Captain (O-3)
Captain, pay grade O-3, US Air Force. The insignia is two silver bars side by side.
How to read it
Captain is the highest company grade rank, above first lieutenant (one silver bar) and below Major (O-4) (a gold oak leaf). The abbreviation is Capt.
Also searched as: air force captain, Capt.
Ranks and insignia as the Department of the Air Force’s own instructions and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
An Air Force captain is not a Navy captain
An Air Force captain is O-3, the grade the Navy and Coast Guard call lieutenant. A Navy captain is O-6, the grade of an Air Force Colonel (O-6) (37 U.S.C. 201).
Read next
More air Force ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Officer insignia table, Air Force; officer introduction
- 37 U.S.C. 201, Pay grades: assignment to; general rules, United States Code, 2023 edition, Title 37, § 201, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 201(a)(1) table
- 10 U.S.C. 741, Rank: commissioned officers of the armed forces, United States Code, 2024 edition, Title 10, § 741, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 741(a) and its table
- Insignia, Rank, Captain (a United States Air Force captain’s insignia), National Air and Space Museum, object A19951091000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
- Insignia, Rank, First Lieutenant, United States Air Force, National Air and Space Museum, object A19951094000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
- Insignia, Rank, Major, United States Air Force, National Air and Space Museum, object A19951084000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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