Major-general (United Kingdom) of the Royal Army Chaplains Department, the Chaplain-General, and similar appointments, were accorded 'the relative precedence' - that is to say the equivalence rather than the full powers and authority - of the rank of major-general. The Commandant General Royal Marines has held the rank of major general since 1996, when the post was downgraded from lieutenant general. As in the British Army, a Royal Marine major general ranks below lieutenant general and above brigadier. From its foundation on 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force (RAF) briefly maintained the rank of major-general. The service was
General of the Armies as an unofficial rank insignia. The matter was not resolved until after Pershing's retirement when the Army declared that the four gold stars worn by Pershing were the official insignia for General of the Armies of the United States, thus creating the following hierarchy of Army general-officer ranks. As part of the American bicentennial celebrations, a proposal was raised in Congress to commemorate the leadership and historical importance of George Washington by appointing him to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States. In his own day, Washington had been appointed and served as "General and Commander