Quote:
Originally Posted by MRM
I cheated and Googled a bit to supplement my dim knowledge. My understanding is that US military ranks are an amalgamation of British and European ranks, and have been modified to fit American tastes and needs over the centuries. What it has meant to be a "General" has evolved over the years and the US has expanded the general ranks (so to speak) a few times, particularly relating to the Civil War and WWII.
The use of combined name ranks, like Sargent-Major and Lieutenant Colonel was common in history. What we now call "Major General" was originally called "Sargent-Major General" and what we call "Lieutenant General" was originally called "Lieutenant Colonel General". Over the years the names were shortened. The US originally only had 1 star and 2 star generals, so Major General was senior to Brigadier General. When they expanded the rank to three stars, Lieutenant (Colonel) General was the natural name for the rank, which evolved to be called Lieutenant General, even though majors are senior to lieutenants.
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Thanks, that makes some sense.
One of my friends growing up on base was the son of a warrant officer. That kinda blew my mind back then as well. He was above all the enlisted men, but below a commissioned officer. There are no Warrant officers in the Air Force now.
My dad even admitted the real operation of the military was done by the guys with stripes all over their arms. We just called them super sergeants. They were the ones that knew how to get something actually done.