The rank of general (or full general, or four-star general) is the highest rank normally achievable in the United States Air Force. It ranks above lieutenant general (three-star general) and below general of the Air Force (five-star general).
There have been 243 four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Air Force. Of these, 239 achieved that rank while on active duty, three were promoted after retirement, and one was promoted posthumously. Generals entered the Air Force via several paths: 63 were commissioned via the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), 49 via the aviation cadet program, 48 via the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), 47 via Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at a civilian university, 14 via AFROTC at a senior military college, 10 via Air Force Officer Training School (OTS), four via the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), four via Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university, two via direct commission (direct), one via direct commission inter-service transfer from the Army National Guard (ARNG), and one via direct commission inter-service transfer from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
List of generals Entries in the following list of four-star generals are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was promoted to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank,Dates of rank are taken, where available, from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force registers of active and retired commissioned officers, or from the World Almanac and Book of Facts. The date listed is that of the officer's first promotion to general. active-duty positions held while serving at four-star rank,Positions listed are those held by the officer when promoted to general. Dates listed are for the officer's full tenure, which may predate promotion to four-star rank or postdate retirement from active duty. number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank (Yrs),The number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Date of rank" column from the last year in the "Position" column. For those presently in their position, values are . Time spent between active-duty four-star assignments is not counted, nor is time spent on special duty as an unassigned general of the Army or general of the Air Force. year commissioned and source of commission,Sources of commission are listed in parentheses after the year of commission and include: the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA); the United States Military Academy (USMA); the United States Naval Academy (USNA); Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university; Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at a civilian university; ROTC or AFROTC at a senior military college such as Texas A&M University (Texas A&M), the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI); Air Force Officer Training School (OTS); Officer Candidate School (OCS); the aviation cadet program (cadet); the Army National Guard (ARNG); the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF); and direct commission (direct). number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank (YC),The number of years in commission before being promoted to four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column. and other biographical notes (years of birth and death are shown in parentheses in the Notes column).Notes include years of birth and death; awards of the Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with other four-star officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and unusual career events such as premature relief or death in office.
# Name Photo Date of rank Position Yrs Commission YC Notes 1 Commanding General, Army Air Forces (CG AAF), 1942–1944.Served in this position while in the United States Army. Commanding General, Army Air Forces/Commanding General, Twentieth Air Force (CG AAF), 1944–1945. 1 1907 (USMA) 36 (1886–1950) Promoted to General of the Army, 21 Dec 1944; to General of the Air Force, 7 May 1949. 2 Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean/Commanding General, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (DSACMED/CG MTOUSA), 1944–1945. Commanding General, U.S. Forces European Theater/Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany (CG USFET/USMILGOV), 1945–1947. Senior Member, United Nations Military Staff Committee, 1947. Commanding General, Air Materiel Command (CG AMC), 1947–1949. Chairman, Department of Defense Management Committee, 1949–1952. 7 1915 (USMA) 30 (1893–1972) 3 Commanding General, Allied Air Forces, South West Pacific Area (CG AAFSWPA), 1942–1945. Member, Military Staff Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1945–1946. Commanding General, Strategic Air Command (CG SAC), 1946–1948. Commander, Air University, 1948–1951. 6 1917 (cadet) 28 (1889–1977) 4 Commanding General, U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe (CG USSAFE), 1944–1945. Commanding General, U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (CG USASTAF), 1945. Deputy to the Commanding General, Army Air Forces for Special Organizational Planning, 1945–1946. Commanding General, Army Air Forces (CG AAF), 1946–1947. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1947–1948. 3 1914 (USMA) 31 (1891–1974) 5 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1947–1948. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1948–1953. 6 1923 (USMA) 24 (1899–1954) Director of Central Intelligence, 1946–1947. Nephew of U.S. Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg; son married daughter of Air Force four-star general Leon W. Johnson. 6 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1948–1950. 2 1918 (cadet) 30 (1894–1950) Died in office. 7 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1950–1953. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1953–1957. