An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

, counter admiral, major general,

divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, air vice-marshal.

Australia

In the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

the following ranks of commissioned officers are awarded two-star ranks: *

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

( Royal Australian Navy two-star rank) * Major general ( Australian Army two-star rank) * Air vice-marshal (

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

two-star rank)

Bangladesh

* Air vice-marshal ( Bangladesh Air Force two-star rank) * Major-general ( Bangladesh Army two-star rank) *

( Bangladesh Navy two-star rank)

Brazil

General de Brigada Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

( Brazilian Army two-star rank) * Contra Almirante ( Brazilian Navy two-star rank) * Brigadeiro (

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

two-star rank) The two-star rank in Brazil is the first rank in a general career. The officers in this position are normally brigade commanders.

Canada

* Rear-admiral (french: contre-amiral; Royal Canadian Navy two-star-equivalent rank) * Major general (french: major-général, links=no; Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Canada two-star-equivalent rank) Rather than stars, the Canadian Forces insignia use maple leaves. The maple leaves appear with St. Edward's crown and crossed sabre and baton. Before unification,

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

was the two-star rank for the RCAF.

Finland

* , major general; equivalent rank in the Finnish Army and the Finnish Air Force * , directly translates to counter admiral but often officially translated to

; equivalent rank in the Finnish Navy Officers in the Finnish Border Guard may use either army or naval ranks depending on specialization.

Germany

The equivalent modern

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

two-star ranks ( OF-7) of the are as follows: * and * and Not to be confused with and ( one-star ranks; OF-6) of the until 1945 and of the National People's Army of East Germany until

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990.

India

Air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

(

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

two-star rank) * Major general ( Indian Army two-star rank) *

( Indian Navy two-star rank)

Indonesia

* ( major general) -

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...

and Indonesian Marine Corps two-star rank * (

) - Indonesian Navy two-star rank * (

) - Indonesian Air Force two-star rank

Pakistan

* Major-general (

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

two-star rank) * Air vice-marshal ( Pakistan Air Force two-star rank) *

(

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

two-star rank)

Philippines

* Major general ( Philippine Army two-star rank) * Major general (

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

two-star rank) *

(

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

two-star rank) *

( Philippine Coast Guard two-star rank)

Sri Lanka

* Major General ( Sri Lanka Army two-star rank) *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

( Sri Lanka Navy two-star rank) * Air vice-marshal (

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

two-star rank)

United Kingdom

( Royal Navy two-star rank) * Major general ( British Army and

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

two-star rank) *

( Royal Air Force two-star rank)RAF Glossary

United States

( United States Navy, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps two-star rank) * Major general ( United States Army, Marine Corps,

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

and Air Force two-star rank)

USSR / Russian Federation

The introduction of general ranks in the USSR took place in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. The lowest general rank, major-general, had two stars on the buttonholes. With the introduction of the new insignia in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, the two-star general becomes a lieutenant-general (major-general began to wear one star on shoulder straps). In the Russian and Soviet armies, the rank wearing two stars is lieutenant-general (russian: Генерал-лейтенант), however the general in charge of a unit equivalent to the one led by a NATO two-star general ( a division) is major-general (). This also applies to the air force, MVD, police, FSB and some others, and is caused by a Russian brigades being commanded by colonel, with the smallest unit commanded by a general being a division. In the navy, the equivalent rank is ().

References

{{Star officer ranks Military ranks

Australia

Bangladesh

Brazil

Canada

Finland

Germany

India

Indonesia

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

United Kingdom

United States

USSR / Russian Federation

See also

References