Captain is a rank or title with various meanings. 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 in nautical, army, aviation, police and emergency services and sporting circles. This often causes confusion.

Nautical

Main article: Captain (nautical)

Captain is the traditional customary title for and form of address given to the person in charge of a vessel at sea regardless of military rank. 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. See Master Mariner or skipper (boating).

This usage originated in the Royal Navy in the 1300s. At that time, "Captain" referred to the commander of the contingent of soldiers boarded upon a ship. However, the actual sailing and maintenance of the ship was in the hands of the "Master" and (what became) the other warrant officers--using the same terminology as that used on a merchant ship of the period.^[1]

Military

Common Military Ranks
Navies (English-speaking world)	Armies and some Air Forces	Air Forces (Commonwealth)
Admiral of the Fleet	Field Marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air Chief Marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air Commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group Captain
Commander	Lieutenant Colonel	Wing Commander
Lieutenant Commander	Major	Squadron Leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer
Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading Rate	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Main articles: Captain (naval) and Captain (OF-2)

In military circles, the rank of Captain has two different meanings:

• a naval rank with a NATO rank code of OF-5.
• an army, air force or marine rank with a NATO rank code of OF-2.

Captain, as an army rank, has existed since as early as the Roman Empire, and perhaps even before. Translated as "Head Man", a Captain was most often in charge of a company or column of soldiers.

In the Middle Ages, the independent mercenary companies (or condottieri) developed a rank structure that typically had a captain (who commanded the company), a small number of lieutenants, and a larger number of sergeants. This basic structure was later taken over by national armies when they became professionalized during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Police and fire

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. Unlike the military version, where the rank of Captain may be held by junior officers with 4-6 years of service, Police and Fire Captains are usually veterans with extensive experience. In the United Kingdom, the approximate equivalent rank of a Police Captain is that of 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 the Los Angeles County Fire Department, for example, engineer is the next lowest rank below captain. A 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 hazardous material (Hazmat) response or Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Captain is also the 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 1980s, 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.

Civil aviation

In commercial aviation, a pilot in command who is required to hold an airline transport pilot certificate and is in command of a large aircraft operated by an air carrier is referred to as a "captain" (although sometimes as "commander"). The practice began with Pan American Airways in the 1930s. Juan Trippe, Pan Am's president, correlated the responsibility and authority of his flying boat commanders with that of a maritime merchant ship's captain. The practice quickly spread to most of the airline industry and continues to the modern day. Nautical terms are ubiquitous in aviation, not the least among them are nautical style ranks and forms of address. Most airline captains wear uniforms with four stripes (or bars) on the sleeve and shoulderboard (emulating the rank insignia of both the U.S. and Royal Navies), although this practice varies among companies. Traditionally, pilots-in-command sit in the left hand seat of a fixed-wing aircraft and the right-hand seat of a helicopter. Letitia Baldrige, an American expert on protocol and etiquette says that, like merchant ship captains, airline captains should be addressed both professionally and socially by his or her rank, as in "Captain Edward Musik." Following a tradition established in the maritime service, where only captains and ship's physicians are addressed by their rank, in commercial aviation too, only the captain is properly addressed by his or her rank. All other officers are addressed as "Mr" or "Ms."

Civilian Uses

Within the Mafia, a Captain is a high-ranking member in charge of a crew. Usually known as Caporegime (often shortened to capo).

Team Sports

Main article: Captain (sports)

A captain is part of the leadership team in many team sports.

See also

• List of sea captains
• Military unit
• United States military academies
• Hawsepiper and Mustang

References