Gen. Powell Given 4th Star; Joint Chiefs Chairmanship Seen
President Reagan today elevated National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Colin L. Powell to the rank of four-star general and appointed him head of all Army ground forces in the continental United States.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Powell, 51, will assume his new command in April.
The promotion was expected to put Powell in line to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in about a year.
Powell would become only the fourth black officer to attain four-star rank in the U.S. armed forces upon Senate confirmation of the nomination.
Powell became national security adviser in 1987, when Frank C. Carlucci was elevated from that post to become defense secretary. He restored calm to a post that had become embroiled in controversy during the Iran-Contra scandal.
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