General (O-10)
General, pay grade O-10: the highest Air Force rank in use. The insignia is four stars.
How to read it
General sits above lieutenant general (three stars); the four stars are evenly spaced between the epaulet’s button and the sleeve seam (DAFI 36-2903). Generals, like lieutenant generals, are appointed by the President with the Senate’s consent to positions designated to carry the grade, and the Air Force’s Chief of Staff holds the grade of general while serving (10 U.S.C. 601 and 9033). The abbreviation is Gen, and the Navy’s O-10 is admiral.
Also searched as: four-star general, Gen.
Ranks and insignia as the Department of the Air Force’s own instructions and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Above general
The five-star General of the Air Force is listed by the Department of War as reserved for wartime only.
Read next
- Next in Air Force ranksGeneral of the Air ForceGeneral of the Air Force: the five-star rank, held by one officer, Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, from 1949 until his death in 1950. The Department of War lists it as reserved for wartime.
- In Army ranksGeneral (O-10)Four silver stars are the insignia of a general (GEN), pay grade O-10, the highest rank in the US Army today.
More air Force ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with stars.
Sources
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Officer insignia table, Air Force; officer introduction
- 37 U.S.C. 201, Pay grades: assignment to; general rules, United States Code, 2023 edition, Title 37, § 201, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 201(a)(1) table
- 10 U.S.C. 741, Rank: commissioned officers of the armed forces, United States Code, 2024 edition, Title 10, § 741, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 741(a) and its table
- DAFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force and Space Force Personnel, DAFI 36-2903, 29 February 2024, with guidance changes, Department of the Air Force, §4.5.1.1.2.1
- 10 U.S.C. 9033, Chief of Staff, United States Code, 2024 edition, Title 10, § 9033, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 9033(b)
- 10 U.S.C. 601, Positions of importance and responsibility, United States Code, 2024 edition, Title 10, § 601, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 601(a)
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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