Major general Army, a major general commands a corps of 30,000–40,000 soldiers and is capable of fully independent field operation. Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, Maj. Gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparently confusing phenomenon whereby a lieutenant general outranks a major general while a major outranks a lieutenant. In the Commonwealth and the United States, it is a division commander's rank subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of
Major general and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air vice-marshal. In some countries, including much of Eastern Europe, major general is the lowest of the general officer ranks, with no brigadier-grade rank. In the old Austro-Hungarian Army, the major general was called a "Generalmajor". Today's Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term. "General de Brigada" (Brigade General) is the lowest rank of general officers in the Brazilian Army. A "General de Brigada" wears two-stars as this is the entry level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. See Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier