Captain (O-6)
Captain is a senior US Navy commissioned officer rank, pay grade O-6. On khakis the insignia is a silver eagle with spread wings.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The uniform regulations have the eagle worn with its head toward the collar and facing the front, and four 13 mm (½ in) gold stripes on the blue coat sleeve. It sits above Commander (O-5) and below rear admiral (lower half). Navy.com says captains may command major warships, aviation wings, submarines or shore installations.
Also searched as: CAPT, navy captain.
Ranks and insignia as the US Navy’s own uniform regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Navy captain or Army captain?
They are three pay grades apart. Federal pay law puts a Navy captain in O-6, alongside an Army, Air Force or Marine Corps colonel, and an Army captain in O-3, alongside a Navy Lieutenant (O-3). Their insignia differ too: the Navy captain wears the colonel’s eagle; the Army captain wears two silver bars.
Where the eagle came from
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy captains first wore an eagle perched on an anchor in 1852, and in 1941 changed to the spread eagle Army and Marine colonels wear, as a metal pin on khaki shirts.
Read next
- Next in Navy ranksRear admiral, lower half (O-7)Rear admiral (lower half) is the first flag officer rank in the US Navy, pay grade O-7. On khakis the insignia is one silver star.
- The same shape in Glassware types and makers’ marksVaseline glassTransparent yellow to yellow-green glass colored with uranium, named by collectors for its likeness to petroleum jelly. It glows bright green under a black light.
More navy ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves.
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; officer introduction
- 37 U.S.C. § 201: Pay grades, 37 U.S. Code § 201, Pay grades: assignment to; general rules, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 201(a); § 201(a)
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4101: Officer sleeve insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4101, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4101.3a
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4103: Shoulder insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4103, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4103.2c, 4103.4a
- U.S. Navy Ranks & Insignia, U.S. Navy Ranks & Insignia (navy.com), U.S. Navy Recruiting Command (navy.com), Commissioned Officer Ranks
- Naval Traditions: Names of Rank, “Navy Captain”, Naval Traditions: Names of Rank, Officer, “Navy Captain”, Naval History and Heritage Command, paras. 2–3
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4104: Collar grade insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4104, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4104.2–3
- Naval Traditions: Names of Rank, “Captain”, Naval Traditions: Names of Rank, Officer, “Captain”, Naval History and Heritage Command, para. 3
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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