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Rear admiral (United States)

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FutureADMMichelle Howardwhen she was a U.S. Navy RDML on theUSSWasp(LHD-1)in 2009.

Arear admiralin theuniformed services of the United Statesis either of two different ranks ofcommissioned officers:one-starflag officersand two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral"refers only to an officer of two-star rank.

Rear admiral (lower half)

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For the Navy's previous one-star rank, seeCommodore (United States).
Rear admiral (lower half)
Rank flagof a U.S. Navy rear admiral (lower half)
The shoulder star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of aU.S. Navyrear admiral (lower half) (Line officer)
CountryUnited States
Service branch
AbbreviationRDML
Rank groupFlag officer
RankOne-star
NATOrank codeOF-6
Pay gradeO-7
Formation1985
Next higher rankRear admiral
Next lower rankCaptain
Equivalent ranks
See also:Commodore admiral

Rear admiral (lower half)(abbreviated asRDML) is aone-starflag officer,with thepay gradeof O-7 in theUnited States Navy,theUnited States Coast Guard,theUnited States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,and theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.[1][2][3]

Rear admiral (lower half) ranks abovecaptainand belowrear admiral.Rear admiral (lower half) is equivalent to the rank ofbrigadier generalin theUnited States Army,Air Force,Marine Corps,andSpace Forceand equivalent to the rank ofcommodorein most other navies.[4]In the United States uniformed services, rear admiral (lower half) replaced the rank ofcommodorein 1985.

  • U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. PHS, U.S. NOAA rank insignia of a rear admiral (lower half)
    U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. PHS, U.S. NOAA rank insignia of a rear admiral (lower half)
  • The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral (lower half)
    The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral (lower half)
  • The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Public Health Service rear admiral (lower half)
    The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Public Health Service rear admiral (lower half)
  • The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rear admiral (lower half)
    The collar star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rear admiral (lower half)
  • Rank flag of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral (lower half)
    Rank flagof a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral (lower half)
  • Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service rear admiral (lower half)
    Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service rear admiral (lower half)
  • Rank flag of a NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral (lower half)
    Rank flag of a NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral (lower half)

Rear admiral

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Rear admiral
Rank flagof a U.S. Navy rear admiral
The shoulder star, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of aU.S. Navyrear admiral (Line officer)
CountryUnited States
Service branch
AbbreviationRADM
Rank groupFlag officer
RankTwo-star
NATOrank codeOF-7
Pay gradeO-8
Formation1862
Next higher rankVice admiral
Next lower rankRear admiral (lower half)
Equivalent ranksMajor general(uniformed services of the United States)

Rear admiral(abbreviated asRADM), also sometimes referred to informally as "rear admiral (upper half)",is atwo-starflag officer, with thepay gradeof O-8 in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps and theUnited States Maritime Service.[1][2][3]

Rear admiral ranks aboverear admiral (lower half)and belowvice admiral.Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank ofmajor generalin the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force. It is the highest permanent rank during peacetime in the uniformed services. All higher ranks are temporary ranks and linked to their specific commands or office and expire with the expiration of their term of command or office.[5]

  • U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, USPHSCC, NOAACOC shoulder insignia of a rear admiral
    U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, USPHSCC, NOAACOC shoulder insignia of a rear admiral
  • The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
    The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
  • The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral
    The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral
  • The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral
    The collar stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral
  • Rank flag of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
    Rank flagof a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
  • Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral serving as Deputy Surgeon General of the United States
    Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral serving as DeputySurgeon General of the United States
  • Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral
    Rank flag of a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral
  • Rank flag of a NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral
    Rank flag of a NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral

History

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Before theAmerican Civil War,the U.S. Navy had resisted creating the rank of admiral. Instead, they preferred the term "flag officer",in order to distinguish the rank from the traditions of the European navies. During the American Civil War, the U.S. Congress honoredDavid Farragut's successful assault on the city of New Orleans by creating the rank of rear admiral on July 16, 1862.

DuringWorld War II,the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard both had a temporary appointment, one-star rank of commodore, that was used in limited circumstances. By the end of the war, all incumbents had been advanced to the rank of two-star rear admiral and the commodore rank was abolished in both services. Both the Navy and the Coast Guard divided their rear admirals into "lower half" and full rear admirals, or "upper half", the former being paid at the same rate as a one-star brigadier general in theU.S. Army,U.S. Marine Corpsand the newly independentU.S. Air Force.Lower-half rear admirals were eventually advanced to full rear admirals, or upper half status, where they would receive pay equivalent to a two-star major general. However, both categories of rear admiral wore two-star insignia, an issue that was a source of consternation to the other services.

