U.S. Navy{{anchor|U.S. Navy}}
In the
United States Navy, captain was the highest rank from 1775 until 1857, when the
United States Congress created the rank of
flag officer. The modern rank of captain (abbreviated CAPT) is a senior officer rank, with the
pay grade of O-6. It ranks above
commander and below
rear admiral (lower half). It is equivalent to the rank of
colonel in the other
uniformed services. Promotion to captain is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the
Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980 or its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA). DOPMA/ROPMA guidelines suggest that no more than 50% of eligible commanders should be promoted to captain after serving a minimum of three years at their present rank and after attaining 21–23 years of cumulative commissioned service, although this percentage may be appreciably less, contingent on force structure and the needs of the service. With very few exceptions, such as
Naval Aviator Astronaut and
Naval Flight Officer Astronaut,
unrestricted line officer captains in the Navy will have successfully completed at least one commanding officer assignment at the commander (O-5) level, typically a
destroyer or
frigate for surface warfare officers, a nuclear-powered
attack submarine or
ballistic missile submarine for submarine warfare officers, a SEAL team for special warfare officers, or an aviation squadron for Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers, or a Construction Battalion or Public Works Officer for Civil Engineer Corps Officers, before being selected for promotion to captain. All those selected to the rank of captain by the U.S. Navy are confirmed by the United States Senate. Navy captains with sea commands in the
surface warfare officer community generally command ships of
cruiser size or larger; the larger the ship, the more senior the commanding officer. Others may hold command as
commodores of destroyer squadrons (DESRON) or surface squadrons (SURFRONs) consisting of multiple destroyers and frigates. Surface Warfare Officers may also command large deck amphibious warfare ships or combat support ships, or serve as commodores of amphibious squadrons (PHIBRON) or other type of surface ship squadrons. In the submarine community, a captain typically commanded a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) until the early 21st century, when the requisite rank for the position was downgraded to commander. Today, like their surface warfare counterparts, captains in the submarine community may serve as commodores of submarine squadrons (SUBRON), commanding a group of SSBNs or attack submarines (SSN). In
Naval Aviation, captains with sea commands are Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers who are commanding officers of
aircraft carriers, commanding officers of large-deck air-capable amphibious assault ships, commanders of
carrier air wings (CAG), or commodores of functional or "type" air wings or air groups. A smaller cohort outside of sea and shore commands may also serve as
astronauts on loan to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (
NASA). In the Naval Special Warfare "Sea Air Land" (
SEAL) community, captains with sea commands are typically commodores in command of Naval Special Warfare Groups (NAVSPECWARGRU). In contrast, commanders of aircraft carrier strike groups (CSG) and expeditionary strike groups (ESG) are normally
rear admirals, while subordinate destroyer squadron commodores, amphibious squadron commodores, carrier air wing commanders and the individual ship commanding officers within the strike group are of captain rank or lower. In addition, in the expeditionary strike group, the
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) commanding officer will always be a Marine Corps colonel. Adding to the confusion, all commanding officers of commissioned U.S. Navy warships and submarines (e.g., USS or "United States Ship") are called "captain" regardless of actual rank. Navy captains who are line officers may also fill senior command and staff positions ashore as Chiefs of Staff/Executive Assistants or senior operations officers to
flag officers, or they may hold shore command assignments such as commanding officers of naval bases, naval stations, naval air stations, naval air facilities, naval support activities, logistics groups, specialized centers or schools, or commanders of test wings or training air wings. They may also occupy senior leadership positions on fleet staffs, naval component commands staffs, the staffs of the joint
Unified Combatant Commands, the staff of the
Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), or the
Joint Staff. As opposed to unrestricted line captains, restricted line and staff corps captains will command facilities and organizations appropriate to their designators, such as intelligence centers commanded by intelligence officers; naval aviation depots/fleet readiness centers commanded by aeronautical engineering duty officers; naval hospitals commanded by
Medical Corps (MC),
Dental Corps (DC),
Medical Service Corps (MSC), or
Nurse Corps (NC) officers; supply centers by
Supply Corps (SC) officers; Construction Battalions or civil engineering centers by
Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) officers; or region legal service offices, trial service offices, or defense service offices commanded by
Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) officers. ==U.S. Coast Guard==