Captain (United States)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
In the
Usage
For the naval rank, a captain is a senior officer of
Seaborne services of the United States and many other nations refer to the officer in charge of any seagoing vessel as "captain" regardless of actual rank. For instance, in the civilian United States Merchant Marine, the commander of a vessel is also referred to as a captain, and everyone in his boat must abide by his commands. While not an official rank, as in military pay grade, it is an official title. One exception to the rule is when an officer of higher rank than captain, such as admiral, is the officer in charge of one or more seagoing vessel(s), such as a carrier battle group. An admiral is never referred to as "captain". In the seaborne services, especially for submarine and aviation commands, the commanding officer is often referred to informally as "skipper" whether the officer is a captain or below.
For the ground and air forces rank, a captain is of pay grade O-3 (the third officer rank), usually serving as the commander of a company-sized unit in the ground forces, as a flight leader or other squadron officer in air units, or serving as an executive officer or staff officer for a larger unit such as a battalion or squadron. This rank is used by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps.
The rank of captain is also used in other organizations outside the military, particularly in fire departments, police, and law enforcement.
-
U.S. Army (dress, garrison)
-
U.S. Army (field, combat)
-
U.S. Army (field, combat)
-
U.S. Marine Corps[1] (dress, garrison)
-
U.S. Marine Corps[1] (field, combat)
Captain (ground, air, and space forces)
The insignia for captains in the United States Army was first authorized in 1836. During the
-
U.S. Army (September 1959 to October 2015)[2]
Rank equivalency between services
Because of the ambiguity created by the common use of "captain" for officers of different grades among the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, NOAA, Public Health Service, and Space Force, equivalency is conferred between officers by use of identical
Early history
In the United States, the rank of captain first appeared in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. A captain was the officer placed in charge of a company of soldiers and was granted a commission from the regimental colonel. A captain was afforded one to several lieutenants, depending on the size of the company, and the captain's commission could be revoked or expired at the end of a particular military campaign.
The
See also
Notes
- ^ The U.S. Marine Corps insignia for captain is slightly different from the USA / USAF insignia depicted above in that it lacks beveled edges and the cross-bars are further towards the ends. See collar insignia for U.S. Navy lieutenant.
References
- ^ a b Defense Logistics Agency (27 May 2016). "Insignia, Rank, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy and Captain, U.S. Marine Corps". Quick Search Assist. Building 4/D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094: DLA Document Services. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Jahner, Kyle (1 October 2015). "The end of the Green Service Uniform: 1954-2015". Army Times. Military Times.
- ^ "Naval History and Heritage Command - Navy Captain". History.navy.mil. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2021.