Captain
A US Army commissioned officer, O-3 and NATO OF-2, the classic commander of a company-sized unit.
Overview
Captain wears two silver bars and commands a company of one hundred to two hundred soldiers, the first rank with unit command in its own right rather than by exception. Captains also staff battalions as operations and logistics officers and mentor lieutenants daily. The title descends from Latin caput, head, via the late medieval capitaine who commanded a company of soldiers under a colonel commanding the column. Company command is the crucible of an Army career: performance there shapes selection for field grade. Promotion to major follows a central board.
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