At the same time, the Navy also bestowed the title of commodore on selected U.S. Navy captains who commanded multiple subordinate units, such asdestroyer squadrons,submarine squadronsand air wings and air groups not designated ascarrier air wingsor carrier air groups. Although notflag officers,these officers were entitled to a personal blue and white command pennant containing the initials, acronym abbreviation or numerical designation of their command.[6]

In 1981,Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)97–86expanded commodore from a title to an official permanent grade by creating the one-star rank ofcommodore admiral.[7]After only 11 months, the rank was reverted to just commodore but kept the one-star insignia. However, this caused issues with the Navy due to the difficulty in differentiating those commodores who were flag officers from commodores who were senior captains in certain command positions. Then in 1985,Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)99–145renamed commodore to the current grade of rear admiral (lower half) effective on November 8, 1985.[7]

Up until 1981 all rear admirals wore two stars on theirshoulder boardsand rank insignia. Since then, rear admirals (lower half) wear one star while rear admirals wear two; verbal address remains "rear admiral" for both ranks. On correspondence, where the rear admiral's rank is spelled out, the acronym (LH) and (UH) follows the rear admiral's rank title to distinguish between one and two stars.

Beginning around 2001, the Navy, Coast Guard, and NOAA Corps started using the separate rank abbreviations RDML (one star) and RADM (two stars), while the Public Health Service continued to use the abbreviation RADM for both.[8]The Public Health Service formally adopted the RDML abbreviation for the O-7 pay grade in 2022.[9]

As flag officers, the flags flown for rear admirals of the unrestricted line of the U.S. Navy have one or two white, single-point-up stars on blue fields for the lower half or upper half, respectively. The flags of restricted line officers and staff corps officers have blue stars on a white field. All services officially list the two-star grade as rear admiral and not rear admiral (upper half) as stated by10 U.S.C.§ 8111and37 U.S.C.§ 201of theU.S. Code of law.However, the four uniformed services will sometimes list the rank as rear admiral (upper half) to help the general public distinguish between the two grades.[10]

United States Maritime Service

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Although it exists largely as a maritime training organization, the United States Maritime Service does use the ranks of rear admiral (upper half) and rear admiral (lower half). By law, the Service has the same rank structure as the United States Coast Guard, but its uniforms are more similar to the United States Navy.[11]

Statutory limits

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By statute, Congress has expressly limited the total number of flag officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty flag officers is capped at 162 for the Regular Navy,[12]augmented by a smaller number of additional flag officers in the Navy Reserve who are either on full-time active duty, temporary active duty, or on the Reserve Active Status List as part-time drilling reservists. Some of these billets are reserved or set by statute. For example, theDeputy Judge Advocate General of the Navyis a two-star rear admiral in the Navy.[13][14][15]A newer statute enacted in 2016 lowers the cap on the total number of active duty flag officers in the Department of Defense to 151, effective December 31, 2022.[16]

In the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, at least half of the Assistant Surgeons General are one-star rear admirals and no more than half are two-star rear admirals.[17]The Coast Guard's chief medical officer is also acommissioned corpstwo-star rear admiral, on assignment to the Coast Guard.[17]Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against the statutory limit.[18]

Promotion, appointment, and tour length

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For the Navy and the Coast Guard, to be promoted to the permanent grade of rear admiral (lower half) or rear admiral, officers who are eligible for promotion to these ranks are screened by an in-service promotion board composed of other flag officers from their branch of service.[19]This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to flag rank.[20]This list is then sent to the service secretary and the joint chiefs for review before it can be sent to thePresident,through the defense secretary, for consideration.[21]

The president nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of theSecretary of Defense,the service secretary, and if applicable, the service's chief of staff or commandant.[22]The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, but this is uncommon. TheSenatemust then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, a nominee is promoted by assuming an office that requires or allows an officer to hold that rank. For one-star or two-star positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position. For the Navy and the Coast Guard, because the one-star and two-star grades are permanent ranks, the nominee may still be screened by an in-service promotion board to add their input on the nominee before the nomination can be sent to the Senate for approval. For the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one-star and two-star rank are achieved by appointment from the President, or from their department secretary,[23][24][25]and do not require senatorial approval.[26]

The standard tour length for most rear admiral positions is three years, but some are set at four or more years by statute. For the Navy, Coast Guard, and NOAA Corps, both grades of rear admiral are permanent ranks and do not expire when the officer vacates a one-star or two-star position. The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, however, employs permanent promotions in both grades of rear admiral as well as position-linked temporary appointments in both grades (e.g., Assistant Surgeons General).[27]Their temporary ranks expires when those officers vacate certain temporary positions of office designated to bear those ranks.[5]

