Executive power to nominate General Officers

[Rifleman]

Forgive me for what might sound like a nutty question to the professional officers here, but I know very little about the promotion path of officers.

It's my understanding that Title 10, United States Code requires General Officers to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. And that the President makes his nominations based upon recommendations from the services.

So, could the President nominate an officer over that officer's superiors? Is it possible for an officer to jump several ranks?

For an extreme example: if he was interested in "shake-up," could the President ignore service recommendations and nominate a Colonel or a Brigadier for Chief of Staff or a Regional CINC?

Has anything that radical ever been done historically and been confirmed?

[max161]

Forgive me for what might sound like a nutty question to the professonal officers here, but I know very little about the promotion path of officers.

It's my understanding that Title 10, United States Code requires General Officers to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. And that the President makes his nominations based upon recommendations from the services.

So, could the President nominate an officer over that officer's superiors? Is it possible for an officer to jump several ranks?

For an extreme example: if he was interested in "shake-up," could the President ignore service recommendations and nominate a Colonel or a Brigadier for Chief of Staff or a Regional CINC? Has anything like that ever been done historically and been confirmed?

I think that is how Alexander Haig ended up as SACEUR. I am sure someone here knows the history behind that one.

[Old Eagle]

to your question is, "yes." BUT

First, numerous junior officers have been leap-frogged over time. This occurs most easily among "near peers" at the most senior level. Shy Meyer to be CSA, George Marshall to be CSA, etc.

Most of the time, presidents don't overtly screw with run-of-the-mill service recommendations. A great captain is not going to get propelled to the LTC list.

There have been a coupla exceptions. A particular case comes to mind. An unnamed officer worked in the Nixon White House as a major or junior LTC (started as a White House Fellow and dazzled the civilian leadership. As I recall, the president placed him on the O-6 list way outside Army norms. Senate confirmed, but Army got revenge in that although this officer could have been a general, he was never given appropriate assignments and eventually retired as a colonel.

A bigger impact occurred during the Clinton administration. Back in the day, services managed senior officer development by projected requirements. The Army needed to have x number of four-stars at any given time, the navy y, and so on. The story is that the president was surprised when he received only one service nomination for a unified or specified command. When he asked why only one service had nominated an officer for the "joint" position, his doolies explained the old system. EUCOM = Army/USAF, PACOM = Navy, etc. The POTUS position was, that if these commands were indeed joint, then all four services should nominate for every position. And that, Mowgli, is how the elephant got its trunk. (at the banks of the great gray green greasy Limpopo River).

[Ken White]

Haig got rapidly moved up from a LTC Bn Cdr in Viet Nam in 1967 -- where he seems to have really earned a DSC -- to the Deputy NSA as a three button and then a four star and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army in 1973. He then served as Nixon's last WH Chief of Staff in late 73 and got moved from there to SACEUR to get him out of DC in 74, after Watergate. He moved up over others as a one and a three star due to a long lasting MacArthur influence and later Kissinger influence.

Shy Meyer was a below the zone selectee for most of his later ranks but the only time he really got pulled up over others was when Carter tabbed him for Chief of Staff in Jun 79. He had been a LTG and was the DCSOPS at DA and Carter pulled him up over, IIRC, 12 or 13 others more senior to be the CofS/A. Good choice by Carter, incidentally. Meyer was no more political than any at that grade -- probably less so then most. He was just good. He fixed a lot of things, tried to fix the personnel system but the bureaucracy just waited him out...

There have been a lot of others -- many during WW II, few since then. Congress doesn't like it. They like their seniority system and don't think seniority is to be trifled with.

Unfortunately.

The guy Old Eagle mentions I knew when I served in DC. He thought I was evil because I flanked him on a couple of things. He was right.

He later took over a good Bn and screwed it up. Haig was fairly good, so was Powell. Meyer was real good. This guy wasn't IMO..

[Rifleman]

Thanks for the responses.

I was thinking about MacGregor types when I asked the question. Not just MacGregor himself, and not just Army officers, but that "type" of officer who shines at every level up to Colonel and then gets passed over (screwed over?) by the establishment.

I was just wondering if any of that could ever be reversed if one of those Colonels caught the Presidents eye.

[Ken White]

Father was a retired COL, Grandfather a retired two Star, told me both had advised him when he headed off for IOBC; "Be good, really good -- but don't be too good or your contemporaries will kill you on the way up."

It's a very competitive system...

Maybe too much so.

[Icebreaker]

Father was a retired COL, Grandfather a retired two Star, told me both had advised him when he headed off for IOBC; "Be good, really good -- but don't be too good or your contemporaries will kill you on the way up."

It's a very competitive system...

Maybe too much so.

I recently read a biography of Presidnet Eisenhower that stated that during his pre-World War II military career he purposefully tried to appear less intelligent then he was to avoid making other officers feel threatened.

