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 appointment "to the office of General of the Armies of the United States" was never issued. Supporters of MacArthur would lobby for over two decades to have the general promoted to "six star general". As part of the preparation for Operation Downfall (the planned invasion of Japan), the United States War Department began drawing up invasion manpower requirements for a large force organized into several Navy fleets and Army groups. The Army also saw the need for a possible promotion of more officers to the rank of General of the Army, depending on the size of the invasion force, as