Company Commander - United States

United States

In the United States Army and Marine Corps, the position of company commander is usually held by a captain with three to six years of service as an officer. A senior first lieutenant may be selected for company command in lieu of an available captain. As commanding officer, he or she exercises full command and control over the unit and may exercise non-judicial punishment authority over unit personnel. A company command is usually considered a prestigious assignment and important in career progression if an officer hopes to attain higher rank. A typical tour of duty for this assignment is 18 to 24 months in the active duty component and 24 to 36 months in the reserve components. Usually, a company executive officer (a first lieutenant) and a company first sergeant are assigned to assist the company commander and are vital to his or her success in commanding the unit. Some specialized company-sized units, such as aviation companies using the Boeing CH-47 Chinook airframe, are assigned a major as a company commander due to the increased responsibility of such assignments; the platoons which comprise these company are typically commanded by captains rather than lieutenants, with a captain, rather than a first lieutenant, as the company's second-in-command.

In the United States Coast Guard, a Company Commander is the enlisted person in charge of a recruit company's training during boot camp. They are the Coast Guard's equivalent of a drill instructor. (The United States Navy once used the same term in its recruit training, but that title has been replaced by "Recruit Division Commander".)

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