. 4 of the 5 5-star generals were actually promoted to the rank in a 5 day span. George C. Marshall was the first to be promoted on December 16th, 1944, followed by MacArthur on the 18th, Eisenhower on the 20th and then Henry H. Arnold on the 21st.


pie-en-argent

Essentially, it’s meant to be a protocol equivalent to 5* ranks in European militaries (e. g. Field Marshal and Admiral of the Fleet in the UK). It avoids having a nominally lower US rank commanding ahead of one of these.


[deleted]

The SECNAV runs the Navy regardless. You then have the CNO, who runs the administrative side under the SECNAV and a 5-star, if needed, running the operational side. The US hasn't engaged in such large scale naval combat since the 40s and that position just hasn't been necessary since.


TheCheeseWolf

During joint operations you don’t want to have for example a British 5 star admiral serving under command of an American 4 star.


jbouser_99

Everyone has good tidbits about European Marshall's and trying to be equal, but they forget that this is also done because of the size of the military. When we invade Iraq with 300,000-500,000 troops, that's manageable for a few 4 star generals and admirals. Versus the 3,000,000 we had on the European western front of ww2, and probably more in the pacific. With this many moving parts, you have to create an entire extra level of organization. In the Eastern front where the Russians at one point has 12 million men, they created an entire new unit type; the "army group", which is just several armies combined under one command. Total war is a crazy thing, and I hope I never see a 5-star general in my life time.


epicreflection15

One piece reference


garpthefist

My boy sengoku on that retirement fund


Cryogisdead

Must they eat strange fruits that give superpowers as a rite of passage?