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The army rank of captain (from the French capitaine) is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery (or United States Army cavalry troop or Commonwealth squadron). In the Chinese People's Liberation Army, a captain may also command a platoon, or be the second-in-command of a battalion.

In NATO countries the rank of captain is described by the code OF-2 and is one rank above an OF-1 (lieutenant or first lieutenant) and one below an OF-3 (major or commandant). The rank of captain is generally considered to be the highest rank a soldier can achieve while remaining in the field.

The rank of captain should not be confused with the naval rank of captain or with the Commonwealth Air Force rank of group captain, both of which are equivalent to the army rank of colonel.

History[link]

Prior to the professionalization of the armed services of European nations subsequent to the French Revolution, a captain was a nobleman who purchased the right to head a company from the previous holder of that right. He would in turn receive money from another nobleman to serve as his lieutenant. The funding to provide for the troops came from the monarch or his government; the captain had to be responsible for it. If he was not, or was otherwise court-martialed, he would be dismissed ("cashiered"), and the monarch would receive money from another nobleman to command the company. Otherwise, the only pension for the captain was selling the right to another nobleman when he was ready to retire.

Air forces[link]

In most countries the air force is the junior service and so air force ranks have been adopted or modified from one of the other services. Many, such as the United States Air Force, use a rank structure and insignia similar to those of the army.

However, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries use a rank structure in which flight lieutenant is OF-2. A group captain is OF-5 and was derived from the naval rank of captain.

In the unified system of the Canadian Forces the air force rank titles are identical to that of the army as are army and air rank insignia with both wearing two gold stripes on the sleeve or epaulette. While the rank is equivalent to a naval lieutenant, naval lieutenant rank insignia is embellished with the executive curl. The modern equivalent of the British group captain bears the rank and insignia of colonel, i.e. four gold stripes on sleeve or epaulette (same as a naval captain).

Equivalent Captain ranks[link]

Insignia[link]

A variety of images illustrative of different forces' insignia for captain (or captain-equivalents) are shown below:

• Australian-Army-CAPT.gif

  Australian Army

• 

  Belgian Land Component

• 

  Brazilian Army

• 

  Canada

• 

  Colombia

• 

  Egyptian Army

• 

  Kapteeni
  Finnish Defence Force

• 

  Capitaine
  French Army

• 

  Hauptmann
  German Army

• GR-Army-OF2.svg

  Lochagos
  Hellenic Army

• 

  Captain
  Indian Army

• IE-Army-OF2.png

  Captaen
  Irish Army

• 

  Capitano
  Italian Army

• 

  Kapitonas
  Lithuanian Land Force

• 

  Kapitein
  Royal Netherlands Army

• 

  Căpitan
  Romanian Armed Forces

• 

  Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

• SL-Army-OF2 Captain.PNG

  Sri Lanka

• 

  Kapten
  Swedish Air Force

• 

  Kapten
  Swedish Army

• 

  Roi Ek (ร้อยเอก)
  Royal Thai Army

• 

  US Army, US Air Force and US Marine Corps.^[1]

• 

  Confederate Army (American Civil War)

See also[link]

• Captain (United Kingdom)
• Captain (United States)

References and notes[link]

Look up captain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Captain may refer to:

Occupations[link]

• Captain (nautical), person or officer usually in command of a ship or similar vessel
• Captain (airlines), senior person or officer usually in charge of an aircraft
• Fire captain, officer in a fire department
• Police captain, officer in a police organization
• Caporegime ("Capo"), high-ranking member ("captain") in charge of a Mafia crew
• Captain of industry, business leader
• Captain of the Port, harbour (UK) or coastguard (USA) post
• Captain-major, colonial officer of a Portuguese possession
• Precinct captain, political party's representative at an election precinct
• School Captain, student elected or appointed to represent the school
• The title of a chieftain in traditional Cretan society, as used by Nikos Kazantzakis in his novel Captain Michalis
• The chieftain (Captein) of the Oorlam people in 19th-century South Africa
• In Ottoman-ruled Bosnia and Herzegovina, the equivalent of a city mayor and/or sheriff (see Bosnian uprising)
• Castellan, captain of a medieval castle

Military ranks[link]

