Captain (armed forces)
Comparative military ranks in English | ||
|---|---|---|
| Navies | Armies | Air forces |
Commissioned officers | ||
| Admiral of the fleet | Field marshal or General of the Army | Marshal of the air force |
| Admiral | General | Air chief marshal |
| Vice admiral | Lieutenant general | Air marshal |
| Rear admiral | Major general | Air vice-marshal |
| Commodore | Brigadier or brigadier general | Air commodore |
| Captain | Colonel | Group captain |
| Commander | Lieutenant colonel | Wing commander |
| Lieutenant commander | Major or Commandant | Squadron leader |
| Lieutenant | Captain | Flight lieutenant |
Lieutenant junior grade or sub-lieutenant | Lieutenant or first lieutenant | Flying officer |
Ensign or midshipman | Second lieutenant | Pilot officer |
| Officer cadet | Officer cadet | Flight cadet |
Enlisted grades | ||
Warrant officer or chief petty officer | Warrant officer or sergeant major | Warrant officer |
| Petty officer | Sergeant | Sergeant |
| Leading seaman | Corporal or bombardier | Corporal |
| Seaman | Private or gunner or trooper | Aircraftman or airman |
Talk·View | ||
The army rank of captain (from the French capitaine) is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today, a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery (or United States Army cavalry troop or Commonwealth squadron). In the Chinese People's Liberation Army, a captain may also command a company, or be the second-in-command of a battalion.
In NATO countries, the rank of captain is described by the code OF-2 and is one rank above an OF-1 (lieutenant or first lieutenant) and one below an OF-3 (major or commandant). The rank of captain is generally considered to be the highest rank a soldier can achieve while remaining in the field.
In some militaries, such as United States Army and Air Force and the British Army, captain is the entry-level rank for officer candidates possessing a professional degree, namely, most medical professionals (doctors, pharmacists, dentists) and lawyers. In the U.S.. Army, lawyers who are not already officers at captain rank or above enter as lieutenants during training, and are promoted to the rank of captain after completion of their training if they are in the active component, or after a certain amount of time, usually one year from their date of commission as a lieutenant, for the reserve components.
The rank of captain should not be confused with the naval rank of captain or with the UK-influenced air force rank of group captain, both of which are equivalent to the army rank of colonel.
Contents
1 History
2 Air forces
3 Equivalent captain ranks
4 Insignia
4.1 Historical
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
History
The term ultimately goes back to Late Latin capitaneus meaning "chief, prominent"; in Middle English adopted as capitayn in the 14th century, from Old French capitaine.
The military rank of captain was in use from the 1560s, referring to an officer who commands a company. The naval sense, an officer who commands a man-of-war, is somewhat earlier, from the 1550s, later extended in meaning to "master or commander of any kind of vessel".
A captain in the period prior to the professionalization of the armed services of European nations subsequent to the French Revolution, during the early modern period, 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.
Air forces
Many air forces, such as the United States Air Force, use a rank structure and insignia similar to those of the army.
However, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, many other Commonwealth air forces and a few non-Commonwealth air forces[1] use an air force-specific rank structure in which flight lieutenant is OF-2. A group captain is OF-5 and was derived from the naval rank of captain.
