Thus the importance of selecting captains who are very capable of independent judgment, who bear sole responsibility for their decisions. note Before radio and other long-range communication methods were invented, it was basically impossible to give a captain orders while he was at sea. And not even the God-Emperor of the Universe can give orders past him in this case. Regardless of actual rank held, however, under most modern and historical laws the captain of a naval vessel is the Omnipotent Being on it when out in sea, since it is his personal responsibility to return to land with his crew complete and his ship in one piece. Horatio Hornblower actually becomes a captain for the first time while still a Midshipman as he is put in charge of a vessel that was captured in battle. From Major onward, officer ranks are more administrative.) This is sometimes confused by the naval convention that anyone in command of a given ship is referred to as "captain", no matter their rank (for most vessels smaller than a cruiser, the Captain is Commander, and smaller vessels like minesweepers can be commanded by a Lieutenant) - and all other officers on board who actually hold the rank of Captain receive a (honorary) promotion for the duration of their stay and are addressed as "Commodore" (or non-navy Captains (O-3, in US terms) get addressed as "Major"). the officer ranks that participate in actual combat. (Also true in non-naval branches of the armed forces (Army, Marines, etc.), since Captain is the highest of the Company Grade ranks, i.e. The Captain will almost always hold said actual rank, even if their performance would allow the Captain to move up the chain of command. And any Captain must have a Captain's Log. He is expected to stay with that ship no matter what. Any Cool Ship must have The Captain - no matter whether it's a Cool Boat, a Cool Starship, or a Cool Airship. Whether this character is the Mission Control or actually working in the field, he/she is clearly the one running things. The Commanding Officer of The Squad or the Command Roster. The Captain - from the Latin caput, meaning "head" - is in charge. "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, on Abraham Lincoln
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