NATO OF-5 / US O-6

• Captain (naval)
• Capitaine de vaisseau (French)
• Captain at Sea
• Captain of Sea and War
• Captain (Canadian naval rank)
• Captain (Royal Navy) (British)
• Group Captain, a senior Air Force rank (generally in Britain and Commonwealth countries)
• Ship-of-the-Line Captain

NATO OF-2 / US O-3

• Captain (OF-2)
• Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Generic

• Captain (United States)

Media[link]

Television and film[link]

• Captain, Starfleet ranks and insignia
• Welcome to The Captain, a television series on CBS
• Captain, nickname of Indian actor Vijayakanth
• The Sea Captain, a character in The Simpsons
• Captain Pirate, a 1952 film
• The Captain (film), 1971 film

Literature[link]

• The Captain (play), a 1647 stage play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher
• The Captain (1967 novel), by Jan de Hartog
• The Captain (1900s magazine), a magazine for young boys

Comics/manga[link]

• "The Captain", a former Captain America alternate identity, 1987–1989
• Captain (Hellsing), a fictional character from the Hellsing manga and OVA
• Captain (manga) (キャプテン), a baseball manga series by Akio Chiba
• Captain (comics), a satiric superhero from the comic book Nextwave
• Captain (Bleach) (隊長), the highest office available in the Gotei 13.
• Captain Boomerang, an Australian supervillain in the DC comics universe and member of the Flash's Rogues Gallery
• Captain Marvel (disambiguation), several fictional characters
• Captain Cold, a supervillain in the DC comics universe and member of the Flash's Rogues Gallery

Music[link]

• Captain (album), a 1998 release from Scottish band Idlewild
• Captain (band), a London-based alternative rock band
• Captain, the pseudonym of Markus Kaarlonen, a Finnish musician/songwriter/producer
• The Captain, the stage name used by Daryl Dragon as part of the 1970s and 1980s duo Captain & Tennille
• The Captain (album), the 1999 solo debut album of Australian country music singer Kasey Chambers
• "The Captain" (song), a 2009 song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro
• "The Captain", a song from the 1984 Leonard Cohen album Various Positions
• "The Captain", a song from the 2006 Guster album Ganging Up on the Sun
• "The Captain", a song on the 2006 The Knife album, Silent Shout
• "The Cap'm", a song from the 2007 They Might Be Giants album, The Else
• Captain, a nickname for Saki Shimizu, captain of girl group Berryz Kobo

Video games[link]

• Captain Falcon, a racer in the F-Zero series of video games

Ships[link]

• HMS Captain, one of seven Royal Navy ships
• Captain class frigates, a class of 78 Royal Navy frigates
• Royal Captain (East Indiaman)

Sports[link]

• Captain (sports), the leader of an athletic team, often with additional roles or responsibilities
  • Captain (association football)
  • Captain (Australian rules football)
  • Captain (cricket)
  • Captain (ice hockey)
  • Captain (baseball)
  • National Football League team captains
• The athletic moniker of Christopher Newport University is the Captains
• "The Captain", a nickname for hockey player Steve Yzerman
• "The Captain", a nickname for baseball player Derek Jeter

Other[link]

• Captain (videotex), a Japanese videotex system, operational from 1983 to 2002.
• Marion 6360, a power shovel known as "The Captain"
• Captain field, a crude oil field on Block 13/22a in the UK North Sea
• "The Captain," a nickname for the fascist Iron Guard leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
• "Captain Dock," a Movie 2011.Back to the Conscince
• "The Nottingham Captain", 19th Century rebel Jeremiah Brandreth

See also[link]

• Capitan (disambiguation)
• El Capitan (disambiguation), Spanish for "The Captain"
• Kapitan (disambiguation)
• Il Capitano
• Kapitän
• Katepano
• Kapudan Pasha
• Captain Underpants, a book series by Dav Pilkey

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Map of the world of the army forms

  No armed forces

  No conscription

  Plan to abolish conscription within 3 years

  Conscription

  No information

An army (from Latin arma “arms, weapons” via Old French armée, “armed” (feminine)), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps. Within a national military force, the word army may also mean a field army an army composed of full-time career soldiers who 'stand over', in other words, who do not disband during times of peace. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters.

