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, mu ...

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, is the federal uniformed service of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and one of the ...

(USPHS), and

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ ...

(NOAA Corps), captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

(i.e., admirals). 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 o ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

. Reflecting its nautical heritage, the term '' captain'' 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 conditio ...

(NOAA) ship of

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

size or greater. Officers below O-6 who command

aviation squadron A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependin ...

s (typically O-5 commanders) 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 In the United States Armed Forces, a line officer or officer of the line is a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer or warrant officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as o ...

) 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 bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

created the rank of

. The modern rank of captain (abbreviated CAPT) is a senior officer rank, with the

pay grade A pay grade is a unit in systems of monetary compensation for employment. It is commonly used in public service, both civil and military, but also for companies of the private sector. Pay grades facilitate the employment process by providing a fix ...

of O-6. It ranks above commander and below

rear admiral (lower half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...

. It is equivalent to the rank of

in the other

uniformed services Uniformed services is an abstract term that are generally bodies of people in employment of a state who wear a distinct uniform that differentiates them from the public and private sector. Their purpose is to maintain the peace, security, safety, ...

. 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 of ...

(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 Astronaut and

Naval Flight Officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

Astronaut,

unrestricted line officer An unrestricted line officer (shortened to URL officer) is a designator given to a commissioned officer of the line in the United States Navy, who is eligible for command at sea of the navy's warfighting combatant units such as warships, submar ...

captains in the Navy will have successfully completed at least one commanding officer assignment at the commander (O-5) level, typically a destroyer or frigate 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 ...

or ballistic missile submarine 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 The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surf ...

community generally command ships of cruiser size or larger. The larger the ship, the more senior the commanding officer. Others may hold command as

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

s of destroyer squadrons (DESRON) consisting of multiple destroyers and frigates. 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 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-based ...

, 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 inc ...

s who are commanding officers of aircraft carriers, commanding officers of large-deck air-capable amphibious assault ships, commanders of

carrier air wing A carrier air wing (abbreviated CVW) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Organized, equipped and trained to conduct mo ...

s (CAG), or

s 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 (

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

). In the Naval Special Warfare "Sea Air Land" (

SEAL Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

) community, captains with sea commands are typically

s 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, 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 A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.line officer In the United States Armed Forces, a line officer or officer of the line is a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer or warrant officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as o ...

s may also fill senior command and staff positions ashore as Chiefs of Staff/Executive Assistants or senior operations officers to

s, 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, an ...

s, the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), or the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. 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 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 medica ...

(MC), Dental Corps (DC), Medical Service Corps (MSC), or Nurse Corps (NC) officers; supply centers by Supply Corps (SC) officers; Construction Battalions or civil engineering centers by

Civil Engineer Corps The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsibl ...

(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 jud ...

(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 commander and below

. 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 cutter The designation of high endurance cutter (WHEC) was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompass the largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as gu ...

s 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

(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 belliger ...

officers that serve as directors or ranking supervisors in their respective

. 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