General officer A general officer is an officer of high military rank , usually in the army , and in some nations , the air force . The term is widely used by many nations of the world , and when a country uses a different term , there is an equivalent title given . The term " general " is used in two ways : as the generic title for all grades of general officer ; and as a specific rank . Since the late twentieth century , the rank of general is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war . All general officer ranks . The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure . Lower - ranking officers are known as field officer s or field - grade officers , and below them are company - grade officers . All officers who commanded more than a single regiment came to be known as " general officers " . The word " general " is used in its ordinary sense in English ( and other languages ) as relating to larger , general , military units , rather than smaller units in particular . Common systems . There are two common systems of general ranks . Variations of one form , the old European system , were once used throughout Europe . It is used in the United Kingdom ( although it did not originate there ) , from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America . The general officer ranks are named by prefixing " general " , as an adjective , with field officer ranks , although in some countries the highest general officers are titled field marshal or marshal . The other is derived from the French Revolution , where generals ' ranks are named according to the unit they ( theoretically ) command . The system used either a " brigadier general " rank , or a " colonel general " rank ( i . e . exclude one of the italicised ranks . ) The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank , while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank . Many countries ( notably pre - revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America ) actually used two brigade command ranks , which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia . ( Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks . ) In some nations , ( particularly in the Commonwealth since the 1920s ) , the equivalent to brigadier general is brigadier , which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank , although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of brigadier general for comparative purposes . Unlike other general officers , the brigadier general rank is not derived from a " field " rank of brigadier . The rank of major general is a shorter form of sergeant major general , and hence is a lower rank than lieutenant general , as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major . ( Confusion often arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major . ) The Russian Empire followed the European system , but the Red Army used a variant of the French system from 1917 to 1935 , with ranks / positions like " kombrig " ( brigade commander ) , " komdiv " ( division commander ) , " komcor " ( corps commander ) , and two grades of " komandarm " ( army commander ) . Marshal of the Soviet Union was introduced in 1935 , and general ranks were re - introduced in 1940 . This system presents an unusual mix of general ranks . The rank of colonel general appears immediately above lieutenant general , ( in the position usually occupied by " full " general ) , and there is the additional rank of " general of the army " between colonel general and marshal of the Soviet Union . Additionally , the ranks marshal and chief marshal are both equivalent to general of the army . Thus the system borrows from the European ( general major and lieutenant general ) , German ( colonel general ) and French revolutionary ( general of the army and marshal ) systems . The late Soviet system was used in the militaries of the Eastern Bloc , and continues to be used in the Military of Russia . However , most Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries have now switched to the European system . Other variations . Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks : In addition to militarily educated generals , there are also generals in medicine and engineering . The rank of the most senior chaplain , ( chaplain general ) , is also usually considered to be a general officer rank . The specific general rank . In the old European system , a general , without prefix or suffix ( and sometimes referred to informally as a " full general " ) , is usually the most senior type of general , above lieutenant general and directly below field marshal . Usually it is the most senior peace - time rank , with more senior ranks ( for example , field marshal ) being used only in wartime , or as honorary titles . In some armies , however , the rank of captain general , general of the army , army general or colonel general occupied or occupies this position . Depending on circumstances and the army in question , these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a " full " general or to a field marshal . The rank of general came about as a " captain - general " , the captain of an army in general ( i . e . , the whole army ) . The rank of captain - general began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century . In most countries , " captain - general " contracted to just " general " . General ranks by country . The following articles deal with the rank of general , or its equivalent , as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries : Air force and navy equivalents . Some countries ( such as the United States ) use the general officer ranks for both the army and the air force ; others only use the general officer ranks for the army , while in the air force they use air officer s as the equivalent of general officers . They use the air force rank of air chief marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of general . This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and many Commonwealth air forces — e . g . Royal Australian Air Force , Indian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Air Force , Nigerian Air Force , Pakistan Air Force , etc . In most navies , flag officer s are the equivalent of general officers , and the naval rank of admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of general . A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank " general at sea " . In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use " flag officer " and " flag rank " to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively .