Captain (O-3)
Two silver bars side by side are the insignia of a captain (CPT), pay grade O-3 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
DA Pamphlet 670-1 describes the captain insignia as two silver-colored bars, each 3/8 inch wide and 1 inch long, with a smooth surface, spaced 1/4 inch apart. A First lieutenant (O-2) wears one. The Department of Defense lists the grade as O-3, the highest of the company grade ranks. The Army’s ranks page says a captain commands company-sized units of 60 to 200 soldiers, with a principal NCO assistant, and is often a staff officer at battalion level. The Army Institute of Heraldry dates the captain’s two bars to 1836. Army Regulation 600-20 gives the title of address as “Captain”.
Also searched as: army captain, CPT.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
An Army captain and a Navy captain
The title is four grades apart. The Department of Defense lists an Army captain at O-3 and a Navy captain at O-6, the grade of an Army Colonel (O-6).
More army ranks
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), para 21–6a(5), 21–6a(4), 21–6a(3)
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Insignia chart: first-lieutenant, captain, major; Officer insignia, O-6
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Officer ranks: Captain
- Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, AR 600-20, 6 February 2025 (administrative revision 20 February 2025), Headquarters, Department of the Army (copy hosted by the Army Transportation Corps, transportation.army.mil), para 1–7b; table 1–1
- Officer Insignia of Rank: Origin, The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army heraldry, insignia of grade, The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army, Officer Insignia of Rank: Origin
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research