How do I become a 4 star general in the Armed Forces?

redleg

OK...let me put it to you this way. Officer promotions are the exact same for all branches and are governed under the same Federal laws. So an Officer in the Navy will be promoted on the same time frame as one in the Army or Air Force.

That being said...if you take 100 brand spanking new 2nd LTs/Ensigns fresh out of college and take one of them and split him/her in half...one of those halves will make 1 star rank at some point in his/her career. meaning that an average new officer stands less than 1/2 of 1% of making even 1 star rank.

The average Officer retires as a LtCol/Commander/O-5 with 24 years of service. Out of that 100 listed above you might have 5-6 that make full Colonel/Captain/O-6.

An Officer can expect to make LtCol/O-5 in about 18-20 years of commissioned service and IF they make Colonel/O-6 it will come at about 25-28 years of service and IF they make 1 Star General/Admiral it will come at about 28-30 years of service.

After they make 1 Star they MUST be promoted to the next General rank every 3 years or be forcibly retired under law.

FootballFan1012

LOL it takes years and years of accomplishments, along with some good luck. It's very unlikely that you'd ever ascend that far in the ranks.

The other posters make very good points, but it's also important to note that promotion, particularly to flag rank, is governed by the number of open slots for admirals/generals. The numbers are very tightly controlled.

deucedog

There are not to many 4 star generals so good luck with that. Its very hard to get. Its hard to get the general rank period much less get 4 stars. If you didn't graduate from west point you can go ahead and kiss your chances good by as well. not to many ROTC or straight college officers make it even close to 4 star.

Not to mention your looking at 30+ years minimum of service. More likely closer to 40.

Mr Bean

aside from the years and years of accomplishments, you have to be selected by your service branch and approved by the president to even become a one star general.

Billy

to become a 4 star your are going to spend your entire life working in the armed forces. you could be looking at around your late 50s early 60s. it is extremely tough to make it that far, if you are seriously pursuing it the first time your get passed up for advancement is when it is over. you will still advance but the odds of you ever making 0-10 after one pass is slim to none. sorry but it is cut throat and the odds are stacked against everybody.

Harleyman96

best chance? go combat arms, Infantry, Armor. Most General Officers are those backgrounds. If you are a quartermaster officer or Military Police officer, chances are you will not get past LTC.

wild-man of Borneo

Look in the real world
Decode this lyrics " You'll see "
"Wonderful world"
"Don't know much"
"The train"
"The locomotion"
"Caravan of love"
Must be a good train master?
Running and chugging Cassandra the train through "Break heart pass" passing through "Heart break hotel"
Luke 21.30-36
Luke 9.25,55-56,60
Luke 8.5-8,10-17
Luke 24.44-45,47-48
What do you think?

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: