隨便今天發帖說“美國軍隊四星上將總數不得超過18名，退休後只能保持兩星”。

兩點都是錯誤的。

實際是，美軍各軍種現役上將總數加起來為38名（見：List of active duty United States four-star officers）

隨便18這個數字想必是根據其所引用的維基條目掰手指數出來的“。。。This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,[2] 9 four-star Air Force generals[2] and 2 four-star Marine generals.[2]”（見隨便：“美國軍隊四星上將總數不得超過18名，退休後只能保持兩星”）

講句公道話，隨便同學手指倒沒有掰錯，錯在不認真，沒有動腦筋細究，被維基這條寫得灰強不嚴謹的條目坑了一把。

根據維基該條目提供的索引，美國法律規定的上將總數應該是：

(a) For purposes of the applicable limitation in section 526 (a) of this title on general and flag officers on active duty, no appointment of an officer on the active duty list may be made as follows:
(1) in the Army, if that appointment would result in more than—
(A) 7 officers in the grade of general;
(B) 45 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or
(C) 90 officers in the grade of major general;
(2) in the Air Force, if that appointment would result in more than—
(A) 9 officers in the grade of general;
(B) 43 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or
(C) 73 officers in the grade of major general;
(3) in the Navy, if that appointment would result in more than—
(A) 6 officers in the grade of admiral;
(B) 32 officers in a grade above the grade of rear admiral; or
(C) 50 officers in the grade of rear admiral;
(4) in the Marine Corps, if that appointment would result in more than—
(A) 2 officers in the grade of general;
(B) 15 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or
(C) 22 officers in the grade of major general.

（見：10 USC § 525 - Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades）

共計：24。隨便同學因引用的維基條目漏了海軍的6個名額，故此錯誤地得出18。

另外，隨便還沒有看到，除了這24個名額，法律還給予國防部長相當的可自行裁奪的額外名額。

Exceptions to statutory limits：

There are several exceptions to the limits allowing more than allotted four-star officers within the statute. A four-star officer serving as Chairman [9] or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [9] does not count against his or her service's general or flag officer cap. An officer serving as Chief of the National Guard Bureau [5] does not count against his or her service's general officer cap. The Secretary of Defense can designate no more than 20 additional four-star officers,[4] who do not count against any service's general or flag officer limit,[4] to serve in one of several joint positions. These positions include the commander of a unified combatant command,[10] the commander of U.S. Forces Korea,[10] and the deputy commander of U.S. European Command [10] but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.[10] Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against statutory limit, including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[11] The President may also add up to 5 four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services.[5] Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency.[12]

（引自：List of active duty United States four-star officers。又見：10 USC § 526 - Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty）

正如本人一再提醒隨便同學的，不是不能用古狗，但會古狗不等於會 research。兩者是有本質區別的。

當然，本人今天下午因匆忙，一目十行，也把所有將級軍銜的名額與上將名額混為一談了。灰強粗心，也被維基那個寫得極其糟糕的條目坑了一哈。

故此，同責。共勉。

喔，至於由“Historically, officers leaving four-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.”這段英文，得出上將“退休後只能保持兩星”，則純粹是缺乏基本的英文閱讀能力的問題了。

相信所有具基本英語能力的同學都可以自行判斷。本人就不贅言解釋了。