Major general (Australia) Major general (Australia) Major general (abbreviated MAJGEN) is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of major general. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army (the rank of field marshal not being held by any currently serving officer), and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank. A major general commands a division or the equivalent. Major general is a higher rank than brigadier, but lower than lieutenant general. Major general is the equivalent of rear admiral in the Royal Australian Navy and air
General of the Armies recognized six-star general rank in the United States military hierarchy. John Pershing's status also remained in a very gray area, in particular because of the vague statements made by Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, and the fact that Pershing was never on active duty at the same time as a five-star General of the Army. In the early 1950s, supporters of Douglas MacArthur began to petition the United States government to authorize a "promotion" to the rank of General of the Armies. MacArthur was at this time a retired five-star general and, with the movement to promote him, it