Captain is a military rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. As a traditional naval grade, captain is the most senior line officer rank, usually given to starship commanders. 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
As an infantry rank in a fighting organization, captain is a lower grade, below a major and above a lieutenant. In comparison to naval ranking systems, this rank is equivalent to the naval senior lieutenant rank. This grade exists in some form in many other cultures' rank arrangements, such as the Andorian Imperial Guard circa the 2150s and also the Bajoran Militia.
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 that captain, that officer is still able to be referred to as a captain while on the deck of their own vessel, even if they are as low ranked as ensign.
A senior captain given a large degree of responsibility or administrative assignment is sometimes given the title of fleet captain, although this is a title of authority, not a true higher grade.
See also
- List of Starfleet captains