In the unified system of the Canadian Forces, the air force rank titles are pearl grey and increase from OF-1 to OF-5 in half strip increments.[2]
Equivalent captain ranks
| Rank name | Country name |
|---|---|
| Kapitani | Georgia |
| Akhmad | Mongolia |
| Capitaine | Belgium (Fr.) |
| Capitaine | France |
| Capitano | Italy |
| Capitán | Spain |
| Capitão | Brazil |
| Capitão | Portugal |
| Căpitan | Romania |
| Hauptmann | Austria |
| Germany | |
| Switzerland | |
| Hauptsturmführer | Waffen-SS |
Jeg-tooran (جګتورن) | Afghanistan |
| "Kapitán", Capitán, Captain | Philippines |
| Kapetan (Капетан) | Bosnia, Serbia |
| Kapitan | Russia |
| Kapitan | Ukraine |
| Kapitan | Poland |
| Kapitan | Azerbaijan |
| Kapitan (Капитан) | Bulgaria |
| Kapitan (Капитан) | Russia |
| Kapitan (Капітан) | Ukraine |
| Kapitein | Netherlands |
| Kapitein | Belgium (NL.) |
| Kapteinis | Latvia |
| Kapitonas | Lithuania |
| Kapitán | Czech Rep. |
| Kapitán | Slovakia |
| Kaptajn | Denmark |
| Kaptan (کپتان) | Pakistan |
| Kapteeni | Finland |
| Kaptein | Norway |
| Kapten | Indonesia |
| Kapten | Sweden |
Lochagos (Λοχαγός) | Greece |
Bo Gyi (ဗိုလ်ကြီး) | Myanmar |
Phu Kong (ผู้กอง) | Thailand |
Roi Ek (ร้อยเอก) | Thailand |
| Satnik | Croatia |
| Stotnik | Slovenia |
Seren (סרן) | Israel |
Shangwei (上尉), | China |
Shangwei (上尉), | Taiwan |
| Százados | Hungary |
Taewi (대위) | South Korea |
Taii (大尉), Ichii (一尉) | Japan |
| Yüzbaşı | Turkey |
| Đại Úy | Vietnam |
| Капетан (Kapetan) | Macedonia |
Insignia
A variety of images illustrative of different forces' insignia for captain (or captain-equivalents) are shown below:
Argentine Army
(Capitán)
Australian Army
Bangladesh Army
Belgian Land Component
Brazilian Army
(Capitão)
Brazilian Air Force
(Capitão)
Brazilian Military Police
(Capitão)
British Army/Royal Marines
Canadian Army
Colombian Army
Chinese army
Kapitán
Czech Republic Army
Egyptian Army
Kapteeni
Finnish Defence Force
Capitaine
French Army
Capitaine des Eaux et Forêts
French Forests Office
კაპიტანი (kapitani) Georgian Army
Hauptmann
German Army
Lochagos
Hellenic Army
Százados
Hungarian Defence Force
Indian Army
Kapten
Indonesian Army
Kapten
Indonesian Navy and Indonesian Marine Corps
Kapten
Indonesian Air Force
Captaen
Irish Army
Seren
Israel Defense Forces
Seren
Israel Air Force
Seren
Israeli Navy
Capitano
Italian Army
Kapitonas
Lithuanian Land Force
Капетан (Kapetan)
Macedonian Army
Capitán
Mexican Army
대위 (Daewi)
North Korean army
Kapitein
Royal Netherlands Army
Kaptan
Pakistan Army
Capitán (Spanish)
Kapitán (Tagalog)
Philippine Army
Kapitan
Polish Army
Căpitan
Romanian Armed Forces
капита́н (kapitán)
Russian army
Kaptein
South African Army
대위 (Daewi)
South Korean army
Kapten
Swedish Air Force
Kapten
Swedish Army
Hauptmann
Swiss Armed Forces
上尉 (Shàngwèi)
Taiwanese army
Roi Ek (ร้อยเอก)
Royal Thai Army
Yüzbaşı
Turkish Armed Forces
Bo Gyi
Myanmar Army
U.S. Air Force[N 1]
U.S. Army (dress, garrison)
U.S. Army (field, combat)
U.S. Army (field, combat)
U.S. Marine Corps[3] (dress, garrison)
U.S. Marine Corps[3] (field, combat)
Historical
Hauptmann
German Army (1935 to 1945)
Hauptmann
German Waffen-SS (1935 to 1945)
Kaptein
South African Defence Force
капита́н (kapitán)
Soviet Army
U.S. Army (September 1959 to October 2015)[4]
U.S. Army (1861 to 1865)
C.S. Army (1861 to 1865)
See also
- Captain (United Kingdom)
- Captain (United States)
- Senior captain
- Staff captain
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
^ Non-Commonwealth air forces using an air force-specific rank structure include the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman, Royal Thai Air Force and the Air Force of Zimbabwe.
^ Force, Government of Canada, National Defence, Royal Canadian Air. "Article - Royal Canadian Air Force - Backgrounder - New insignia for the Royal Canadian Air Force". www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab 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.
^ Jahner, Kyle (1 October 2015). "The end of the Green Service Uniform: 1954-2015". Army Times. Military Times.
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