Along with Commander, the rank of Captain is one of only two Senior Officers below the rank of Flag Officer (O-7 and above) in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard (all other services have three Senior Officers below O-7). In fact, Captain was the highest rank in the U.S. Navy until Congress created the rank of Flag Officer in 1857, over 80 years after the service was founded.
The sleeve insignia for Captain consists of four stripes made of gold lacing a half-inch in width that encircles each sleeve of a dress uniform. Stripes are separated by a quarter-inch of space, and the bottom stripe is positioned so that its lowest edge is two inches from the end of the sleeve. Our Captain’s sleeve lacing set comes with four 30-inch strips of gold lacing, enough to create the required eight sleeve stripes with some left over.
Note that the four stripes are only part of the Captain’s sleeve insignia. Placed a quarter-inch above it is either a
five-pointed gold star for Line officers (Unrestricted and Restricted) or a Corps device worn by Staff Officers in various Corps (Supply, Civil Engineer, Nurse, etc.). Please visit our
Navy Sleeve Devices page to choose the appropriate device for wear with the sleeve stripes. Instead of a star, Captains in the Coast Guard wear the
Coast Guard Sleeve Device in similar fashion, and Coast Guard CWOs also wear a secondary sleeve device denoting their specialties.
Customers purchasing a Navy uniform or dress jacket on which the Captain’s sleeve insignia are worn should consider our Lacing and Sleeve Device Sewing Service. Select this service when you add the jacket to your shopping cart, and our expert staff will hem the jacket sleeves to your specifications and sew on the stripes and sleeve device you purchased in the same order. This guarantees a great fit and ensures that your stripes and sleeve device are correctly positioned on the jacket sleeves.
If you added a jacket to your shopping cart without this service, just delete the jacket from your shopping cart and add it again—the Lacing and Sleeve Device Sewing Service option automatically reappears.