from dodlive.com/..............
Congress reauthorized the rank of commodore in April 1943, and in December 1944, Congress approved the five-star fleet admiral rank.
William D. Leahy,
Ernest J. King, and
Chester W. Nimitz were promoted to the grade at that time, and the fourth fleet admiral,
William H. Halsey, was promoted in December 1945. The Navy has not had a five-star fleet admiral since Leahy left active duty in 1949. Promotions to commodore were phased out by legislation in 1947, and by 1950 no commodores remained on active duty. Nonetheless, commodores would reappear in Navy history. The absence of commodore after the Second World War left the Navy with rear admirals of upper- and lower-half grades. Confusingly, rear admirals of both grades wore two-star flag officer insignia.
With the passage of the 1980 Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (effective in 1981), O-7 officers were designated commodore admirals in an attempt to mirror the other services, one-star brigadier general rank. The move drew criticism within the Navy, including that of Rear Admiral (Ret.) John D.H. Kane Jr., then director of what is now the Naval History and Heritage Command. Kane wrote to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Personnel) to register his "horror" at the new rank, arguing that it "offends any sense of historical propriety." The following year the 0-7 rank was changed to commodore,
but in 1986 commodore again disappeared as a rank, replaced with rear admiral (lower half). The Navy had long used the title of commodore for a captain in command of multiple ships, and although it is not a rank anymore, the title is still used for senior captains in command of surface and submarine squadrons, air wings and groups, Seabee regiments, and similar commands. Navy officer ranks have not changed since 1986.
