Everything about Major General totally explained
Major General or
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 that don't maintain the rank of Brigadier General, including much of
Eastern Europe, Major General normally serves as the lowest
General Officer rank.
Australia
Austria
In the old
Austro-Hungarian Army, the major general was called a
Feldmarschall-Leutenant (Field Marshal's lieutenant). This rank is often abbreviated as FML. Today's Austrian Federal Army uses the term
Generalmajor.
Canada
In the
Canadian Forces, the rank of
Major-General (MGen) (
Major-général or
Mgén in
French) is an
Army or
Air Force rank equal to a
Rear-Admiral of the
Navy. A Major-General is a
General Officer, the equivalent of a Naval
Flag Officer. A Major-General is senior to a
Brigadier-General or
Commodore, and junior to a
Lieutenant-General or
Vice-Admiral.
The rank insignia for a Major-General is two gold maple leaves beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. It is worn on the shoulder straps of the Service Dress tunic, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The Service Dress tunic also features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
Image:Army sleeve MGen.png|Dress uniform tunic
Image:Army slip-on MGen.png|Uniform shirts
Image:CADPAT temperate MGen.png|CADPAT uniform
Image:CADPAT arid MGen .png|arid-region CADPAT uniform
Image:Air Force sleeve MGen.png|Dress uniform tunic
Image:Air Force slip-on MGen.png|Uniform shirts
Image:Air Force olive MGen.png|CADPAT uniform
Major-Generals are initially addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am", as applicable. Major-Generals are normally entitled to
staff cars.
Links
Canadian Forces ranks and insignia
Estonia
In the
Estonian military, the major general is called
Kindralmajor.
France
In the French military,
Major général isn't a rank but an appointment conferred on some generals, usually of
Général de corps d'armée rank, acting as head of staff of a branch of service. This shouldn't be confused with the
chief of staff, who is usually a
Général d'armée, and the true commander of each service. The position of
major général can be considered the equivalent of a deputy chief of Staff. There are five Major Generals: the Major General of the Armies, head of the General Staff, the Major General of the
Army, the Major General of the
Navy, the Major General of the
Gendarmerie and the Major General of the
Air Force.
Historically, the French army had some
sergent-majors généraux, also called
sergents de bataille, whose task was to prepare the disposition of the army on the field before a battle. These
sergents-majors généraux became a new rank, the
maréchal de camp (not the same as a Field Marshal, in the French Army from antiquity called a Maréchal de France), which was the equivalent of the rank of major general. However the term of
major général wasn't forgotten and used to describe the appointment of armies chiefs of staff. One well-known French
Major général was
Marshal Berthier, Major General of
Napoléon's
Grande armée.
The French equivalent to the rank of Major General is
Général de division.
Germany
The
German Army and
Luftwaffe refer to the rank as
Generalmajor. It was the lowest general officer rank used in German armies until the remilitarization of Germany in 1955 with West Germany's admission to NATO, when the rank of
Brigadegeneral was introduced as the lowest rank for the
Bundeswehr of West Germany and the former highest rank of
Generaloberst wasn't used. The change was likely made to avoid confusion over relative rank in NATO forces. The
Nationale Volksarmee of East Germany continued the use Generalmajor as the lowest general officer rank until reunification.
Iran
In Iranian army and air force, a Major General is called a
Sar-Lashkar. He is outranked by a
Sepah-Bod (
Lieutenant General) or an
Artesh-Bod (
General or
General of the Army). It is practically the highest rank in Iran at the moment. All senior officers of Iranian armed forces are Major Generals.
Israel
In the
Israel Defence Forces, a Major General is called an
Aluf and is the second highest rank, only outranked by
Rav Aluf (
Lieutenant General or
General), who is also the Chief of Staff.
Italy
In Italy exists the
Army rank of
Generale di Divisione. In the army the Generale di Divisione is the commander of a
division or as other duties in the various national or international staff, in the Carabinieri or Guardia di Finanaza. He/she is usually the commander of the units in a zone of the country.
Korea
The
rank of Major General is known as
Sojang (
Hangul: 소장,
Hanja: 少將) in
South Korea.
The rank of
Sojang is also used in
North Korea, where it's the lowest general officer and flag officer rank, equivalent to a one star General and Admiral. The North Korean equivalent to a two star General is
Jungjang, which roughly translates as Lieutenant General.
New Zealand
In the
New Zealand Army,
Major-General is the rank held by the Chief of Army (formerly the Chief of General Staff). The more senior rank of
Lieutenant-General is reserved for when an Army officer holds the position of Chief of Defence Force, who commands all New Zealand's armed forces. This position is subject to rotation between the heads of the Air Force, Army, and Navy.
Pakistan
Major General in the
Pakistan Army is equivalent to
Rear Admiral in the
Pakistan Navy and
Air Vice Marshal in the
Pakistan Air Force and is the lowest of the general officer ranks, ranking between
Brigadier and
Lieutenant General. The Pakistan Army has two female Major Generals, and is one of the few countries in the world that has promoted women to such a high post.
Sweden
In Sweden the rank of
Generalmajor (Genmj) is used in the
Army, the
Amphibious Corps and the
Airforce. It is the equivalent to Konteramiral (
Counter Admiral) in the navy. It is typically held by the
Inspector Generals of the three
service branches and the head of the
Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service.
Turkey
The Turkish Army and Turkish Air Force refer to the rank as Tümgeneral. The Turkish Navy equivalent is Tümamiral. The name is derived from
tümen, the Turkish word for a military
division (
tümen itself is an older Turkish word meaning "10,000"). Thus, linguistically, it's similar to the French equivalent for a Major General,
Général de division.
United Kingdom
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.
Divisions are usually commanded by Major-Generals and they also hold a variety of staff positions. The professional head of the Royal Marines currently holds the rank of Major-General.
From
1 April 1918 to
31 July 1919, the
Royal Air Force maintained the rank of Major-General. It was superseded by the rank of Air Vice-Marshal on the following day.
Major-General is equivalent to
Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy and
Air Vice-Marshal in the
Royal Air Force.
United States
In the United States army, a Major General commands a division. A division comprises 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers and is capable of fully independent field operation.
Fictional references
- Major-General Stanley is the "modern major general" from Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic operetta, The Pirates of Penzance. Stanley is a satire of the aristocratic, learned officers in the British Army of the day. He sings the immortal Major-General's Song ("I am the very model of a modern major-general, I've information vegetable, animal and mineral...")
- 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). From season 9, the position is taken up by Major General Hank Landry.
- Bartholomew Bandy, the air ace from Donald Jack's Bandy Papers series, ends the First World War as a Major General at the age of only 26.
- In the anime movie Robotech II: The Sentinels, the lead character, Rick Hunter, holds the rank of Major General.
- Con artist Private Harry Frigg, played by Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman, is promoted overnight to Major General in the 1968 war comedy, The Secret War of Harry Frigg.
- The third Judge Adovocate General of the show JAG (1995-2005) is a Major General: Major General Gordon "Biff" Cresswell USMC portrayed by David Andrews.
- The U.S. Army forces sent to occupy Brooklyn, New York in The Siege are commanded by Major General William Deveraux, portrayed by Bruce Willis.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Major General'.
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