question on ranks = general vs admiral

[Morpheus 02]

Had a question on Star Wars ranks...

I knoq on Earth I. The US that General and Admiral arw equivalent ranks (and the variations)...

But in Star Wars... general seemed to be BELOW admiral, where a general might be leading a team or a small base, and seemed to given out frequently (first to the Jedi and later to Han and Mando despite practically zero experience I. The rebellion)..but the fleet was commanded by ADMiRAL Ackbar.

But what has confused me is that Leia is a "mere" General, when by all rights should be the"supreme admiral" (or "grand admiral")...any thoughts on that?

Or good links?

 

[marillion]

They probably play it fast and loose, but generally speaking, an Admiral commands a fleet... Admiral Akbar commanded a fleet of ships while Han and Lando commanded ground fources and squadrons, respectively. In the new movies, Leia is commanding forces, but she does not command the operations of the resistance fleet. She can command the admirals who command the fleet... It's a little complex... I would imagine that as the new Republic came into its own, she retired as an "elder" statesman. Plus she had to deal with Ben turning to the dark side and Han leaving because he felt responsible for that.... She came back once the First Order came to be a threat, probably at the request of the Republic leadership becuase of her legendary status as a commander of the rebellion... That said, I haven't read any of the tie-in novels so I'm only offering opinion..

 

[Reverend]

Well first and foremost: Star Wars is a Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers inspired space fantasy fairy tale, not a space military drama, so best not to overthink such things.

Secondly, as so far as it pertains to the rebellion and the resistance; military ranks are going to be more flexible and based a lot more on necessity than you'd find in a more formal military.
With the Empire it's a little more complex since it's not necessarily one coherent military, but several working in parallel. Some of which share ranks, but not all are of equivalent seniority to their counterparts. It's the kind of bureaucratic nonsense that I can't help but think was devised by Palpatine specifically to keep his underlings vying with each other for power and prevent anyone from amassing enough influence to be considered a rival for the throne.

So the bottom line is really that an Admiral and a General are whatever the story needs them to be at any given point.

 

[The Wormhole]

The ranks of Admiral and General are likely still equal in the Star Wars universe. I really haven't seen any evidence to suggest otherwise.

There are different grades of General and Admiral. Presumably in ROTJ Ackbar is a senior grade admiral (like a Fleet Admiral) while Han and Lando are junior grade Generals (Brigadier General for example). Ackbar was presumably the senior-most military officer sent to Endor, which made him the leader of the Rebel forces for the mission.

As of TFA/TLJ Leia is presumably a senior-grade General, plus her status as the founder of the Resistance giver her command authority. Plus, some people likely still yield to her royalty status, even if her dynasty no longer exists.