A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies , and in some nations' air and space forces , marines or naval infantry .
24-670: Major General Jean-Lucien Bahuma Ambamba (1957–2014) was a Congolese army officer. Bahuma, described as an "exceptional soldier" by Le Potentiel and one of the Congo's "most popular and reform-minded officers" by The Economist , commanded the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in the provinces of North and South Kivu during the M23 rebellion and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency . Bahuma
48-569: A Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force rank equivalent to the Royal Canadian Navy 's rank of rear-admiral . A major-general is a general officer , the equivalent of a naval flag officer . The major-general rank is senior to the ranks of brigadier general and commodore , and junior to lieutenant-general and vice admiral . Prior to 1968, the Air Force used the rank of air vice-marshal , instead. The rank insignia for
72-405: A four-star rank (NATO OF-9). Usually it is the most senior peacetime rank, with more senior ranks (for example, field marshal, marshal of the air force, fleet admiral) being used only in wartime or as honorary titles. In some armies, however, the rank of captain general , general of the army , army general or colonel general occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and
96-559: A Major General rank is usually held by someone that is a Regional Military Command General Officer Commanding (Regional Commander or တိုင်းမှူး) or a Director such as Director of Defence Service Intelligence ( Khin Nyunt for example) In the New Zealand Army , major-general is the rank held by the chief of army (formerly the chief of general staff). The more senior rank of lieutenant-general is reserved for when an army officer holds
120-558: A heart attack. Taken to a hospital in Pretoria , South Africa , he died on 30 August aged 57. His death was viewed by some as suspicious, following the assassination of Ndala, head of the Unité de réponse rapide (URR), in Kivu eight months previously. It was rumoured that he had been poisoned. Foreign commentators rejected this theory, but noted that Bahuma's death would slow attempts to reform
144-541: A major-general in the Royal Canadian Air Force is a wide braid under a single narrow braid on the cuff, as well as two silver maple leaves beneath a crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. In the Canadian Army, the rank insignia is a wide braid on the cuff, as well as two gold maple leaves beneath a crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. It is worn on
168-471: Is a rank that is subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the rank of brigadier or brigadier general . In the Commonwealth, major general is equivalent to the navy rank of rear admiral . In air forces with a separate rank structure (Commonwealth), major general is equivalent to air vice-marshal . In some countries including much of Eastern Europe , major general is the lowest of
192-568: Is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries, including Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , Germany , Norway , and Sweden . General officer In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel . The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Other nomenclatures for general officers include
216-755: The general officer ranks without brigadier general rank. In the sultanate of Brunei , the rank of Major general ( Malay : Mejar jeneral ) is used by the Royal Brunei Land Force and the Royal Brunei Air Force . The rank is held by the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces . In the Canadian Armed Forces , the rank of major-general (MGen) ( French : major-général ) is both
240-653: The Army ( Major-General do Exército ) became extinct in 1950, with their roles being unified in the then created Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces . In the Russian Army , the rank 'major general' is known as Russian : генера́л-майо́р , romanized : generál-mayór . It is equivalent to a British brigadier or an American brigadier general . The Turkish Army and Air Force refer to
264-543: The FARDC in the region, cutting down on corruption. He was personally credited for much of the FARDC's subsequent success against M23 in the Kivu region by international observers. He gained a reputation as a reformist, alongside Lieutenant General François Olenga and Colonel Mamadou Ndala , and attempted to turn the FARDC into a professional military force. During a diplomatic mission to Uganda in August 2014, Bahuma suffered
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#1732775651054288-672: The FARDC. Bahuma received posthumous tributes from a number of leading Congolese politicians and was posthumously awarded Officer of the Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba by President Kabila. A 48-hour period of mourning was observed by students at the Christian Bilingual University of Congo in Beni, North Kivu in his honour. In September, Brigadier General Emmanuel Lombe Bangwangu
312-498: The air force rank of air chief marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of general. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and many current and former Commonwealth air forces—e.g. Royal Australian Air Force , Indian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Air Force , Nigerian Air Force , Pakistan Air Force , etc. In most navies , flag officers are the equivalent of general officers, and
336-481: The army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a "full" general or to a field marshal five-star rank (NATO OF-10). The rank of general came about as a "captain-general", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of captain-general began appearing around the time of the organisation of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "captain-general" contracted to just "general". The following articles deal with
360-521: The command of the 8th Military Region, covering Kivu, by President Joseph Kabila following the fall of Goma to M23 rebels in 2012. The fall of Goma in November 2012 was widely perceived as an embarrassment for the FARDC and the United Nations ' MONUSCO peacekeeping force and led to calls for reform. Morale among government forces in the region was low. After taking command, Bahuma reformed
384-747: The position of chief of defence force, who commands all of New Zealand's armed forces. This position is subject to rotation between the heads of the New Zealand Air Force , New Zealand Army, and New Zealand Navy . Major general in the Pakistan Army is equivalent to rear admiral in the Pakistan Navy and air vice marshal in the Pakistan Air Force . It is the lowest of the general officer ranks, ranking between brigadier and lieutenant general. The rank of major-general
408-773: The rank as tümgeneral . The Turkish Navy equivalent is tümamiral . The name is derived from tümen , the Turkish word for a military division ( tümen itself is an older Turkish word meaning 10,000). Thus, linguistically, it is similar to the French equivalent for a major general, French : général de division . In the United States , the rank of major general exists in the United States Air Force , United States Army , United States Marine Corps , and United States Space Force . Generalmajor
432-472: The rank of general, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries: Some countries (such as the United States) use the general officer ranks for both the army and the air force , as well as their marine corps ; other states only use the general officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use air officers as the equivalent of general officers. They use
456-464: The shoulder straps of the service dress tunic, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. Major-generals are initially addressed as 'general' and name, as are all general officers; thereafter by subordinates as 'sir' or 'ma'am' as applicable in English ( French : mon général ). Major-generals are normally entitled to staff cars . In Myanmar,
480-473: The titles and ranks: In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of the most senior chaplain, (chaplain general), is also usually considered to be a general officer rank. In the old European system, a general, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a " full general "), is usually the most senior type of general, above lieutenant general and directly below field marshal as
504-434: Was announced as Bahuma's replacement as head of the 8th Military Region. Major General Major general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general . In English-speaking countries , when appointed to a field command, a major general is typically in command of a division consisting of around 6,000 to 25,000 troops (several regiments or brigades ). It
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#1732775651054528-705: Was born in the village of Tolaw in Isangi Territory , near Kisangani , in 1957. He began his military career under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko , attending military academies in the Congo and France. During the Second Congo War , he commanded the military wing of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) and was later re-integrated into the Congolese army. Bahuma was appointed to
552-549: Was moved up one level, with the role of brigade commander being assumed by the below rank of brigadier-general. In most of the 19th and first half of the 20th century, major-general was not used as a rank in the Portuguese military, but as an appointment title conferred to the general officer that acted as the military head of a service branch . The roles of Major-General of the Navy ( Major-General da Armada ) and Major-General of
576-544: Was reintroduced in the Portuguese Army , Portuguese Air Force , and Portuguese National Republican Guard in 1999, replacing the former rank of brigadier in the role of brigade commander. As a rank, it had previously been used in the Army only for a brief period (from 1862 to 1864). It is equivalent to the rank of contra-almirante (rear-admiral) in the Portuguese Navy . In 2015, the rank of major-general
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