Fleet admiral (United States)

History

Post Spanish–American War

Main article: Admiral of the Navy

The Navy had a 5-star rank: Admiral of the Navy, established and given only to Admiral George Dewey in recognition of his victory at Manila Bay in 1898. Superior to Admiral, the rank used the 1867 regulation Admiral insignia. On March 2, 1899, Congress passed , approving the creation of the rank. The Senate confirmed Dewey's promotion to that rank on March 14, 1903, and he was officially promoted to Admiral of the Navy on March 24, 1903, with a retroactive date-of-rank of March 2, 1899. The congressional act also stipulated that upon Dewey's death, the rank would cease to exist. Dewey died on January 16, 1917, ending the Navy's use of the rank.

World War II

A proper five-star rank of fleet admiral was created in 1944 to give U.S. military officers comparable rank to five-star officers of allied nations. Congress created the rank of fleet admiral on December 14, 1944, via Pub.L. 78-482 , which stipulated that up to four officers could hold the rank temporarily . |access-date = 2012-09-21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120206041537/http://www.nightscribe.com/military/public_law_482.htm |archive-date = 6 February 2012 |access-date = 2012-09-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013212055/http://history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-6.htm |archive-date = 2007-10-13

The rank of fleet admiral was held during and after World War II by four officers:

The timing of the first three appointments was carefully planned, such that a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the services was established for the Generals of the Army promoted at the same time.

Admiral Leahy acted as an executive Chief of Staff over Admiral King and General Marshall and briefed President Franklin D. Roosevelt. King coordinated all naval operations. Nimitz commanded all naval operations in the Pacific Ocean area. Halsey received his promotion based on his successes.

George C. Marshall was promoted to General of the Army on December 16, 1944; General MacArthur was promoted on December 18, 1944; General Eisenhower was promoted on December 20, 1944, and General Arnold was promoted on December 21, 1944. Arnold would later be laterally promoted to General of the Air Force on May 7, 1949, after the Air Force was created as a separate service as part of the National Defense Act of 1947.

The insignia for a fleet admiral is composed of five silver stars in a pentagonal design. Worn on the service dress blue uniform sleeve was a gold stripe two inches wide surrounding the sleeve two inches from the cuff with four half-inch stripes placed at inch intervals. The single gold five-pointed star, one ray down, worn above the top stripe was not part of the rank, but indicated the wearer to be a line officer.

Post–World War II

Another contender to receive the rank of fleet admiral was Admiral Raymond A. Spruance; the choice between him and Halsey was an issue that occupied several months of deliberation, before Admiral King finally chose Halsey. Purportedly U.S. Representative Carl Vinson, chairman of the House Armed Services committee and a strong supporter of Halsey, was responsible for blocking subsequent efforts to promote Spruance to fleet admiral (although his promotion continued to be blocked after Vinson retired). Instead, Spruance's achievements were recognized by the unique honor of a Special Act of Congress awarding him full four-star admiral's salary during the remainder of his life. Spruance expressed the following feelings over the issue:

The first fleet admiral to leave active duty was Ernest King, who retired immediately after the conclusion of World War II. Chester Nimitz and William Halsey both retired two years later while William Leahy was the last fleet admiral to leave active duty in 1949. According to Public Law 78-482, fleet admirals on active duty receive the same pay as a Rear Admiral, Upper Half (two star) plus a $5,000 personal allowance, and upon retirement were to receive 75% of their active duty pay. When Public Law 79-333 made the rank permanent for Leahy, King, Nimitz, and Halsey, it also provided for full pay and allowances once those officers retired. |access-date = 2012-09-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013212055/http://history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-6.htm |archive-date = 2007-10-13

Three of the four fleet admirals died in the late 1950s and, by 1960, Chester Nimitz was the sole surviving U.S. Navy fleet admiral. He held a ceremonial post as Navy adviser to the Western Sea Frontier with his quarters based in San Francisco. Nimitz died in 1966 with no further fleet admirals appointed since.

Modern usage

The president, with consent from the Senate, may award a fifth star to admirals. In the 1990s, there were proposals in Department of Defense academic circles to bestow a five-star rank on the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Military leaders in the Global War on Terrorism can be promoted to a five-star rank.

Ranks senior to fleet admiral

The Navy does not have an established rank senior to fleet admiral. The only officially recognized United States military rank senior to fleet admiral is General of the Armies when Congress passed in 1976, promoting George Washington to that rank and making him senior to all other grades of the Army, past or present.

References

Works cited

References

1. [[s:Public Law 78-482]] Pub.L. 78-482 – To establish the grade of Fleet Admiral for the United States Navy; to establish the grade of General of the Army, and for other purposes.
2. [[:File:United States Navy Uniform Regulations (January 1998).pdf. United States Navy Uniform Regulations (January 1998)]], page 211
3. Daniels, Josephus (Secretary of the Navy). (17 January 1917). "Secretary of the Navy Announces the Death of Admiral Dewey: General Order No. 258". [[US Navy]] Office of Information.
4. Department, United States Navy. (1913). "United States Navy Regulations". U.S. Government Printing Office.
5. {{USStatute. 55. 378. 30. 995. 1899. 03. 02 ([https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/55th-congress/session-3/c55s3ch378.pdf An Act Creating the office of Admiral of the Navy])
6. "Biography: George Dewey (26 December 1837 – 16 January 1917)".
7. Buell, Thomas. (1974). "The Quiet Warrior: A Biography of Raymond Spruance". Little, Brown and Co..
8. Buell, Thomas. (1974). "The Quiet Warrior: A Biography of Raymond Spruance". Little, Brown and Co..
9. [[s:Public Law 78-482]] Pub.L. 78-482 – To establish the grade of Fleet Admiral for the United States Navy; to establish the grade of General of the Army, and for other purposes.
10. (March 1991). "U.S. Sen. Kasten Pushing Effort to Award Powell with Historic Fifth Star". Jet.
11. (1991). "Armed Forces: War in the Gulf". Abdo & Daughters.
12. (1999). "All Too Human: A Political Education". Thorndike Press.
13. (January 1986). "Organizing for National Security: The Role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff". Institute for Foreign Analysis.
14. Jones, Logan. (February 2000). "Toward the Valued Idea of Jointness: The Need for Unity of Command in U.S. Armed Forces". Naval War College.
15. Owsley, Robert Clark. (June 1997). "Goldwater-Nichols Almost Got It Right: A Fifth Star for the Chairman". Naval War College.
16. Stringer, Kevin D.. (2007). "A Supreme Commander for the War on Terror". National Defense University Press.
17. [[wikisource:Public Law 94-479. Public Law 94-479 of 1976]] to provide for the posthumous appointment of George Washington to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States