Captain

Captain insignia
File:US o-3 rank pin.png
US Marine Corps/US Army/US Air Force
File:SS patch captain.png
German SS
File:Ent capt.png
Earth Starfleet
File:Altcptrank.png
Starfleet, 2250s (Alternate reality)
File:WNMHGB capt.png
Starfleet, Early 2260s
File:Tos capt.png
Starfleet, 2266 - 2270s
File:Mov capt.png
Starfleet, 2280s until early 24th century
File:Tng capt.png
Starfleet, 2350s-present
File:29th capt.png
Starfleet, 29th century
File:Mirror capt.png
Terran Starfleet, 22nd century (mirror universe)
File:Mirror capt-vest.png
Terran Starfleet, 2260s (mirror universe)

Captain is a military rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. The title of captain is often used by vessel commanders and, as a naval rank, in many Earth navies and Starfleet, is above commander. As an infantry rank, captains rank subordinate to a major and above a first lieutenant.

Earth history

On Earth, the title of captain was used as far back as the Middle Ages, where a captain was a nobleman commissioned to command a company of soldiers. One of the characters of William Shakespeare's play Henry V was quoted as saying "Under what captain serve you?" when approached on guard duty. (TNG: "The Defector")

By the 20th century, the rank of captain was common in Earth militaries and was used by all branches of service in the United States armed forces. The rank of captain was represented by a double rectangular silver bar uniform insignia for ground units and the equivalent of a colonel's eagle for naval captains. In 2364, the Q-entity took the form of a US Marine Corps captain when confronting Captain Picard. In this disguise, Q was quoted as stating "All it takes is a few good men." (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")

The rank of captain was also used by World War II Germany. In the German army, the rank was translated as Hauptmann (headman), but in the SS, company captains were referred to as Hauptsturmführer ("head storm leader"). The collar insignia for this was a black square bordered with white, with three silver pips in a diagonal line, with two stripes underneath.

In a holodeck simulation of a Nazi campaign in France, a group of Hirogen pitted the crew of USS Voyager against holographic 1940s Germans. A US Army captain named Miller was the role assigned to Chakotay in the program; an SS Hauptsturmführer captain was another character in the simulation. (VOY: "The Killing Game", "The Killing Game, Part II")

The Nazi captain in "The Killing Game" was played by J. Paul Boehmer. He was billed as the SS Kapitän, although his rank insignia was that of a Hauptsturmführer. In ENT: "Storm Front", Boehmer wore the same uniform, but with Untersturmführer insignia, this time credited as "SS Agent".

Starfleet captains

By the mid 22nd century, captain was a senior line officer rank of most space services and usually given to the commanding officers of starships. This naval rank is equivalent to the infantry rank of colonel, the Romulan Star Empire's commander grade, the Cardassian Union's title of gul and the Ferengi Alliance's quasi-military DaiMon title.

On starships, the term captain is also often used as a synonym to commanding officer. Proper naval parlance says that, even if a vessel is commanded by an officer whose rank is lower than captain, that officer is still able to be referred to as a captain while on the deck of their own vessel, no matter their literal commissioned rank.

Captains of starships, often located hundreds of light years away from and out of communications with higher authority, must be able to function autonomously and make independent command decisions affecting Federation policy and countless lives. Accordingly, few Starfleet officers ever gain the captaincy of a starship, the result of decades of sustained excellence as a Starfleet leader.

A senior captain given a large degree of responsibility or administrative assignment is sometimes given the title of fleet captain.

The rank of captain may also be held by non-command personnel, especially on ships with a number of veteran and senior officers whose experience has warranted advancement to the rank of captain but without command of a starship. Such was the case on the USS Enterprise-A, where the senior staff consisted of no less than three captains: the commanding officer (James T. Kirk), the first officer (Spock), and the chief engineer (Montgomery Scott). (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) Captain Scott had previously held his rank of captain while chief engineer of the USS Excelsior, where he was known as the "captain of engineering". (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

Although Scotty was given the title "captain of engineering," he is still wearing commander's insignia in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He is seen wearing both captain's and commander's insignia in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, possibly indicating, though never mentioned on-screen, that Scotty was either frocked or promoted to the rank of captain, despite his taking part in the hijacking of the Enterprise.

The rank of captain may also be held by staff officers, such as those assigned to as a Judge Advocate General sector officer. Such was the case with Phillipa Louvois, who was a sector JAG officer in 2365. (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man") Reaching the rank of captain in other non-command branches of Starfleet is generally considered difficult, as noticed by one security officer, who once remarked "You don't make captain by wearing a gold shirt". (DS9: "The Adversary") However, the rank is apparently obtainable in both the sciences and operations division, as the rank was held by Captain Krasnovsky in 2267, although he may have held command qualification while also being a science officer, and Vice Admiral Toddman presumably held the rank sometime before 2371. (TOS: "Court Martial"; DS9: "The Die is Cast")

Krasnovsky is the only character in Star Trek to be seen wearing a sciences uniform while holding the rank of captain. Jadzia Dax and Spock have held the title of captain in a sciences uniform, but not the actual rank. Leonard McCoy also presumably once held the rank, since he was an admiral in 2364, but wasn't seen in an uniform. In the real United States Navy, medical captains are very common as senior doctors in charge of Navy hospitals. The Surgeon-General of the U.S. Navy is a Vice Admiral.

Other versions of captain

Captain is a title typically held by commanders of merchant vessels and sometimes service craft. In 2367, Wesley Crusher remarked in a bemused manner that Dirgo was claiming to hold the rank of captain while serving as the master of the mining shuttle Nenebek. To this, Dirgo sternly told Crusher that yes, indeed, his rank was that of captain in comparison to Crusher's rank of ensign. (TNG: "Final Mission")

The title of captain was also given to the leader of a sports team. Julian Bashir was the captain of the Starfleet Medical Academy racquetball team. (DS9: "Rivals")

Template:SFpostrank

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.

Appendices

Related topics

• List of Starfleet captains

Background

The Bajoran Militia, which also used army rank names, has been referred to by the Star Trek Encyclopedia as having a captain grade, with an insignia seen in episodes on officers subordinate to Major Kira Nerys, although they were never referred to by any specific rank in canon productions or materials.

External link

• Captain at Wikipedia