Colonel general a three-star general and admiral. "Thượng tướng" is senior to "trung tướng" (usually translated as "lieutenant general") and junior to "đại tướng" (usually translated as "general"). It is used in the army and the air force. It is the equivalent to "đô đốc" (admiral) in the Navy. Colonel general Colonel general is a three or four-star rank in some armies, usually equivalent to that of a full general in other armies. North Korea and Russian Federation have used the rank in that fashion throughout their histories. The rank is also closely associated with Germany, where "Generaloberst" has formerly been a
General of the Armies of Pershing to the rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" and allowed him to design his own insignia. On September 3, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson, in accordance with , promoted Pershing to that same rank. The rank was primarily intended to recognize Pershing's performance as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. General Pershing chose to wear the four stars of a general, but in gold, to signify his new position. A bureaucratic loophole in Army regulations did not recognize this insignia, thus Pershing's gold stars did not appear on Army rank precedence charts and were considered