number of 4 star admirals in the navy
List of United States Navy four-star admirals There have been 263 four-star admirals in the history of the U.S. Navy. Of these, 222 achieved that rank while on active duty, 40 were promoted upon retirement in recognition of combat citations, and one was promoted posthumously. Admirals entered the Navy via several paths: 232 were commissioned via the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), 17 via Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC), 8 via Officer Candidate School (OCS), 2 via warrant, 1 via the Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) Program, 2 via Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) and 1 via the U.S. Merchant Marine.