Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel (including concentration camp staffs) were granted Waffen-SS ranks and, in 1944, any "Allgemeine-SS" who served in an area that commanded SS combat troops, was granted a Waffen-SS commission. Another uniform insignia change occurred in April 1942 with the creation of the rank "SS-Oberstgruppenführer". This necessitated an insignia change for SS generals and all SS generals at this time began wearing "Wehrmacht"-style gold shoulder boards; "Oberführers" wore the shoulderboards of an army "Oberst" ("colonel") just as "Standartenführers" did. The sole exception was Heinrich Himmler who continued to wear the silver braided shoulderboard with oak leaves of his rank as "Reichsführer-SS". At
United States Army officer rank insignia gold was a consequence of the decision in 1851 to select silver over gold as a matter of economy. While not currently in use today, special insignia were authorized by Congress for ten general officers who were promoted to the highest ranks in the United States Army: general of the army, designed as a "five-star" rank, and general of the armies, considered to be the equivalent of a "six-star" rank. Eight generals were promoted to the rank and title General of the Army (Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H.