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), 1957–1960. 10 1918 (USMA) 32 (1897–1982) Brother of Marine Corps four-star general Merrill B. Twining. 8 Commanding General, Tactical Air Command (CG TAC), 1951–1954. 3 1917 (direct) 34 (1892–1955) 9 Commanding General, Air Defense Command (CG ADC), 1951–1954. Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command/Commanding General, Air Defense Command (CINCONAD/CG ADC), 1954–1955. 4 1922 (USMA) 29 (1900–1977) 10 Commanding General, Strategic Air Command (CG SAC), 1948–1953. Commander, Strategic Air Command (COMSAC), 1953–1955. Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), 1955–1957. Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1957–1961. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1961–1965. 14 1929 (cadet) 22 (1906–1990) American Independent Party nominee for U.S. Vice president, 1968. 11 Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (CINCUSAFE), 1951. Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander in Chief, Allied Air Forces in Central Europe (CINCUSAFE/CINCAIRCENT), 1951–1953. Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Air Deputy SHAPE), 1953–1956. Supreme Allied Commander, Europe/Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (SACEUR/USCINCEUR), 1956–1962. Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), 1962–1963. 11 1930 (USMA) 22 (1907–1988) 12 Commanding General, Far East Air Forces (CG FEAF), 1951–1954. Commanding General, Tactical Air Command (CG TAC), 1954–1959. 7 1923 (Texas A&M) 29 (1902–1979) 13 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1953–1957. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1957–1961. 8 1920 (USMA) 33 (1902–1965) 14 Commanding General, Air Materiel Command (CG AMC), 1951–1959. 5 1930 (cadet) 24 (1904–1997) 15 Commanding General, Far East Air Forces (CG FEAF), 1954–1955. Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command/Commander, Air Defense Command (CINCONAD/COMADC), 1955–1956. Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command (CINCONAD), 1956–1957. Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command/Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command (CINCNORAD/CINCONAD), 1957–1959. 5 1924 (USMA) 30 (1900–1990) 16 Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (DCINCEUR), 1954–1956. 2 1922 (USMA) 32 (1898–1980) 17 Commanding General, Far East Air Forces (CG FEAF), 1955–1957. Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF), 1957–1959. Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command/Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command (CINCNORAD/CINCONAD), 1959–1962. 7 1927 (USMA) 28 (1905–1979)Nomination as chairman, Civil Aeronautics Board withdrawn, 1948. U.S. Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, 1946–1948. 18 Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), 1957–1960. Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command/Director, Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (CINCSAC), 1960–1964. 7 1929 (cadet) 28 (1905–1970) 19 Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (CINCUSAFE), 1957–1959. Commander, Tactical Air Command (COMTAC), 1959–1961. 4 1928 (USMA) 29 (1904–1983) 20 U.S. Military Representative, NATO Military Committee (USMILREP), 1956–1958. Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Air Deputy SHAPE), 1958–1961. Director, Net Evaluation Subcommittee Staff, National Security Council, 1961–1965. 8 1926 (USMA) 31 (1904–1997)Retired as general, 31 July 1961; recalled as general, Sep 1961; retired as general, 30 April 1965. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1943. Daughter married son of Air Force four-star general Hoyt S. Vandenberg. 21 Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI), 1953–1962. 4 1925 (USMA) 33 (1903–1971) Distant cousin of Navy four-star admiral Richard H. Jackson. 22 Commander, Air Materiel Command (COMAMC), 1959–1961. Commander, Air Force Logistics Command (COMAFLC), 1961. Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Air Deputy SHAPE), 1961–1963. 4 1928 (USMA) 31 (1906–1982) 23 Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF), 1959–1963. 4 1928 (USMA) 31 (1906–1971) 24 Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (CINCUSAFE), 1959–1961. Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1961–1962. 3 1929 (USMA) 30 (1908–1980) Son-in-law of Navy five-star admiral Ernest J. King. 25 Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (CINCUSAFE), 1961–1963. 2 1928 (USMA) 33 (1905–1986) 26 Commander, Air Force Logistics Command (COMAFLC), 1961–1962. Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1962–1964. 3 1929 (USMA) 32 (1906–1987) Assistant Administrator for Management and Development, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1964–1965; Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency, 1965–1968. 27 Commander, Tactical Air Command (COMTAC), 1961–1965. 4 1930 (USMA) 31 (1909–1965) 28 Commander, Air Force Systems Command (COMAFSC), 1961–1966. 5 1931 (Texas A&M) 30 (1910–2005) 29 Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command/Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command (CINCNORAD/CINCONAD), 1962–1965. 3 1929 (cadet) 33 (1907–1981) 30 U.S. Military Representative, NATO Military Committee (USMILREP), 1962–1965. Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command/Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command (CINCNORAD/CINCONAD), 1965–1966. 4 1931 (USMA) 31 (1908–2000) 31 Commander, Air Force Logistics Command (COMAFLC), 1962–1965. 3 1930 (USMA) 32 (1907–1999) 32 Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (DCINCEUR), 1962–1964. Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF), 1964–1965. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1965–1969. 7 1932 (USMA) 30 (1908–1986) 33 Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Air Deputy SHAPE), 1963–1966. 3 1931 (USMA) 32 (1909–2003) 34 Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF), 1963–1964.