Commodore is a senior naval rank used in many navies which is equivalent to brigadier or brigadier general and air commodore. It is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. It is either regarded as the most junior of the flag officers rank or may not hold the jurisdiction of a flag officer at all depending on the officer's appointment. Non-English-speaking nations commonly use the rank of flotilla admiral, counter admiral, or senior captain as an equivalent, although counter admiral may also correspond to rear admiral lower half abbreviated as RDML.
The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports domestic and international cargo and passengers during peacetime, and operate and maintain deep-sea merchant ships, tugboats, towboats, ferries, dredges, excursion vessels, charter boats and other waterborne craft on the oceans, the Great Lakes, rivers, canals, harbors, and other waterways. In times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen to serve as officers in the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the United States Armed Forces, and the transportation industry. Midshipmen are trained in marine engineering, navigation, ship's administration, maritime law, personnel management, international law, customs, and other subjects important to the task of running a large ship.
Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches in the later half of the Second World War, responsible for British participation in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Pacific Squadron of the United States Navy, established c. 1821 and disbanded in 1907, was a naval squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
James Henry Gillis was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. His active-duty career extended from the 1850s through the 1890s, including service in the American Civil War.
CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships from Europe to Canada. In 1914 the sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship RMS Empress of Ireland just before World War I became largest maritime disaster in Canadian history. The company provided Canadian Merchant Navy vessels in World Wars I and II. Twelve vessels were lost due to enemy action in World War II, including the RMS Empress of Britain, which was the largest ship ever sunk by a German U-boat.
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy, and also has been a rank in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps and its ancestor organizations. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.
Leroy John Alexanderson was the last captain of the SS United States, the largest ocean liner ever built in the United States and the fastest ocean liner in history. Alexanderson also served as Commodore of the United States Lines fleet.
Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a senior merchant captain drawn from the Royal Naval Reserve. He was aboard one of the merchant ships. The convoy commodore was distinguished from the commander of the convoy's escort, always a naval officer.
Philippine Merchant Marine Academy is a maritime higher education institution operated by the Philippine government in San Narciso, Zambales. Students are called midshipmen but are often also referred to as cadets. Upon graduation, students are commissioned as ensigns in the Philippine Navy Reserve and have the option to join the merchant marine, the Philippine Navy, or the Philippine Coast Guard.
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station.
The Merchant Marine Medal for Outstanding Achievement is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine awarded by the United States Maritime Administration. It was established in 2002 and is awarded to members of the maritime industry who have made extraordinarily valuable contributions to the merchant marine.
[A]warded to recognize merchant mariners who have participated in an act or operation of humanitarian nature directly to an individual or groups of individuals. This medal may be awarded to those leaders in the maritime industry who have dedicated years of service or achievement and/or given an extraordinary valuable contribution or work to the maritime industry. This medal requires the Maritime Administrator’s approval for award.
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Joseph Allin and built at Deptford Dockyard by Adam Hayes to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.
Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to engage with regional and other partners to build capacity and improve relevant capabilities in order to protect global maritime commerce and secure freedom of navigation. It operates in conjunction with the EU's Operation Atalanta and NATO's Operation Ocean Shield.
"The captain goes down with the ship" is a maritime tradition that a sea captain holds the ultimate responsibility for both the ship and everyone embarked on it, and in an emergency they will devote their time to save those on board or die trying. Although often connected to the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912 and its captain, Edward Smith, the tradition precedes Titanic by several years. In most instances, captains forgo their own rapid departure of a ship in distress, and concentrate instead on saving other people. It often results in either the death or belated rescue of the captain as the last person on board.
In the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of flag officer. The equivalent rank is colonel in the United States Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps.
The California Maritime Academy Corps of Cadets is the undergraduate student body at the California Maritime Academy. As a State Maritime Academy, as required by Title 46 Part 310 of the Code of Federal Regulations students are considered Cadets, required to wear uniforms, and utilize a demerit-based disciplinary system. Participation in the Corps of Cadets is mandatory; participation in the Navy Reserve Merchant Marine program is optional. Cadets still utilize Merchant Marine Navy-style uniforms, customs, and traditions. Based on academic majors cadets are organized into Squads, Sections, Divisions and Companies which regularly muster in Morning Formations multiple times a week, as well as stand watches on campus and aboard the training ship.
George Fried, a sea captain with service in both the US Navy and Merchant Marine, is best remembered for his valiant rescue of the crews of the British steamship Antinoe in 1926 while captaining the luxury liner SS President Roosevelt and three years later the Italian freighter Florida while in command of the luxury liner USS America. Both of the ships he captained during the rescues were owned by the large United States Lines. Fried became familiar to thousands of Americans when his syndicated column "My Thirty Years at Sea", which chronicled his life and ocean adventures, was featured in major newspapers beginning in 1929.
Giles Chester Stedman (1897–1961), Rear Admiral and a recipient of the Navy Cross, was the 2nd Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The son of an Ireland born stonecutter, who worked in Quincy, Massachusetts' granite quarries, Stedman enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in 1917 at the age of 20. He was assigned to the USCGC Ossipee (WPR-50). At outbreak of WWI, the ship and its crew were transferred to the US Navy and saw overseas action. Stedman was awarded the World War I Victory Medal for his service. In 1919, he was commissioned an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve. Stedman, thereafter, entered the merchant marine, licensed as a ship's Third mate or 3rd officer.
