Lieutenant general (O-9)
Lieutenant general (LtGen) is the third Marine Corps general officer rank, pay grade O-9. Its insignia is three silver stars in a row.
How to read it
Lieutenant general follows major general (O-8) and comes before general (O-10), the highest Marine Corps rank. The uniform regulations describe three silver-colored stars, arranged like a general’s.
Also searched as: LtGen.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Three stars in the Navy
The Navy’s O-9, vice admiral, wears three silver five-pointed stars on the collar.
Abbreviations by service
The Department of Defense lists the same O-9 rank as LtGen in the Marine Corps, LTG in the Army and Lt Gen in the Air Force and Space Force.
A rank that goes with the job
Under Title 10 of the US Code (§ 601), lieutenant general is a grade the President attaches to "positions of importance and responsibility". An officer holds it once appointed by the President with the Senate's consent, and the appointment ends when the assignment does, apart from set periods such as moving between such posts or awaiting retirement. Section 525 caps the Marine Corps at 18 officers above major general, no more than two of them generals, though the President may go over it by making offsetting reductions in another service.
Read next
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with stars.
Sources
- Marine Corps Ranks, marines.mil, Ranks, United States Marine Corps, Officer
- Marine Corps Uniform Regulations (MCO 1020.34H), MCO 1020.34H, 1 May 2018, Commandant of the Marine Corps, para 4005.2.b, p. 1-99
- Officer Knowledge (Officer Development School), Officer Training Command Newport, ODS Knowledge Book, Naval Service Training Command, U.S. Navy, Navy and Marine Corps Officer Rank Structure
- 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, O-9
- 10 U.S.C. § 601: Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals, 10 U.S. Code § 601, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 601(a)–(b)
- 10 U.S.C. § 525: Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades, 10 U.S. Code § 525, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 525(a)(4), (c)
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 3, 2026. How we research
Added . Last updated .