All 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have an attorney general who serves as the chief legal officer in their jurisdiction, counsels its government agencies and legislatures, and is a representative of the public interest.
As the nonpartisan national forum for America's state and territory attorneys general and their staff, NAAG provides collaboration, insight, and expertise to empower and champion America's attorneys general.
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In the United States military, a general is the most senior general-grade officer; it is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank (or echelon) that may be attained in the United States Armed Forces, with exception of the Navy and Coast Guard, which have the equivalent rank of admiral instead. The official and formal insignia of "general" is defined by its four stars (commonly silver and in a row).
The rank of general ranks above a three-star lieutenant general and below the special wartime five-star ranks of General of the Army or General of the Air Force. The Marine Corps and Space Force do not have an established grade above general. The pay grade of general is O-10. It is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other United States uniformed services which use naval ranks. It is abbreviated as GEN in the Army and Gen in the Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
Formally, the term "General" is always used when referring to a four-star general. However, a number of different terms may refer to them informally,[clarification needed] since lower-ranking generals may also be referred to as simply "General".
The United States Code explicitly limits the total number of general officers (termed flag officers in the Navy and Coast Guard) that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army, 62 for the Marine Corps, 198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy.[1] No more than about 25% of a service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars,[2] and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service.[2] This is set at seven Army generals, two Marine generals, eight Air Force generals, two Space Force generals, six Navy admirals, and two Coast Guard admirals.[2][failed verification]
Several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of each service (the service chief and deputy service chief) are designated as generals. For the Army the Chief of Staff and the Vice Chief of Staff are generals; for the Marine Corps, the Commandant and the Assistant Commandant are both generals; for the Air Force, the Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff are generals; and for the Space Force, the Chief of Space Operations, and the Vice Chief of Space Operations are generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau[3] is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force.
Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office to which they are linked, so the rank is temporary; the active rank of general can only be held for so long- though upon retirement, if satisfactory service requirements are met, the general or admiral is normally allowed to hold that rank in retirement, rather than reverting to a lower position, as was formerly the usual case.[8] Their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute.[8] Generals are nominated for the appointment by the President from any eligible officers holding the rank of brigadier general or above who meet the requirements for the position, with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, service secretary (Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, or Secretary of the Air Force), and if applicable the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[8] For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests.[9] The nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank.[8] General ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare. The standard tour for most general/flag officers is a two-year term with the possibility of being renominated for an additional term(s).
Appointment of general/flag officers (3-star or above) is a temporary promotion lasting only for the duration of the job assignment. Upon retirement general/flag officers revert to their permanent two-star rank of Major General or Rear Admiral unless they are nominated by the President to retire at a higher rank (which has become the normal practice in recent years.) Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits but these are rare, as they block other officers from being promoted. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of national emergency or war.
Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. A general must retire after 40 years of service unless they are reappointed to serve longer.[10] Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[11] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a general's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday[11] and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.[11] To retire at four-star grade, an officer must accumulate at least three years of satisfactory active duty service in that grade, as certified by the Secretary of Defense.[12]
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is a new key instrument in the EU product safety legal framework, replacing from 13 December 2024 the current General Product Safety Directive and the Food Imitating Product Directive . It modernises the EU general product safety framework and address the new challenges posed to product safety by the digitalisation of our economies.
It applies to non-food products and to all sales channels. The GPSR provides a safety net for products or risks not regulated in other EU legislation. This safety net function means that EU consumers are always protected against dangerous products, be it now or in the future.
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is an independent entity established within the executive branch to address integrity, economy and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies and aid in the establishment of a professional, well-trained and highly skilled workforce in the Offices of Inspectors General.
Welcome to IGnet serving as a portal to the Federal Inspector General Communitywhose primary responsibilities, to the American public, are to detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and violations of law and to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of the Federal Government.
The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, establishes the responsibilities and duties of an IG. The IG Act has been amended to increase the number of agencies with statutory IGs. In 1988 came the establishment of IGs in smaller, independent agencies and there are now 73 statutory IGs.
IGnet also serves as the purveyor of information, to the American public, from The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). "The Inspector General Act of 1978 as amended by the IG Reform Act of 2008"created the CIGIE combining what were formerly known as the "PCIE" (President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency) and the "ECIE" (Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency). The CIGIE has 7 committees, Audit, Information Technology, Inspection and Evaluation, Investigations, Integrity, Legislation and Professional Development as well as several related organizations.
President Jimmy Carter signed the bipartisan legislation into law on October 12, 1978, at the time establishing 12 presidentially appointed inspectors general in Federal departments and agencies to provide independent oversight and promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout the Federal government. Read more here.
The FSF's commitment is unwavering, but we urgently need your financial support. New and renewing associate members will help us bring free software to every facet of people's lives. Help us reach our goal of 200 new members by July 26.
The licenses for most software and other practical works are designedto take away your freedom to share and change the works. By contrast,the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom toshare and change all versions of a program--to make sure it remains freesoftware for all its users. We, the Free Software Foundation, use theGNU General Public License for most of our software; it applies also toany other work released this way by its authors. You can apply it toyour programs, too.
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, notprice. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that youhave the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge forthem if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if youwant it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in newfree programs, and that you know you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to prevent others from denying youthese rights or asking you to surrender the rights. Therefore, you havecertain responsibilities if you distribute copies of the software, or ifyou modify it: responsibilities to respect the freedom of others.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whethergratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the samefreedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too, receiveor can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so theyknow their rights.
Developers that use the GNU GPL protect your rights with two steps:(1) assert copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this Licensegiving you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify it.