Dunwoody Becomes First Female Four-Star General

[charlie and algernon]

Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general. At an emotional promotion ceremony, Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform and said it was a credit to the Army — and a great surprise to her — that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

"Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding," she told a standing-room-only auditorium crowd. "Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

"It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession," she added. "So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?' I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.'


http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6251969


Edit: She now joins the ranks of Grant, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Marshall, and Sherman

[jody]

1. I don't believe George Washington was a four star general. n/t

[charlie and algernon]

2. According to Wiki he was promoted after he retired from active duty

[jody]

3. He was promoted to the rank of Lt. General, three stars, not four stars.

"A year prior to his death, Washington was appointed by President John Adams to the rank of Lieutenant General in the United States Army during the Quasi-War with France. Washington never exercised active authority under his new rank, however, and Adams made the appointment to frighten the French, with whom war seemed certain."

ON EDIT ADD:
"After World War II, which saw the introduction of U.S. "5-star" officers who outranked Washington, both Congress and the President revisited the issue of Washington's rank. To maintain George Washington's proper position as the first Commanding General of the United States Army, he was appointed, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 January 19, 1976, approved by President Gerald R. Ford on October 11, 1976. The law established the grade as having "rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present", clearly making it superior to General of the Army. The Department of the Army Order 31-3, issued on March 13, 1978 had an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976.<5> The rank ensures that no United States military officer will ever outrank George Washington. <6><7><4>"

Washington went from three stars to five stars and as I said he was never a four star general.

[sarge43]

4. Actually, he's a six star and will always be the only one.

During the bi-centennial (if memory serves), he was promoted to General of the Armies so that no one will ever rank him; an Army five star is General of the Army.

[charlie and algernon]

5. cool

[jody]

6. Agree but Washington was never a four star general as I said.

ON EDIT ADD:

Washington's insignia was never approved so it is technically incorrect to say he was a six star general.