Captain (United States)

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Please see "Captain (military)" for other versions of this rank

In the United States Armed Forces, Captain is a military rank.

1 U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines
2 U.S. Navy and Coast Guard
3 Rank equivalency between services
4 Early history

[edit] U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, captain is the rank above first lieutenant and below the rank of major. The pay grade for an officer of this rank is O-3.

Army Captains generally command company-sized units. When given such a command, they bear the title Company Commander. Captains also instruct at service schools and combat training centers and are often staff officers at the battalion level. In medical units (in all services), captain is the entry-level rank for doctors and those possessing a Doctor of Pharmacy. In Judge Advocate General units in all services, captain or first lieutenant is the entry-level rank for lawyers who already have their juris doctor degree and have been admitted to the bar of at least one state. Captains in the United States Marine Corps are also sometimes referred to as "skipper" in informal situations; this term for a captain is most often used by senior staff non-commissioned officers. Air Force captains' authority varies by group assignment. In the operations group, senior captains may be flight commanders while more junior captains may be heads of departments. In the maintenance and mission support groups they are almost always flight commanders. In the medical group captains usually have little administrative responsibility as captain is the entry level rank for many medical officers. Captains in the MSC, BSC, and NC corps, however, are sometimes assigned as flight commanders.

[edit] U.S. Navy and Coast Guard

In the United States Navy and Coast Guard, captain is the rank above commander and below the rank of rear admiral (lower half). The pay grade for an officer of this rank is O-6.

Navy captains with sea commands generally command ships of cruiser size or larger. The more senior the officer, the larger the ship. Commanders of aircraft carriers can be rear admirals, but generally, ship commanders are of captain rank or lower. Also, Navy captains may fill important senior staff positions or have land based assignments.

[edit] Rank equivalency between services

Due to the ambiguity created by the common use of "captain" for officers of different grades between the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, equivalency is conferred between officers by use of identical pay grade rather than title of rank. The higher the number of the grade, the higher the rank of the officer. For example, an Army, Air Force, or Marine captain is equivalent in rank, responsibilities, and grade to a Navy or Coast Guard lieutenant, all of which are of the third officer grade, or O-3. Similarly, a Navy or Coast Guard captain is equivalent in rank, responsibilities, and grade to an Army, Air Force, or Marine colonel, all of which are of the sixth officer grade, or O-6. Thus, Army, Air Force, and Marine colonels together with Navy and Coast Guard captains wear the silver eagle insignia of their grade O-6, while Army, Air Force, and Marine captains together with Navy and Coast Guard lieutenants wear a pair of silver bars as their rank insignia in the grade O-3.

Insignia of a U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Captain

Insignia of U.S. Army and Air Force Captain

Insignia of U.S. Marine Corps Captain

[edit] Early history

The rank of captain first appeared in the United States Continental Army during the American 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 Continental Navy used the rank of captain as the commander of a sailing vessel at war, with the captain having several lieutenants on board, as well as a Sailing Master to assist in their duties. This use of the Navy captain rank carried over into the United States Navy, however with the addition of the rank of commander and lieutenant Commander, between Captain and Lieutenant, a Navy Captain was soon the equivalent in rank to an Army Colonel.

	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
U.S. commissioned officer ranks
Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
Army:	CDT/OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)