In several countries, the army is officially called the Land Army to differentiate it from an air force called the Air Army, notably France. In such countries, the word "army" on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. The current largest army in the world, by number of active troops, is the People's Liberation Army of China with 2,250,000 active troops and 800,000 reserve personnel followed by the Indian Army with 1,325,000 active troops and 2,142,821 reserve personnel.

By definition, irregular military is understood in contrast to regular armies which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite militia.

History[link]

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (June 2011)

Sparta[link]

The Spartan Army was one of the earliest known professional armies. Boys were sent to a barracks at the age of seven to train for being a soldier. At the age of thirty they were released from the barracks and allowed to marry and have a family. After that, men devoted their lives to war until their retirement at the age of 60. Unlike other civilizations, whose armies had to disband during the planting and harvest seasons, the Spartan serfs or helots, did the manual labor.

This allowed the Spartans to field a full-time army with a campaign season that lasted all year. The Spartan Army was largely composed of hoplites, equipped with arms and armor nearly identical to each other. Each hoplite bore the Spartan emblem and a scarlet uniform. The main pieces of this armor were a round shield, a spear and a helmet.

Ancient Rome[link]

A 2nd-century depiction of Roman soldiers on Trajan's column

The Roman Army had its origins in the citizen army of the Republic, which was staffed by citizens serving mandatory duty for Rome. Reforms around 115 BC turned the army into a professional organization which was still largely filled by citizens but citizens who served continuously for 25 years before being discharged.

The Romans were also noted for making use of auxiliary troops, non-Romans who served with the legions and filled roles that the traditional Roman military could not fill effectively, such as light skirmish troops and heavy cavalry. After their service in the army they were made citizens of Rome and then their children were citizens also. They were also given land and money to settle in Rome. In the Late Roman Empire, these auxiliary troops, along with foreign mercenaries, became the core of the Roman Army; moreover, by the time of the Late Roman Empire tribes such as the Visigoths were paid to serve as mercenaries.

Medieval Europe[link]

Armies of the Middle Ages consisted of noble knights, rendering service to their suzerain, and hired footsoldiers

In the earliest Middle Ages it was the obligation of every aristocrat to respond to the call to battle with his own equipment, archers, and infantry. This decentralized system was necessary due to the social order of the time, but could lead to motley forces with variable training, equipment and abilities. The more resources the noble had access to the better his troops would be.

The knights were drawn to battle by feudal and social obligation, and also by the prospect of profit and advancement. Those who performed well were likely to increase their landholdings and advance in the social hierarchy. The prospect of significant income from pillage, and ransoming prisoners was also important. For the mounted knight war could be a relatively low risk affair.

As central governments grew in power, a return to the citizen armies of the classical period also began, as central levies of the peasantry began to be the central recruiting tool. England was one of the most centralized states in the Middle Ages, and the armies that fought in the Hundred Years' War were, predominantly, composed of paid professionals.

In theory, every Englishman had an obligation to serve for forty days. Forty days was not long enough for a campaign, especially one on the continent.

Thus the scutage was introduced, whereby most Englishmen paid to escape their service and this money was used to create a permanent army. However, almost all high medieval armies in Europe were composed of a great deal of paid core troops, and there was a large mercenary market in Europe from at least the early 12th century.

As the Middle Ages progressed in Italy, Italian cities began to rely mostly on mercenaries to do their fighting rather than the militias that had dominated the early and high medieval period in this region. These would be groups of career soldiers who would be paid a set rate. Mercenaries tended to be effective soldiers, especially in combination with standing forces, but in Italy they came to dominate the armies of the city states. This made them considerably less reliable than a standing army. Mercenary-on-mercenary warfare in Italy also led to relatively bloodless campaigns which relied as much on maneuver as on battles.

Early modern[link]

Swiss mercenaries and German Landsknechts fighting for glory, fame, and money at the battle of Marignan (1515). The bulk of the Renaissance armies was composed of mercenaries.

First nation-states lacked the funds needed to maintain standing forces, so they tended to hire mercenaries to serve in their armies during wartime. Such mercenaries typically formed at the ends of periods of conflict, when men-at-arms were no longer needed by their respective governments.

