List of active duty United States four - star officers There are currently 39 active duty four - star officers in the uniformed services of the United States : 13 in the Army , 3 in the Marine Corps , 10 in the Navy , 12 in the Air Force , 1 in the Coast Guard , and none in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps . Of the seven federal uniformed services , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps is the only service that does not have an established four - star position . Modern day four - star officers ' ranks are usually referred to as " full general " or " full admiral " , the officers themselves being referred to and addressed as ' General ' or ' Admiral ' . Four - star officers are ranked in seniority by their time - in - grade and / or by statute via the position of office they hold . Statutory limits . The U . S . Code of law explicitly limits the total number of four - star officers that may be on active duty at any given time . The total number of active duty general or flag officers is capped at 231 for the Army , 162 for the Navy , 198 for the Air Force , 61 for the Marine Corps . For the Army , Marine , Navy , and Air Force , no more than about 21 % of each service ' s active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars , and statute sets the total number of four - star officers allowed in each service . This is set at 7 four - star Army generals , 6 four - star Navy admirals , 9 four - star Air Force generals and 2 four - star Marine generals . Several of these slots are reserved by statute . For the Army and the Air Force , the Chief of Staff and the Vice Chief of Staff for both services are all four - star generals ; for the Navy , the Chief of Naval Operations and the Vice Chief of Naval Operations are both four - star admirals ; for the Marine Corps , the Commandant and the Assistant Commandant are both four - star generals . In addition , the Commandant of the Coast Guard is a four - star admiral ; for the National Guard , the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a four - star general under active duty in the Army or Air Force ; for the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps , the Assistant Secretary for Health is a four - star admiral if he or she holds an active duty appointment to the regular corps . Exceptions to statutory limits . There are several exceptions to the limits allowing more than allotted four - star officers within the statute . A four - star officer serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not count against his or her service ' s general or flag officer cap . An officer serving as Chief of the National Guard Bureau does not count against his or her service ' s general officer cap . The Secretary of Defense can designate no more than 20 additional four - star officers , who do not count against any service ' s general or flag officer limit , to serve in one of several joint positions . These positions include the commander of a unified combatant command , the commander of U . S . Forces Korea , and the deputy commander of U . S . European Command but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander , Europe . Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against statutory limit , including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency . The President may also add up to 5 four - star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services . Finally , all statutory limits may be waived at the President ' s discretion during time of war or national emergency . On September 14 , 2001 , the President declared a national emergency and invoked his authority to waive all statutory limits on the number and grade distribution of general and flag officers on active duty . On this basis , a number of senior officers in the Middle East have been appointed in excess of the normal limits , including the four - star commanders of the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters , and the temporary authorization for their positions will expire shortly following the termination of the national emergency . Appointment . Four - star grades go hand - in - hand with the positions of office they are linked to , so these ranks are temporary . Officers may only achieve four - star grade if they are appointed to positions of office that require and / or allow the officer to hold such a rank . Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office , which is usually set by statute . Four - star officers are nominated for appointment by the President from any eligible officers holding a one - star grade or above , who also meets the requirements for the position , under the advice and / or suggestion of their respective executive department secretary , service secretary , and if applicable the joint chiefs . The nominee must be confirmed via majority by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank . It is extremely unusual for a four - star nominee to draw even token opposition in a Senate vote , either in committee or on the floor , because the administration usually withdraws or declines to submit nominations that draw controversy before or during the confirmation process . When a doomed nomination is not withdrawn , the Senate typically does not hold a vote to reject the candidate , but instead allows the nomination to expire without action at the end of the legislative session . Tour length . The standard tour length for most four - star positions is three years , bundled as a two - year term plus a one - year extension , with the following exceptions : Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved , within statutory limits , by their respective service secretaries , the Secretary of Defense , the President , and / or Congress but these are rare , as they block other officers from being promoted . Some statutory limits of tour length under the U . S . Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war . Four - star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare . Retirement . Other than voluntary retirement , statute sets a number of mandates for retirement . Four - star officers must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to grade to serve longer . Four - star officers serving in the reserve active duty must retire after five years in grade or 40 years of service , whichever is later , unless he or she is reappointed to grade to serve longer . Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday . However , the Secretary of Defense can defer a four - star officer ' s retirement until the officer ' s 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer ' s 68th birthday . Senior officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits , so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors . Since there are a finite number of four - star slots available to each service , typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted . Maintaining a four - star rank is a game of musical chairs ; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank , he or she has no more than 60 days to be appointed or reappointed to a position of equal or greater importance before he or she must involuntarily retire . Historically , officers leaving four - star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two - star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement , but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow . To retire at four - star grade , an officer must accumulate at least three years of satisfactory active duty service in that grade , as determined by his or her service secretary . The President and Congress must also receive certification by either the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness , the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness , or the Secretary of Defense that the retiree served satisfactorily in grade . The Secretary of Defense may reduce this requirement to two years , but only if the officer is not being investigated for misconduct . The President may also reduce these requirements even further , or waive the requirements altogether , if he so chooses . Four - star officers who do not meet the service - in - grade requirement will revert to the next highest grade in which they served satisfactorily for at least six months which is normally the three - star grade . Since three - star ranks are also temporary , if the retiree is also not certified by the Secretary of Defense or the President to retire as a three - star , the retiree will retire at the last permanent rank he or she satisfactorily held for six months . The retiree may also be subject to congressional approval by the Senate before the retiree can retire in grade . It is extraordinarily rare for a four - star officer not to be certified to retire in grade or for the Senate to seek final approval . Four - star officers who are under investigation for misconduct typically are not allowed to retire until the investigation completes , so that the Secretary of Defense can decide whether to certify that their performance was satisfactory enough to retire in their highest grade . Four - star officers typically step down from their posts up to 60 days in advance of their official retirement dates . Officers retire on the first day of the month , so once a retirement month has been selected , the relief and retirement ceremonies are scheduled by counting backwards from that date by the number of days of accumulated leave remaining to the retiring officer . During this period , termed transition leave or terminal leave , the officer is considered to be awaiting retirement but still on active duty . A statutory limit can be waived by the President with the consent of Congress if it serves national interest . However , this is extremely rare .