Captain
This article concerns the rank and title of Captain. Please see Captain (disambiguation) for other meanings Captain is both a
nautical term and a
rank in various uniformed organizations. The word came to English via
French from the
Latin capitaneus ("chief") which is itself derived from the Latin word
caput ("head").
The term has different meanings both at sea and in the
military. Confusion between the different types of captain (nautical, naval and army) often exists in literature, drama and real life. The customs indicated are necessary to avoid confusion at sea when the question of "Who is in charge of the ship?" may be a matter of life and death.
Captain is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge of a
ship at sea, but on most legal documents in the merchant shipping industry, he or she is correctly referred to as the ship's Master. A nautical "captain" may be a
civilian or a naval
commissioned officer of any rank.
Captain is also the name most often given to the naval rank (equivalent to
NATO rank code OF-5) of a
commissioned officer between
commander (OF-4) and
commodore or
rear admiral (OF-6). The
Polish Navy is, however, a notable exception, with "commander" being OF-5. By nautical custom, naval officers below the rank of captain who command a ship are addressed as "captain" while aboard that ship. A naval captain traveling aboard a vessel he does not command is never referred to by rank to avoid confusion with the nautical captain, who remains in charge of the entire ship (including the passengers who outrank the nautical captain).
Captains with field naval 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, many captains are either retired or have desk jobs.
Army and Marines
In
armies and
marines,
captain is the rank (equivalent of NATO rank code OF-2) of a
commissioned officer that is a rank above a
lieutenant and below a
major. The military rank of captain is ranked three steps lower than a naval captain, and has no special authority with respect to a ship; an army or marine captain is just another passenger or crew member while on board. In
Germany, the rank is
hauptmann.
Prior to the professionalization of the armed services of European nations subsequent to the
French revolution, a captain was a nobleman who purchased the right to head a company from the previous holder of that right. He would in turn receive money from another nobleman to serve as his lieutenant. The funding to provide for the troops came from the monarch or his government; the captain had to be responsible for it. If he was not, or was otherwise court-martialed, he would be dismissed ("cashiered"), and the monarch would receive money from another nobleman to command the company. Otherwise, the only pension for the captain was selling the right to another nobleman when he was ready to retire.
Captains in the United States Army and Marine Corps generally command and control
company-sized units (62 to 190 Soldiers), together with a principal Non Commissioned Officer assistant. They instruct at service schools and combat training centers and are often staff officers at the
battalion level. In
medical units, captain is the entry-level rank for
doctors. In
Judge Advocate General units, captain is the entry-level rank for
lawyers who already have their
academic degree and are members of a
Bar.
Captains in the United States Marine Corps are sometimes referred to as "skipper" in informal situations. This term for a captain is most often used by very senior staff
non-commissioned officers.
Air Force
Due to most
air forces being the junior service in most countries, it has adopted ranks from one of the other services. Many, such as the
United States Air Force, use a rank structure and insignia similar to those of the army, while the
United Kingdom's
Royal Air Force and the air forces of many
Commonwealth countries use a unique rank structure, loosely based on the naval one, in which a
group captain is equivalent to the naval rank of captain. In the unified system of the
Canadian Forces, however, the
air force rank titles are identical to that of the Army, while the rank insignia is common to Army, Navy, and Air Force; thus, an air force or army captain wears two silver stripes on sleeve or epaulet (the same as a naval
lieutenant), while the modern equivalent of the British group captain bears the rank and insignia of
colonel, i.e. four gold stripes on sleeve or epaulet (same as a naval captain).
Captan ranks by country
*
Captain (
United States)
*
Captain (
United Kingdom)
Equivalent Captain ranks
*
Taewi (
South Korea)
*
Hauptmann (
Germany)
*
Hauptsturmfuhrer (
Nazi Germany)
In most U.S. police departments, the rank of captain is immediately above
lieutenant. A captain is often the officer in charge of a
precinct. In the
New York City Police Department, the rank of captain is below deputy
inspector.
In the United Kingdom, the approximate equivalent rank is
chief inspector.
In most U.S.
fire services, a captain ranks above a
lieutenant and below a
battalion chief. This varies, though, between departments – in Los Angeles County, for example,
engineer is the next lowest rank below captain.
Generally, a fire department captain is in charge of a specific fire station. In paid departments, as opposed to volunteer departments, there is a captain for each shift at each station. In these cases, the senior captain is responsible for the station overall. The head of the training division is often a captain, or there may be multiple captains reporting to a battalion chief of training. Additionally, captains may be assigned over other areas, such as
Hazmat response or
EMS.
Captain is approximately equivalent to the rank of
station officer in the
United Kingdom and some other
Commonwealth countries.
In the
Australian
New South Wales Rural Fire Service and
Country Fire Authority, the rank of captain indicates the head of a brigade.
In the
New Zealand Fire Service in the early 1980's, a captain was in charge of a station. The NZFS has now moved to
senior station officer and station officer as station management ranks. The person in charge of a fire brigade is the
chief fire officer, and captain is no longer used.
In commercial aviation, a
pilot in command of an
aircraft is often referred to as a "captain". This practice began with the flying boats of the 1930s and quickly spread to most of the airline industry. Most
airline captains wear uniforms with four bars on the sleeve and shoulderboard (imitating the rank insignia in both the U.S. and Royal Navies), although this varies between company. Traditionally, they sit in the left hand seat of a
fixed-wing aircraft, and on the right in a
helicopter.
See also: military rank and
comparative military ranksA variety of images illustrative of different forces' insignia for captain (or captain-equivalents) are shown below:
Image:Grade-capt-vaisseau.jpg|Insignia of a French Naval CaptainImage:BwHauptmann.png|Hauptmann insignia of German ArmyImage:IE-Army-OF2.png|Captain (Captaen) insignia of the Irish ArmyImage:Pagon komandor m.png|Insignia of a Polish ComandorImage:PL_rank_merchant_marine_d4kb.svg|Insignia of a Polish Merchant Marine CaptainImage:UK-Navy-OF5.svg|Captain insignia of Royal NavyImage:UK-Army-OF2.gif|Captain insignia of the British Army (the Royal Marines insignia is similar, but not identical)Image:UK-Air-OF5.svg|Group Captain insignia of Royal Air ForceImage:Captain_insignia.gif|Insignia of a U.S. Navy CaptainImage:Captain_insignia.png|Captain insignia of US Army and Air ForceImage:USMC CAPTAIN.jpg|Captain insignia of US Marine Corps*
List of sea captains*
Military unit*
Maritime colleges in the United States*
United States military academies*
Hawsepiper*
Estonian Navy Ranks
