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 .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .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 .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .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 .citation .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-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.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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