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 officers in the United States the Chief of Staff of the Army, who had been a major general, equal rank with the Chief of Naval Operations which had been a four-star position since 1916. Lieutenant Generals were reauthorized on 5 August 1939. Four Lieutenant Generals were authorized as temporary ranks for the commanding officers of the four numbered field armies at the time. The four-star rank of General remained unique to the Chief of Staff. During World War II most American Generals held temporary or “theater” appointments in the Army of the United States. Until the Second World War, the highest Marine Corps general rank