The veteran soldiers thus looked for other forms of employment, often becoming mercenaries. Free Companies would often specialize in forms of combat that required longer periods of training that was not available in the form of a mobilized militia.

As late as the 1650s, most troops were mercenaries. However, after the 17th century, most states invested in better disciplined and more politically reliable permanent troops. For a time mercenaries became important as trainers and administrators, but soon these tasks were also taken by the state. The massive size of these armies required a large supporting force of administrators.

The newly centralized states were forced to set up vast organized bureaucracies to manage these armies, which some historians argue is the basis of the modern bureaucratic state. The combination of increased taxes and increased centralisation of government functions caused a series of revolts across Europe such as the Fronde in France and the English Civil War.

In many countries, the resolution of this conflict was the rise of absolute monarchy. Only in England and the Netherlands did representative government evolve as an alternative. From the late 17th century, states learned how to finance wars through long term low interest loans from national banking institutions. The first state to master this process was the Dutch Republic. This transformation in the armies of Europe had great social impact. The defense of the state now rested on the commoners, not on the aristocrats.

However, aristocrats continued to monopolise the officer corps of almost all early modern armies, including their high command. Moreover, popular revolts almost always failed unless they had the support and patronage of the noble or gentry classes. The new armies, because of their vast expense, were also dependent on taxation and the commercial classes who also began to demand a greater role in society. The great commercial powers of the Dutch and English matched much larger states in military might.

As any man could be quickly trained in the use of a musket, it became far easier to form massive armies. The inaccuracy of the weapons necessitated large groups of massed soldiers. This led to a rapid swelling of the size of armies. For the first time huge masses of the population could enter combat, rather than just the highly skilled professionals.

The colonels of the French Guards and British guards politely discussing who should fire first at the battle of Fontenoy (1745).^[1] An example of "lace war".

It has been argued that the drawing of men from across the nation into an organized corps helped breed national unity and patriotism, and during this period the modern notion of the nation state was born. However, this would only become apparent after the French Revolutionary Wars. At this time, the levée en masse and conscription would become the defining paradigm of modern warfare.

Before then, however, most national armies were in fact composed of many nationalities. In Spain, armies were recruited from all the Spanish European territories including Spain, Italy, Wallonia (Walloon Guards) and Germany. The French recruited some soldiers from Germany, Switzerland as well as from Piedmont. Britain recruited Hessian and Hanovrian troops until the late 18th century. Irish Catholics made careers for themselves in the armies of many Catholic European states.

Prior to the English Civil War in England, the monarch maintained a personal Bodyguard of Yeomen of the Guard and the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms or 'gentlemen pensioners', and a few locally raised companies to garrison important places such as Berwick on Tweed or Portsmouth (or Calais before it was recaptured by France in 1558).

Troops for foreign expeditions were raised upon an ad-hoc basis. Noblemen and professional regular soldiers were commissioned by the monarch to supply troops, raising their quotas by indenture from a variety of sources. On January 26, 1661 Charles II issued the Royal Warrant that created the genesis of what would become the British Army, although the Scottish and English Armies would remain two separate organizations until the unification of England and Scotland in 1707. The small force was represented by only a few regiments.

After the American Revolutionary War the Continental Army was quickly disbanded as part of the Americans' distrust of standing armies, and irregular state militias became the sole ground army of the United States, with the exception of one battery of artillery guarding West Point's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was soon realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The first of these, the Legion of the United States, was established in 1791.

Until 130 the common soldiers of Prussian Army consisted largely of peasantry recruited or impressed from Brandenburg-Prussia, leading many to flee to neighboring countries.^[2] In order to halt this trend, Frederick William I divided Prussia into regimental cantons. Every youth was required to serve as a soldier in these recruitment districts for three months each year; this met agrarian needs and added extra troops to bolster the regular ranks.^[3]

The battle of the Nations (1813), marked the transition between aristocratic armies and national armies.^[4] Masses replace hired professionals and national hatred overrides dynastic conflicts. An early example of total wars.

