Eagle_and_Constitution_Commanding_Officers

In the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of flag officer (i.e.,

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

s). The equivalent rank is

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

, and Marine Corps. Reflecting its nautical heritage, the term ''

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

'' is used as a military title by more junior officers who

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

a commissioned vessel of the Navy, Coast Guard, or

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

(NOAA) ship of patrol boat size or greater. Officers below O-6 who command aviation squadrons (typically O-5

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

s) usually use the less formal title "skipper".

Insignia

File:US-O6 insignia.svg, USN, USCG, USPHSCC, and NOAACOC collar, cover (hat), or shoulder rank insignia (on select uniforms) File:US Navy O6 insignia.svg, The eagle, shoulder boards, and dress blue sleeve stripes of a U.S. Navy captain( Line officer) File:US CG O6 insignia.svg, The eagle, shoulder boards, and dress blue sleeve stripes of a U.S. Coast Guard captain File:US PHS O6 insignia.svg, The eagle, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes (dress blues + female dress whites) of a USPHS captain File:US NOAA O6 insignia.svg, The eagle, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes (dress blues + female dress whites) of a NOAA Corps captain

U.S. Navy

In the

, captain was the highest rank from 1775 until 1857, when the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

created the rank of flag officer. The modern rank of captain (abbreviated CAPT) is a senior officer rank, with the pay grade of O-6. It ranks above

and below rear admiral (lower half). It is equivalent to the rank of

in the other uniformed services. Promotion to captain is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the

Defense Officer Personnel Management Act The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) () is a United States federal law passed in 1980 that for the first time standardized officer personnel management across the United States Armed Forces. It established ceilings on the number o ...

(DOPMA) of 1980 or its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA). DOPMA/ROPMA guidelines suggest that no more than 50% of eligible commanders should be promoted to captain after serving a minimum of three years at their present rank and after attaining 21–23 years of cumulative commissioned service, although this percentage may be appreciably less, contingent on force structure and the needs of the service. With very few exceptions, such as

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-bas ...

Astronaut and Naval Flight Officer Astronaut, unrestricted line officer captains in the Navy will have successfully completed at least one commanding officer assignment at the

(O-5) level, typically a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

for surface warfare officers, a nuclear-powered

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN � ...

for submarine warfare officers, a SEAL team for special warfare officers, or an aviation squadron for Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers, before being selected for promotion to captain. All those selected to the rank of captain by the U.S. Navy are confirmed by the United States Senate. Navy captains with sea commands in the surface warfare officer community generally command ships of cruiser size or larger. The larger the ship, the more senior the commanding officer. Others may hold command as commodores of destroyer squadrons (DESRON) consisting of multiple

s and

s. Surface Warfare Officers may also command large deck amphibious warfare ships or combat support ships and also serve as commodores of amphibious squadrons (PHIBRON) or other type of surface ship squadrons. In the submarine community, a captain typically commanded a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) until the early 21st century when the requisite rank for the position was downgraded to that of a commander. Today, like their surface warfare counterparts, captains in the submarine community may serve as commodores of submarine squadrons (SUBRON), commanding a group of SSBNs or attack submarines (SSN). In Naval Aviation, captains with sea commands are

Naval Aviators A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

or Naval Flight Officers who are commanding officers of aircraft carriers, commanding officers of large-deck air-capable amphibious assault ships, commanders of carrier air wings (CAG), or commodores of functional or "type" air wings or air groups. A smaller cohort outside of sea and shore commands may also serve as

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

on loan to the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding ...

(

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

). In the Naval Special Warfare "Sea Air Land" ( SEAL) community, captains with sea commands are typically commodores in command of Naval Special Warfare Groups (NAVSPECWARGRU). In contrast, commanders of aircraft carrier strike groups (CSG) and expeditionary strike groups (ESG) are normally

rear admirals Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...

, while subordinate destroyer squadron commodores, amphibious squadron commodores, carrier air wing commanders and the individual ship commanding officers within the strike group are of captain rank or lower. In addition, in the expeditionary strike group, the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) commanding officer will always be a Marine Corps colonel. Adding to the confusion, all commanding officers of commissioned U.S. Navy warships and submarines (e.g., USS or "United States Ship") are called "captain" regardless of actual rank. Navy captains who are line officers may also fill senior command and staff positions ashore as Chiefs of Staff/Executive Assistants or senior operations officers to flag officers, or they may hold shore command assignments such as commanding officers of naval bases, naval stations, naval air stations, naval air facilities, naval support activities, logistics groups, specialized centers or schools, or commanders of test wings or training air wings. They may also occupy senior leadership positions on fleet staffs, naval component commands staffs, the staffs of the joint

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

s, the staff of the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

(OPNAV), or the Joint Staff. As opposed to unrestricted line captains, restricted line and staff corps captains will command facilities and organizations appropriate to their designators, such as intelligence centers commanded by intelligence officers; naval aviation depots/fleet readiness centers commanded by aeronautical engineering duty officers; naval hospitals commanded by Medical Corps (MC),

Dental Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medic ...

(DC), Medical Service Corps (MSC), or

Nurse Corps Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the Crimean War in 185 ...

(NC) officers; supply centers by

Supply Corps A Supply Corps is a branch of a country's military which is in charge of logistics and supply procurement to the armed forces. The term is also used by private corporations but on a much rarer basis. In the United States armed forces, each bra ...

(SC) officers; Construction Battalions or civil engineering centers by Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) officers; or region legal service offices, trial service offices, or defense service offices commanded by

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called ...

(JAGC) officers..

U.S. Coast Guard

The

also uses the same naval rank system for its commissioned officers as the U.S. Navy, with a Coast Guard captain ranking above a

and below rear admiral (lower half). The sleeve and shoulder board insignia are similar to the Navy insignia, with a lighter shade of blue with a gold USCG shield above the stripes. Coast Guard captains follow career paths very similar to their Navy counterparts, with marine safety, security, and boat forces officers serving as Captain of the Port in command of Coast Guard Sectors, seagoing officers typically commanding large maritime security cutters or high endurance cutters and aviators commanding Coast Guard air stations. Coast Guard captains will also command all types of major Coast Guard shore installations and activities, as well as serve as chiefs of staff / executive assistants, senior operations officers, and other senior staff officers for Coast Guard flag officers. The Coast Guard has no staff corps officers. Like the U.S. Navy, all commanding officers of commissioned cutters (e.g., USCGC or "United States Coast Guard Cutter") are addressed as "captain" regardless of their actual rank.

U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and NOAA Corps

In the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), captains are senior

non-combatant Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligere ...

officers that serve as directors or ranking supervisors in their respective uniformed services. Seagoing NOAA Corps captains command certain

(NOAA) ships, while NOAA Corps aviators command NOAA flight operations activities. USPHS rapid-deployment force teams, containing 105 USPHS physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals, are commanded exclusively by USPHS Commissioned Corps captains.

U.S. Maritime Service

Although it exists largely as a maritime training organization, the

United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the ...

also uses the rank of captain. Even though the Maritime Service is an auxiliary service, the grade is appointed by the President via the

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

, making it a federally recognized rank with corresponding paygrade of O-6.

References

DA Pamphlet 600–3, Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management
{{US officer ranks Military ranks of the United States Coast Guard Military ranks of the United States Navy