Tradition

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By tradition in the United States Navy, when an officer is selected or appointed to flag rank, all current Navy flag officers write the selectee a letter congratulating him or her for attaining flag officer status.[28]

Retirement

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Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. All one-star officers must retire after five years in grade or 30 years of service, whichever is later, unless they are selected or appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer.[29]All two-star officers must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion[30]or reappointed to grade to serve longer.[29]Otherwise all flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[31]However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a flag officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday. Flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab10 U.S.C.§ 8111Navy: grades above chief warrant officer, W–5
  2. ^ab14 U.S.C.§ 301Grades and ratings
  3. ^ab37 U.S.C.§ 201Pay grades: assignment to; general rules
  4. ^Commodore was historically a wartime rank in the U.S. Navy, as in the case ofCommodore Perry.Commodore continues to be an operational role, typically filled by senior Navy captains.
  5. ^ab10 U.S.C.§ 601- Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals
  6. ^"Google Image Search".Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-03.Retrieved2012-10-22.
  7. ^ab"10 U.S.C. 5501 Notes".Archivedfrom the original on 2024-02-27.Retrieved2017-05-09.
  8. ^About the Commissioned Corps UniformsArchived2008-05-13 at theWayback Machine
  9. ^Levine, Rachel L. (2022-04-06)."Commissioned Corps Instruction 322.03," Flag Grade Positions and Promotion ""(PDF).dcp.psc.gov.Archived(PDF)from the original on Aug 12, 2022.Retrieved2022-08-16.
  10. ^"Navy.mil Rank Insignia of Navy Commissioned and Warrant Officers".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-03-10.Retrieved2008-06-19.
  11. ^"46 USC Subtitle V: Merchant Marine".uscode.house.gov.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-03-05.Retrieved2015-10-23.
  12. ^10 U.S.C. § 526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active dutyArchived2017-04-02 at theWayback Machine.
  13. ^"10 U.S.C. 5149. Office of the Judge Advocate General: Deputy Judge Advocate General; Assistant Judge Advocates General".Archivedfrom the original on 2024-02-27.Retrieved2017-05-09.
  14. ^"H.R. 4986: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008".Archivedfrom the original on 2012-03-18.Retrieved2008-04-10.
  15. ^"H.R. 4986: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 full text".Archivedfrom the original on 2012-03-18.Retrieved2008-04-10.
  16. ^10 U.S.C. § 526a. Authorized strength after December 31, 2022: general officers and flag officers on active dutyArchivedJune 28, 2021, at theWayback Machine.
  17. ^ab42 U.S.C.§ 207- Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps
  18. ^10 U.S.C. 528.Archived2009-02-24 at theWayback MachineOfficers serving in certain intelligence positions: military status; exclusion from distribution and strength limitations; pay and allowances.
  19. ^10 U.S.C. 611.Archived2024-02-27 at theWayback MachineConvening of selection boards
  20. ^10 U.S.C. 616.Archived2024-02-27 at theWayback MachineRecommendations for promotion by selection boards
  21. ^10 U.S.C. 618.Archived2024-02-27 at theWayback MachineAction on reports of selection boards
  22. ^10 U.S.C. 624.Archived2024-02-27 at theWayback MachinePromotions: how made.
  23. ^42 U.S.C.§ 206- Assignment of officers
  24. ^42 U.S.C.§ 207- Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps
  25. ^33 U.S.C.§ 3028- Positions of importance and responsibility
  26. ^"The Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011 strikes" by and with the advice and consent of the Senate "for all officer appointments".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-12-16.Retrieved2013-07-27.
  27. ^42 U.S.C.§ 206(c)- Creation of temporary positions as Assistant Surgeons General
  28. ^"The Pentagon Channel.mil: 28 Oct 2008 - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, speech at Maxwell Gunter AFB, (69 minutes 37 seconds into the speech). Feedroom".Archived fromthe originalon 27 February 2009.Retrieved1 November2008.
  29. ^ab10 U.S.C.§ 635- Retirement for years of service: regular brigadier generals and rear admirals (lower half).
  30. ^Ranks above rear admiral are made by presidential appointment and do not go through a promotion board. Ranks above rear admiral are also temporary.
  31. ^10 U.S.C.§ 1253- Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exception.
  32. ^DoD News Briefing on Thursday, June 6, 1996.ArchivedDecember 1, 2009, at theWayback MachineRetirement of AdmiralLeighton W. Smith Jr.
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