Russian tsars before Peter I of Russia maintained professional hereditary musketeer corps (streltsy in Russian) that were highly unreliable and undisciplined. In times of war the armed forces were augmented by peasants. Peter I introduced a modern regular army built on German model, but with a new aspect: officers not necessarily from nobility, as talented commoners were given promotions that eventually included a noble title at the attainment of an officer's rank. Conscription of peasants and townspeople was based on quota system, per settlement. Initially it was based on the number of households, later it was based on the population numbers.^[5]

The term of service in the 18th century was for life. In 1793 it was reduced to 25 years. In 1834 it was reduced to 20 years plus 5 years in reserve and in 1855 to 12 years plus 3 years of reserve.^{[5][chronology citation needed]}

The first Ottoman standing army were Janissaries. They replaced forces that mostly comprised tribal warriors (ghazis) whose loyalty and morale could not always be trusted.The first Janissary units were formed from prisoners of war and slaves, probably as a result of the sultan taking his traditional one-fifth share of his army's booty in kind rather than cash.

From the 1380s onwards, their ranks were filled under the devşirme system, where feudal dues were paid by service to the sultan. The "recruits" were mostly Christian youths, reminiscent of Mamelukes.

China organized the Manchu people into the Eight Banner system in the early 17th century. Defected Ming armies formed the Green Standard Army. These troops enlisted voluntarily and for long terms of service.

Late Modern[link]

Indian Army personnel during Operation Crusader in Egypt, 1941

Conscription allowed the French Republic to form the La Grande Armée, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms", which successfully battled European professional armies.

Conscription, particularly when the conscripts are being sent to foreign wars that do not directly affect the security of the nation, has historically been highly politically contentious in democracies.

Canada also had a political dispute over conscription during World War II. Similarly, mass protests against conscription to fight the Vietnam War occurred in several countries in the late 1960s.

In developed nations, the increasing emphasis on technological firepower and better-trained fighting forces, the sheer unlikelihood of a conventional military assault on most developed nations, as well as memories of the contentiousness of the Vietnam War experience, make mass conscription unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Russia, as well as many other nations, retains mainly a conscript army. There is also a very rare citizen army as used in Switzerland (see Swiss army).

Armies as armed services[link]

Western armies are usually subdivided as follows:

• Corps: A Corps usually consists of two or more Divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
• Division: Each division is commanded by a Major General, and usually holds three Brigades including infantry, artillery, engineers and communications units in addition to logistics (supply and service) support to sustain independent action. Except for the Divisions operating in the mountains, all the Divisions have at least one armored unit, some have even more depending upon their functionality. The basic building block of all ground force combat formations is the infantry division. A typical division would hold three infantry brigades.
• Brigade: A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier General or sometimes is commanded by a Colonel and comprises three or more Battalions of different units depending on its functionality. An independent brigade would be one that primarily consists of an artillery unit, an infantry unit, an armour unit and logistics to support its actions. Such a brigade is not part of any division and is under direct command of a corps.
• Battalion: Each battalion is commanded by a Colonel or sometimes by Lieutenant Colonel who commands roughly 500 to 750 soldiers. This number varies depending on the functionality of the regiment. A Battalion comprises 3-5 Companies (3 rifle companies, a fire support company and headquarters company) or its functional equivalent such as batteries (artillery) or squadrons (armour and cavalry), each under the command of a Major. The Company can be divided into platoons, each of which can again be divided into sections or squads (Terminology is nationality and even unit specific)..^[6]

Field army[link]

A field army is composed of a headquarters, army troops, a variable number of corps typically between three to four, and a variable number of divisions, also between three to four. A battle is influenced at the Field Army level by transferring divisions and reinforcements from one corps to another to increase the pressure on the enemy at a critical point. Field armies are controlled by a General or Lieutenant General.

Formations[link]

Soldiers of the German Army

Standard map symbol for a numbered Army, the 'X's are not substituting the army's number

A particular army can be named or numbered to distinguish it from military land forces in general. For example, the First United States Army and the Army of Northern Virginia. In the British Army it is normal to spell out the ordinal number of an army (e.g. First Army), whereas lower formations use figures (e.g. 1st Division).

Armies (as well as army groups and theaters) are large formations which vary significantly between armed forces in size, composition, and scope of responsibility.

