General Benjamin O.Davis, Sr. was the First African American general officer in the Active-Duty Army in the U.S. Army.
A select few ascend to the top of the pyramid. In May 2020, there were 19 Black one-star generals in the Army, 15 two-stars, eight three-stars and one four-star, according to Defense Department data. Compare that with white Army generals: 107 one-stars, 90 two-stars, 37 three-stars and 11 four-stars.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr.
General officers in the United States
- One-star: Brigadier general in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force and rear admiral (lower half) in the Navy, Coast Guard, PHSCC, and NOAACC.
- Two-star: Major general in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force and rear admiral in the Navy, Coast Guard, PHSCC, and NOAACC.
So yes, there is an equivalent of a six-star general rank on the books in the US Military, but it has only been given to two people in history: John J.Pershing and George Washington, Generals of the Armies of the United States of America.
At 23, he was the youngest colonel in the USAAF.
| Chesley G.Peterson |
|---|
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1937–1939 1940–1970 |
| Rank | Major General |
1863: 54th Massachusetts Infantry
In early 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, an all-black regiment of the Union Army, was activated. More than 1,000 blacks — about 25 percent of whom were former slaves — from 24 states and several countries enlisted in the regiment.Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856 – April 26, 1940) was an American soldier, engineer, former slave and in 1877, the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.
A total of 708 African Americans were killed in combat during World War II.
Although many served in the infantry and artillery, discriminatory practices resulted in large numbers of African-American soldiers being assigned to perform non-combat, support duties as cooks, laborers, and teamsters. African-American soldiers were paid $10 per month, from which $3 was deducted for clothing.
Today, only 10 of the Navy's current 268 admirals are African American. Most are rear admirals, and none currently hold either of the two highest ranks.
Today, Blacks comprise not quite 20% of the active-duty Army and only 13% of the Army National Guard.
The rarity of blacks in the top ranks is apparent in one startling statistic: Only one of the 38 four-star generals or admirals serving as of May was black. And just 10 black men have ever gained four-star rank - five in the Army, four in the Air Force and one in the Navy, according to the Pentagon.
General of the Army (abbreviated as GA) is a five-star general officer and the second-highest possible rank in the United States Army. In the US, a General of the Army ranks above generals and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a general of the Air Force.
West is also the first Army black female lieutenant general. She is the highest ranking woman to have graduated from the United States Military Academy.
Nadja West.
| Nadja Y. West |
|---|
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1982–2019 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
Air Force Colonel PayA Colonel receives a monthly basic pay salary starting at $6,931 per month, with raises up to $12,270 per month once they have served for over 30 years.
