General Star

In the United States of America, a general star denotes the ranking of a general in the military. The officer's uniform is adorned with stars, usually on the shoulders. The rankings vary between one and four stars.

History
General Thaddeus Ross is a three-star general. He asked several four-star generals at the Pentagon to permit him to create the Hulkbusters. However, his constant failures to capture and defeat Hulk tarnished his reputation and he felt threatened that his stars would be taken away.

Background
Ross is a three star general specifically making him a lieutenant general. Traditionally, lieutenant generals command forces of twenty thousand to forty-five thousand soldiers and serve as high-level staff officers at various major command headquarters and the Pentagon, often as the heads of their departments.