Changes: Captain

Revision as of 17:49, 5 November 2015

AT: "xx"

"Part of being a captain is knowing when to smile, make the troops happy even when it's the last thing in the world you want to do. Because they're your troops and you have to take care of them."

– Benjamin Sisko, 2372 ("Rules of Engagement")

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

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." Q also appeared as a 16th century sea captain to the crew. (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 was also often used as a synonym to commanding officer. Proper naval parlance said that, even if a vessel was commanded by an officer whose rank was lower than captain, that officer was 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, needed to be able to function autonomously and make independent command decisions affecting Federation policy and countless lives. Accordingly, few Starfleet officers ever gained 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 was sometimes given the title of fleet captain.

The rank of captain could also be held by non-command personnel, especially on ships with a number of veteran and senior officers whose experience had 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 was still wearing commander's insignia in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He was 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 could 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 was 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 was 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 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 a uniform. In the real-world United States Navy, medical captains are very common as senior doctors in charge of Navy hospitals. The Surgeon General of the United States Navy is a vice admiral, for example (as is the Surgeon General of the United States).

Some noted captains in Starfleet history were:

Captain Jonathan Archer of Enterprise NX-01
Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise
Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise and USS Enterprise-A
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E
Captain Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space 9 and the USS Defiant
Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager

The Starfleet of the alternate reality established in 2233 by the temporal incursion of the Romulan Nero had the following noteworthy captains:

Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise
Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise

Captains

Alternate reality captains

Other versions of captain

Captain was 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")

**Ranks**
	Enlisted personnel							Commissioned officers							Flag officers
Fleet:	CRM		PO		CPO		MID CDT OC WO	ENS	LT JG	LT	LT CMDR	CMDR	CAPT	FCAPT	CDORE	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM
Military:	PVT AMN	CPL LCP		SGT	SSGT	MSGT 1SGT	MID CDT OC WO	2nd LT	1st LT	CAPT	MAJ	LT COL	COL		BRIG	MAJ GEN	LT GEN	GEN	MARSHAL
Services:	Andorian • Bajoran • Cardassian • Ferengi • Human (CSA • Third Reich • UE MACO • USA) • Jem'Hadar • Klingon • Romulan • United Earth/Federation Starfleet • Vulcan Mirror universe: Terran Empire Starfleet • Terran Empire MACO

