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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 for "head" (caput).

The term has different meanings both at sea and in the military. Confusion between the three 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.

1 Nautical
2 Naval
3 Army and Marines
4 Air Force
5 Police
6 Fire
7 Civil Aviation
8 Insignia
9 See also

Nautical

Captain is the legal status of the master of a ship at sea and, on most legal documents in the merchant shipping industry, he or she is referred to as the Master. A nautical captain may be a civilian or a naval commissioned officer of any rank. As the commander of a vessel under way, a nautical captain has enormous legal powers, including the right to use deadly force to suppress piracy and mutiny. Mutiny is not simply the crime of disobeying the lawful orders of a nautical captain at sea, but rather doing so with the intent of taking over the ship. However, contrary to popular belief, a captain of a ship does not have any special legal power to conduct a marriage.

The captain of a ship at sea is in absolute command of that vessel even if higher-ranking persons are aboard. If higher-ranking persons give orders to the nautical captain, such persons are very careful to say what they want done rather than specifying how the orders are to be carried out, because even higher rank does not give them the right to interfere in how a captain runs the ship.

The traditional sleeve emblem for captains both merchant and naval is four gold stripes (often called "rings") on the lower sleeve or shoulderboard. Many navies follow the precedent of the Royal Navy and have an "executive loop" on the top or inner ring. In the Royal Navy, the stripes and rings are called Nelsons if the ring sits above the stripe, and Half Nelson if only half above the stripe.

The officer who is ranked immediately below the Captain is designated the Chief Mate, or First Officer (also Executive Officer on Naval vessels), and is responsible for implementing the orders of the Captain as well as conferring with the Captain on matters concerning the ship. This "second in command" is typically responsible (along with the senior enlisted petty officer) for maintaining minor discipline on the ship. Ranked below the Chief Mate are the Second Mate (Navigational Officer) and the Third Mate (Safety Officer).

In older times, a Captain was a nobleman given responsibility over a ship, but was not likely to have any nautical experience. The next officer of the ship would be the Ship's Master, who would carry out the executive functions of a Captain, while the Captain filled a ceremonial and legal role.

Naval

Captain is 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 navy of Poland is however, a notable exception, with Comandor being OF-5. Naval officers below the rank of Captain who are assigned to command a ship are addressed as captain while aboard that ship, by nautical custom. 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 Admiral, 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 and is just another passenger or crew member whilst on board.

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 were not, or were otherwise court-martialed, he was 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.

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, a captain's insignia consists of two silver bars. In the British Army and Royal Marines the insignia is a vertical row of three pips (sometimes called "stars"). In the Canadian Army, the insignia is two gold stripes on the sleeve or epaulet.

Captains in the United States Army and Marine Corps generally commands and controls company-sized units (62 to 190 Soldiers), together with a principal Non Commisioned Officer assistant. Instructs skills at service schools and combat training centers and is often a Staff Officer at the battalion level. In Medical units, Captain is the entry-level rank for Doctors and Registered Nurses. 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.

Note that Marine units ("ship's soldiers", often responsible for security on modern warships and at embassies, as well as their amphibious assault and expeditionary duties) use rank designations similar to that of the army for all ranks.

Captains in the United States Marine Corps are sometimes refered to as "Skipper" in informal situations. This term for a Captain is most often used by very senior Staff Non-Commissioned officers (Staff NCO's).

In Germany the rank is Hauptmann.

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 gold 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).

	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1	OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
British officer ranks
Royal Navy:	OCdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Admiral of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Field Marshal
Royal Air Force:	OCdt		PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
U.S. commissioned officer ranks
United States Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
United States Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
United States Army:	Cdt	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
United States Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
United States Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)

Police

In most U.S.police departments, the rank of Captain is a high rank, below Chief of Police and above Inspector (Commander in the San Francisco Police Department). A Captain is often the officer in charge of a precinct.

In the New York City Police Department, the rank of Captain is above Lieutenant, but below Deputy Inspector.

In the UK, the equivalent rank is Chief Inspector.

Fire

In most U.S. fire services, a captain is above a lieutenant and under a batallion chief. This varies, though, from department to department. In Los Angeles County, for example, an 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 station for each shift. In this case, 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 batallion chief of training. Additionally, captains may be assigned over other areas, such as Haz-mat or EMS.

Captain is equivalent to the rank of Station Officer in the UK.

Civil Aviation

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 basis of the rank insignia in both the US and Royal Navies) although this varies from company to 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 ranks

Insignia

A variety of images illustrative of different forces' insignia for captain are shown below:

Insignia of a French Naval Captain	Insignia of a Polish Comandor	Insignia of a U.S. Navy Captain	Group Captain insignia of Royal Air Force
Captain insignia of Royal Navy	Captain insignia of the British Army (the Royal Marines insignia is similar, but not identical)	Hauptmann insignia of German Army	Captain insignia of US Army and Air Force
Captain insignia of US Marine Corps	Captain (Captaen) insignia of the Irish Army

Estonian Navy insignias: http://www.mil.ee/index.php?menu=merevagi&sisu=mereolakud