Vice Admiral (United States) - Statutory Limits

Statutory Limits

U.S. Code of law explicitly limits the total number of vice admirals that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active-duty flag officers is capped at 160 for the Navy. For the Navy, no more than 16.7% of the service's active-duty flag officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots are reserved by statute. For example the Surgeon General of the United States Navy is a vice admiral. The Judge Advocate General of the Navy is a vice admiral in the Navy or a lieutenant general in the Marine Corps; the Surgeon General of the United States is also vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add vice admirals to the Navy if they are offset by removing an equivalent number of three-star officers from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency.

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