Three-star rank

An officer of three-star rank is a very senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the rank of vice admiral, lieutenant general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, air marshal.

In the Australian Defence Force the following ranks of commissioned officers are awarded three-star ranks:

Official rank insignia for Australian 'three-star' officers do not use stars in the same fashion as the United States. The RAN does incorporate stars into the hardboard rank insignia for flag-rank officers but this is in conjunction with other devices. Unofficial star rank insignia are sometimes worn when serving with or visiting other military organisations in order to facilitate equivalent rank recognition.

The Chiefs of all three services within the Australian Defence Force hold three-star rank as well as three joint positions: Vice Chief of Defence Force (VCDF), Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) and Chief Capability Development Group (CCDG).

The three-star rank in Brazil is the second rank in a general career. The officers in this position are normally divisional commanders.

Three maple leaves appear with St. Edward's crown and crossed sabre and baton. Prince Charles holds the rank of vice-admiral in an honorary capacity. Before unification, the rank of air marshal was the three-star equivalent for the RCAF.

The equivalent modern German three-star ranks (OF-8) of the Bundeswehr are as follows:

Not to be confused with the Generalleutnant and Vizeadmiral (two-star ranks; OF-7) of the Wehrmacht until 1945 or the National People´s Army (East Germany) until 1990.

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