	O-2 1stLt (Previous)
	First Lieutenant

Marine Corps Captain

O-3 Commissioned Officer, U.S. Marine Corps

(Next) O-4 Maj
Major

Marine Corps Ranks » Captain Rank • Capt Pay • Capt Rank History

History of the Marine Corps Captain Rank

A Captain is a Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps at DoD paygrade O-3.

The title "Captain" is ancient, derived from the Greek word, "katepano" (the topmost), was later Latinized as "capitaneus" (close to "caput" or head), and then disseminated through many European languages. The title is thousands of years old and is used in every US military branch. A Captain is the ranking Officer of a Company-sized unit.

Want to learn more? Read about the Marine Corps' Captain rank on Military-Ranks.org.

History of the Marine Corps

As far back as the Revolutionary War, Marines were known as Naval Infantry, and were assigned to ships to repel boarders, assault land-based targets, and discipline unruly Sailors. In WWI and WWII, Marines very successfully augmented Army units in war theaters throughout the world, with their most brutal and historic fighting on islands in the Pacific. In contrast with the Army, the Marines were not originally made to be self-sufficient to fight land wars for long periods of time. Doctors, Chaplains, and Medics who deploy with Marines are all Navy Sailors.