Modern use
There have been no officers appointed to the rank of General of the Army since Omar Bradley. The rank of General of the Army is still maintained as a rank of the U.S. military, and could again be bestowed, during a time of war, pending approval of the United States Congress. Current U.S. military policy is that General of the Army, General of the Air Force, and Fleet Admiral are ranks only to be used when a commander of U.S. forces must be equal to or of higher rank than commanders of armies from another nation.[11]
In the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Defense gave indication that the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would possibly one day be a position worthy of five-star rank. At the time of Omar Bradley’s promotion it was specifically emphasized that the promotion was done in recognition of his World War II and post-war service, not as a result of his appointment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
At one time, before his tenure as Secretary of State, there had been some talk of promoting General Colin Powell, who had served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War, to that rank.[citation needed] As recently as January 2011, in consideration of the War on Terror as the longest-running war in United States history, some[who?] have proposed General David Petraeus be promoted to the rank of General of the Army.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Army_%28United_States%29
