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A NATO two-star general's rank insignia
A NATO two-star general's rank insignia

An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank of rear admiral, counter admiral, major general, divisional general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, air vice-marshal.

Australia

Australian rear admiral
RAN rear admiral
Australian Army major general
Army major general
Australian air vice-marshal
RAAF air vice-marshal

In the Australian Defence Force the following ranks of commissioned officers are awarded two-star ranks:

Bangladesh

Brazil

Brazilian General de Brigada
Brazilian General de Brigada

The two-star rank in Brazil is the first rank in a general career. The officers in this position are normally brigade commanders.

Canada

Rather than stars, the Canadian Forces insignia use maple leaves. The maple leaves appear with St. Edward's crown and crossed sabre and baton. Before unification, air vice marshal was the two-star rank for the RCAF.

Finland

Finnish major general
Kenraalimajuri, Finnish Army
Finnish navy rear admiral
Kontra-amiraali, Finnish Navy

Officers in the Finnish Border Guard may use either army or naval ranks depending on specialization.

Germany

The equivalent modern German two-star ranks (OF-7) of the Bundeswehr are as follows:

Not to be confused with Generalmajor and Vizeadmiral (one-star ranks; OF-6) of the Wehrmacht until 1945 and of the National People's Army of East Germany until German reunification in 1990.

India

An Indian Navy Rear Admiral in a car having two-stars.
An Indian Navy Rear Admiral in a car having two-stars.

Indonesia

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

United Kingdom

A British major-general (Sir Nicholas Carter) wearing two-star insignia
A British major-general (Sir Nicholas Carter) wearing two-star insignia

United States

USSR / Russian Federation

The introduction of general ranks in the USSR took place in 1940. The lowest general rank, major-general, had two stars on the buttonholes. With the introduction of the new insignia in 1942, the two-star general becomes a lieutenant-general (major-general began to wear one star on shoulder straps).

In the Russian and Soviet armies, the rank wearing two stars is lieutenant-general (Russian: Генерал-лейтенант), however the general in charge of a unit equivalent to the one led by a NATO two-star general (a division) is major-general (генерал-майор). This also applies to the air force, MVD, police, FSB and some others, and is caused by a Russian brigades being commanded by colonel, with the smallest unit commanded by a general being a division. In the navy, the equivalent rank is kontr-admiral (контр-адмирал).

See also

References

  1. ^ RAF Glossary Archived 2008-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
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