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

Background information

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

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 |imagecap6 = Starfleet, [[2260s]]
 |image7    = Tos capt.png
-|imagecap7 = [[Starfleet]], [[2260s|Mid 2260s]] - [[2270s|Mid 2270s]]
+|imagecap7 = Starfleet, [[2260s|Mid 2260s]] - [[2270s|Mid 2270s]]
 |image8    = Mov capt.png
 |imagecap8 = Starfleet, [[2270s|Late 2270s]] - [[2350s]]
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 |imagecap  = [[Terran Starfleet]], [[22nd century]]<br/>([[mirror universe]])
 |image2    = Mirror capt-vest.png
-|imagecap2 = [[Terran Starfleet]], [[2260s]] ([[mirror universe]])
+|imagecap2 = Terran Starfleet, [[2260s]] ([[mirror universe]])
 |image3    = Altcptrank.png
-|imagecap3 = [[Starfleet]], [[2250s]] ([[alternate reality]])
+|imagecap3 = Starfleet, [[2250s]] ([[alternate reality]])
 |image4    = A.I. Starfleet CAPT.png
 |imagecap4 = Starfleet, [[2370]] ([[alternate timeline]])
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 |imagecap5 = Starfleet, [[29th century]]
 }}
+{{aquote|Part of being a captain is knowing when to smile, make the troops happy even when it's the last thing in the world you want to do. Because they're your troops and you have to take care of them.|[[Benjamin Sisko]]|2372|Rules of Engagement}}
-'''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 [[navy|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]].
+'''Captain''' is a military [[rank]], the equivalent of which was used by the service organizations of many civilizations. The title of captain was often used by vessel commanders and, as a [[navy|naval]] rank, in many Earth navies and [[Starfleet]], was above [[commander]]. As an infantry rank, captains ranked subordinate to a [[major]] and above a [[first lieutenant]]. The abbreviation for captain was capt.
 == 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 [[Jean-Luc Picard|Picard]]. In this disguise, Q was quoted as stating "''All it takes is a few good men''." ({{TNG|Encounter at Farpoint}})
+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 [[Jean-Luc Picard|Picard]]. In this disguise, Q was quoted as stating "''All it takes is a few good men''." Q also appeared as a [[16th century]] [[sea]] captain to the crew. ({{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 [[pip]]s in a diagonal line, with two stripes underneath.
@@ Line 49: / Line 51: @@
 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 [[titles and occupations|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.
+On starships, the term captain was also often used as a synonym to commanding officer. Proper naval parlance said that, even if a vessel was commanded by an officer whose rank was lower than captain, that officer was 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 year]]s away from and out of communications with higher authority, needed to be able to function autonomously and make independent command decisions affecting [[Federation]] policy and countless lives. Accordingly, few Starfleet officers ever gained 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 was sometimes given the title of [[fleet captain]].
+The rank of captain could also be held by non-command personnel, especially on ships with a number of veteran and senior officers whose experience had warranted advancement to the rank of captain but without command of a starship.  Such was the case on the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-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]]). ({{film|6}}) 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". ({{film|3}})
+{{bginfo|Although Scotty was given the title "captain of engineering," he was still wearing commander's insignia in ''Star Trek III: The Search for Spock''. He was seen wearing both captain's and commander's insignia in {{film|4}}, 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 could 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 was generally considered difficult, as noticed by one [[Michael Eddington|security officer]], who once remarked "''You don't make captain by wearing a gold shirt''". ({{DS9|The Adversary}}) However, the rank was apparently obtainable in both the [[science division|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}})
-Captains of starships, often located hundreds of [[light year]]s 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.
+{{bginfo|Krasnovsky is the only character in ''Star Trek'' to be seen wearing a sciences uniform while holding the rank of captain. [[Jadzia Dax]] and {{alt|Spock}} 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 a uniform. In the real-world {{w|United States Navy}}, medical captains are very common as senior doctors in charge of Navy hospitals. The {{w|Surgeon General of the United States Navy}} is a vice admiral, for example (as is the {{w|Surgeon General of the United States}}).}}
-A senior captain given a large degree of responsibility or administrative assignment is sometimes given the title of [[fleet captain]].
+Some noted captains in Starfleet [[history]] were:
-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|NCC-1701-A|-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]]). ({{film|6}}) 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". ({{film|3}})
+* Captain [[Jonathan Archer]] of {{EnterpriseNX}}
-{{bginfo|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 {{film|4}}, 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.}}
+* Captain [[Christopher Pike]] of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}
+* Captain [[James T. Kirk]] of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} and {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}}
+* Captain [[Jean-Luc Picard]] of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} and the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-E|-E}}
+* Captain [[Benjamin Sisko]] of [[Deep Space 9]] and the {{USS|Defiant|2370}}
+* Captain [[Kathryn Janeway]] of the {{USS|Voyager}}
+The Starfleet of the [[alternate reality]] established in [[2233]] by the temporal incursion of the [[Romulan]] [[Nero]] had the following noteworthy captains:
-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 [[Michael Eddington|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 [[science division|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}})
+* Captain {{alt|Christopher Pike}} of the {{USS|Enterprise|alternate reality}}
+* Captain {{alt|James T. Kirk}} of the {{USS|Enterprise|alternate reality}}
+<gallery caption="Captains">
-{{bginfo|Krasnovsky is the only character in ''Star Trek'' to be seen wearing a sciences uniform while holding the rank of captain. [[Jadzia Dax]] and {{alt|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.}}
+File:Jonathan Archer, 2155.jpg|Captain Jonathan Archer
+File:Christopher Pike, The Cage.jpg|Captain Christopher Pike
+File:James Kirk, 2266.jpg|Captain James T. Kirk
+File:Jean Luc Picard 2364.jpg|Captain Jean-Luc Picard
+File:Benjamin Sisko, 2375.jpg|Captain Benjamin Sisko
+File:Kathryn Janeway, 2377.jpg|Captain Kathryn Janeway
+</gallery>
+<br />
+<gallery caption="Alternate reality captains">
+File:Christopher Pike, 2258.jpg|Captain Christopher Pike
+File:James T. Kirk, alternate reality.jpg|Captain James T. Kirk
+</gallery>
 == 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}})
+Captain was 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 [[sport]]s team.  [[Julian Bashir]] was the captain of the [[Starfleet Medical Academy]] [[racquetball]] team. ({{DS9|Rivals}})
@@ Line 80: / Line 109: @@
 * {{wikipedia}}
+[[bg:Капитан]]
+[[sr:Kapetan]]
 [[pt-br:Capitão]]
 [[eo:Kapitano]]
@@ Line 87: / Line 118: @@
 [[fr:Capitaine]]
 [[it:Capitano]]
-[[ja:大尉]]
+[[ja:大佐]]
 [[nl:Captain]]
 [[pl:Kapitan]]