In the United States Army, Lieutenant General is a three-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant General ranks above
Major General and below
General. Lieutenant General is equivalent to a vice admiral in the other uniformed services.
The three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the positions of office it is linked to, so the rank is temporary. Officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. Three-star lieutenant generals are nominated for appointment by the President from any eligible officers holding the rank of brigadier general or above, whom also meets the requirements for the position, under the advice and/or suggestion of their respective department secretary, service secretary, and if applicable the joint chiefs. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. The standard tour length for most lieutenant general positions are three years but some are set four or more years by statute.
Note: Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits, by their respective service secretaries, the Secretary of Defense, the President, and/or Congress but these are rare, as they block other officers from being promoted. Some statutory limits under the U.S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare.
Three-star lieutenant generals must retire after five years in grade or 38 years of service, whichever is later,[8] and all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[9] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a three-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.
General officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a finite number of three-star slots available to each service, typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted. Maintaining a three-star rank is a game of musical chairs; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, he or she has 60 days to find another job of equal or higher importance before he or she must retire. Historically, officers leaving three-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.
