Captain (armed forces)

The army rank ofcaptain(from the Frenchcapitaine) is acommissioned officerrank historically corresponding to the command of acompanyof soldiers. The rank is also used by someair forcesandmarine forces,but usually refers to a more senior officer. Today, a captain is typically either the commander orsecond-in-commandof a company orartillery battery(orUnited States Army cavalry trooporCommonwealth squadron). In theChinese People's Liberation Army,a captain may also command acompany,or be the second-in-command of abattalion.

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 thenaval rank of captain,or with the UK-influenced air force rank ofgroup captain,both of which are equivalent to the army rank ofcolonel.

History

The term ultimately goes back toLate Latincapitaneusmeaning "head of [something]"; inMiddle Englishadopted ascapitaynin the 14th century, fromOld Frenchcapitaine.

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 aman-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 theFrench Revolution,during theearly 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 hislieutenant.The funding to provide for the troops did not come from the monarch or their government; the captain responsible for feeding, housing, and provisioning their company. If he was unable to support the company, or was otherwise court-martialed, he would be dismissed ( "cashiered"), and the monarch would sell his commission to 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 theUnited States Air Force,use a rank structure and insignia similar to those of the army.

However, theUnited Kingdom'sRoyal Air Force,many otherCommonwealthair forces and a few non-Commonwealth air forces^[1]use an air force-specific rank structure in whichflight lieutenantis OF-2. Agroup captainis derived from the naval rank of captain.

Canada is a unique exception. Due to the unification of theCanadian Armed Forcesin 1968, theair forcerank titles are the same as those of the Canadian Army. However, like their Commonwealth counterparts, rank braids are pearl grey and increase in half strip increments. The decision was taken not to restore the historic rank titles for the RCAF due to it being deemed 'too confusing'.^[2]