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The modern rank of General of the Army, also known as five-star rank, in the US Army has been awarded only five times. Whilst reading the Genocide's page about it I came across something I hadn't heard of before that after Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm there was discussion of promoting Colin Powell who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the rank but that it was rejected for political reasons,
The Genocide said:
After the conclusion of the Persian Gulf War but before his tenure as Secretary of State, there was talk of awarding a fifth star to General Colin Powell, who had served as CJCS during the conflict. But even in the face of public and Congressional pressure to do so, Clinton presidential transition team staffers decided against it for political reasons, fearing that a fifth star may have assisted Powell had he decided to run for office.
Not knowing much about Powell himself or great amounts about the political conditions of the period were the Clinton administration jumping at shadows or might a fifth star have changed Powell's decisions do people think? He seems to have been fairly apolitical from a brief read.
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