Major general (United States) Major general (United States) In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general. A major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the two-star rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and is the highest permanent rank during peacetime in the uniformed services. Higher ranks are technically temporary ranks linked to specific positions, although virtually all officers
Major general French Army, Major General (in full "Major General of the Army", "Major général de l'armée de terre") is a position and the major general is normally of the rank of corps general. Historically, the French army had some "sergent-majors généraux", also called "sergents de bataille", whose task was to prepare the disposition of the army on the field before a battle. These "sergents-majors généraux" became a new rank, the "maréchal de camp" (not the same as a field marshal, in the French Army from antiquity called a "Maréchal de France"), which was the equivalent of the rank of major general.