how many general officers are there in the us army
General (United States) The United States Code explicitly limits the total number of general officers (termed flag officers in the Navy and Coast Guard) that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army, 62 for the Marine Corps, 198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy.[1] No more than about 25% of a service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars,[2] and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service.[2] This is set at 7 four-star Army generals, 9 four-star Air Force generals, 2 four-star Marine generals, and 6 four-star Navy admirals.[2]
United States military seniority A type of "positional seniority" exists for military officers who hold top leadership positions of the armed forces. For instance, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is considered the senior most officer of the entire United States military, even though it is possible that contemporaries of the same rank may have earlier dates of rank or time in service. Likewise, heads of various armed service branches are considered senior most within their service; unified commanders are also considered senior most in their respective regions yet not necessarily to each other.