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Major-General

Navies Armies Air forces
Commissioned and Non-commissioned officers
Admiral of
the fleet
Marshal or
Field marshal
Marshal of
the air force
Admiral General Air chief marshal
Vice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshal
Rear admiral Major general Air vice-marshal
Commodore Brigadier or
Brigadier general
Air commodore
Captain Colonel Group captain
Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander
Lieutenant
commander
Major or
Commandant
Squadron leader
Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant Lieutenant or
First lieutenant
Flying officer
Ensign Second lieutenant Pilot officer
Midshipman Officer cadet Flight cadet
Enlisted grades
Warrant officer or
Chief petty officer
Warrant officer or
Sergeant major
Warrant officer
Petty officer Sergeant Sergeant
Leading seaman Corporal Corporal
Seaman Private Aircraftman

Major general (short MG or Maj. Gen) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparently confusing phenomenon whereby a lieutenant general outranks a major general (although a major outranks a lieutenant, a lieutenant outranks a sergeant-major.)

In the Commonwealth and the United States, it is a division commander's rank 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, and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air vice-marshal.

In some small countries, such as Estonia, major general is the highest rank currently used and in some countries, including much of Eastern Europe, major general is the lowest of the general officer ranks, with no brigadier-grade rank above colonel.

In the old Austro-Hungarian Army, the major general was called a Generalmajor. Today's Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term.

General de Brigade(Brigade General) is the lowest rank amongst general officers in the Brazilian Army. AGeneral de Brigada wears two-stars as this is the entry level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. In tha Brazilian Air Force, the two-star, three-star and four-star rank are known as Brigadeiro(Brigadier), Major-Brigadeiro(Major-Brigadier) and Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar(Lieutenant-Air-Brigadier) respectively. See Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier#officer rank in Latin America for more information.


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