Two silver stars 9/16” in diameter and arrayed in a point-to-point configuration serve as the collar grade insignia for Rear Admirals (upper half) in the Navy and Coast Guard and Major Generals in the United States Marine Corps. Navy and Coast Guard regulations call for the first star to be placed one inch from the front and lower edges of the collar with one ray (of each star) pointing toward the collar; it should be placed so that the vertical axis of the insignia is parallel to an imaginary line to a line bisecting the collar point.
Stars on USMC uniforms are also positioned so that a single ray is pointing toward the top of the collar, but the manual’s wording is unclear as to the precise distance this is to be from the top of the collar on khaki shirts. On the combat uniform and other utility uniforms, the stars are placed in the approximate center of the collar, with the outermost star one inch from the front edge of the collar and a single ray of each star pointing toward the top of the collar.
On their Garrison Caps, the Navy and Coast Guard regulations call for the insignia of grade to be worn on the right side, positioned two inches from the front crease and 1.5” from the bottom of the cap. The Marine Corps rules also call for insignia of grade to be worn on the right side of the Garrison Cap, but the guidance on positioning is slightly more esoteric: the stars are to be placed with single rays up (the long axis is horizontal) at a midway spot on the arc of the cap’s flap, so that the flap generally bisects the insignia.