[Uboat509]

Father was a retired COL, Grandfather a retired two Star, told me both had advised him when he headed off for IOBC; "Be good, really good -- but don't be too good or your contemporaries will kill you on the way up."

It's a very competitive system...

Maybe too much so.

I recently read a biography of President Eisenhower that stated that during his pre-World War II military career he purposefully tried to appear less intelligent then he was to avoid making other officers feel threatened.

Things like this remind me how much I live being enlisted.

SFC W

[John T. Fishel]

DCSOPS (3 star) when he was tapped for CSA. The story goes that Pres Carter wanted John Vessey who was VCSA but Vessey told him that he could not accept the position as he opposed Carter on too many policies. Carter is said to have asked for Vessey's recommendation and Vessey recommended Meyer. A freind of mine who worked in Meyer's office said Vessey called him to tell him to expect the call from the Pres and Meyer reacted by saying "i'm not ready!"

George Marshall was jumped from BG to 4 star by FDR over a large number of officers senior to him.

[Schmedlap]

I guess that is one positive aspect of the "everybody gets a BZ promotion" nowadays. The backstabbing, political competitiveness isn't there. At least I did not see it among the O-4 and below. If it was occurring at the O-5 and up level, they hid it from us O-3's fairly well.

[selil]

Weren't there a slew of ww2 civilian to senior rank entries?

[CR6]

Pershing

Returning home in 1903, as a 43-year old captain, Pershing was assigned to the Southwest Army Division. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt mentioned Pershing during remarks to Congress about the army's promotion system. He argued that it should be possible to reward an able officer's service through promotion. These remarks were ignored by the establishment and Roosevelt, who could only nominate officers for general rank, was unable to promote Pershing. In the meantime, Pershing attended the Army War College and served as an observer during the Russo-Japanese War.
In September 1906, Roosevelt shocked the army by promoting five junior officers, Pershing included, directly to brigadier general. Jumping over 800 senior officers, Pershing was accused of having his father-in-law pull political strings in his favor.

[Steve Blair]

Pershing

Crook was promoted in a similar way.

[Ken White]

... Meyer reacted by saying "i'm not ready!"

However, that did not stop him from shortly afterward while still the DCSOPS sending a TWX to four star Don Starry, CG TRADOC telling TRADOC to do something Starry was known to oppose with a back channel ending with "the CofS Designee."

[Sergeant T]

Happens on the blue suit side of the house as well. Former Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke skipped over O-9.

After ascertaining in a series of personal meetings with Burke in May 1955 that he was the man for the job, Mr. Thomas went to President Dwight D. Eisenhower with his selection. Jumping over ninety-two officers senior to himself on the active list, Arleigh Burke was sworn in as the new Chief of Naval Operations on 17 August 1955 at ceremonies held at the U.S. Naval Academy.

I recall reading somewhere that MacArthur did a bit rank jumping right before World War I. He was politically connected and went from O-1 to O-6 in about the same number of years that Eisenhower held as a Major.

[CR6]

I recall reading somewhere that MacArthur did a bit rank jumping right before World War I. He was politically connected and went from O-1 to O-6 in about the same number of years that Eisenhower held as a Major.

MacArthur went from O-4 straight to O-6 when he became Chief of Staff of the 42nd Division, and subsequently earned his first star in combat in WWI. The "political" aspect of this came from the fact that his flag-rank promotion was made permanent after the armistice and thus he did not face the reduction from temporary rank that so many others did, such as Marshall, Patton and Eisenhower.

[Meinertzhagen]

As another interesting aside regarding skipping grades, the Navy until 1981 promoted all officers directly from Captain (O-6) to Rear Admiral (O-8) as they did not have a O-7 equivalent rank. Congress briefly established the rank of Commodore Admiral in 1982 and 11 months later changed its name to Commodore with the Navy finally settling on the Rear Admiral, "Lower and Upper Half" division to separate O-7 and O-8 in 1985.

[Ken White]

as a US Navy rank disappeared at the beginning of the 20th Century, was brought back in 1942 and stuck around for all of WW II and then again disappeared in 1947.

Congress tried to bring it back as you say but all the many Captains (O-6) who were serving as titular Commodores of Squadrons and Groups objected. Never underestimate the power of Eagles...

[zenpundit]

I believe that Alexander Haig not only rose quickly from Lt. Colonel to Major General while serving in the Nixon White House, he may also have been promoted directly to a 4-star rank and skipped over being a Lt. General entirely.

[zenpundit]

"So, could the President nominate an officer over that officer's superiors? Is it possible for an officer to jump several ranks?"

Yes, the Constitutional authority of the POTUS here is clear-cut. - though the Senate can refuse it's consent.

Presidents have also appointed political cronies to general officer rank who lacked any significant military experience ( Truman may have been the last to exercise that prerogative - not certain though).