In the Soviet Red Army and the Soviet Air Force, "Armies" could vary in size, but were subordinate to an Army Group-sized "front" in wartime. In peacetime, a Soviet army was usually subordinate to a military district. Viktor Suvorov's Inside the Soviet Army describes how Cold War era Soviet military districts were actually composed of a front headquarters and a military district headquarters co-located for administration and deception ('maskirovika') reasons.

See also[link]

• Military organization
• War
• Military history
• Paramilitary
• Militia
• Mercenary
• List of armies
• List of armies by country
• List of armies by number
• List of countries by size of armed forces

Journals[link]

International Bibliography of Military History of the International Commission of Military History

References[link]

Karnal Sher Khan
Allegiance	Pakistan Army
Rank	Captain
Unit	12 Northern Light Infantry (NLI) 27 Sindh Regiment
Battles/wars	Kargil War
Awards	Nishan-e-Haider

Karnal Sher Khan (1970–1999) (Urdu: کرنل شیر خان) was a Pakistan Army officer and one of only 11 recipients of Pakistan's highest gallantry award, the Nishan-e-Haider. He was a Captain in the 12 Northern Light Infantry (NLI) and, previously in 27 Sindh Regiment of the Pakistan.

Name[link]

Captain Sher Khan was born in Nawan Killi, a village in Swabi District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Karnal is localised form of Colonel. Karnel Sher Khan's home village of Nawan Kali (means: New Village) has now been named after him as Karnal Sher Killi (Village of Karnal Sher Khan).

Early Life[link]

Captain Sher Khan was the youngest of his two brothers and two sisters. His mother died in 1978 when he was eight. He was brought up by his paternal aunts. His family is deeply religious and they say that Sher was an embodiment of piety and Islamic teaching.

Education and career[link]

After completing his intermediate from Government College Swabi he joined Pakistan Air Force as an air man. On completion of his training, he was appointed electric fitter (aeronautical) at Risalpur. During these years he applied twice for commission in the Pakistan Army as a Commissioned Officer, as this was what he really wanted to do – he succeeded the second time. He joined the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul in November 1992 and graduated in the 90th Long Course in 1994. His first posting was at Okara in 27th Sindh Regiment. Always smiling as a devoted soldier, he was fondly called Shera (Lion) and was very popular among his officers and colleagues. In January 1998 he volunteered to serve at the LoC in Kashmir, he was posted in 12 NLI.

Kargil conflict[link]

Captain Sher Khan was posthumously awarded Pakistan's highest gallantry award, the Nishan-e-Haider, for his actions during the Kargil Conflict with India in 1999.

Nishan E Haider Citation[link]

The following is the official statement by the Pakistan Army:^[1]

"Captain Karnal Sher Khan emerged as the symbol of mettle and courage during the Kargil conflict on the Line of Control (LoC). He set personal examples of bravery and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. He defended the five strategic posts, which he established with his Jawan's at the height of some 17,000 feet at Gultary, and repulsed many Indian attacks. After many abortive attempts, the enemy on July 5 ringed the post of Capt. Sher Khan with the help of two battalion and unleashed heavy Mortar firing and managed to capture some part of the post. Despite facing all odds, he lead a counter-attack and tried to re- capture the lost parts.But during the course he was hit by the machine-gun fire and embraced Shahadat or martyrdom at the same post. He is the first officer from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province to be awarded with Nishan-e-Haider."

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.tirmizivlog.com/2010/04/22/captain-karnal-sher-khan-shaheed/

v t e Pakistan Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Joint Chiefs Joint Staff Headquarters National Defence University Paramilitary Force Command National Command Authority Military history (Air Force history) UN peacekeeping missions Weapons of mass destruction Awards and decorations Nuclear doctrine Inter-Services Intelligence Arms Industry Inter Services Public Relations Nuclear industry Missiles programme Judge Advocate General Branch Establishment University Department of Defence and Strategic Studies Army   General Headquarters Azad Kashmir Regiment Baloch Regiment Frontier Force Regiment Northern Light Infantry Punjab Regiment Sind Regiment Governor General's Bodyguard Military Academy Command and Staff College Army Special Service Group Army Rangers Chief of Army Staff Serving and active-duty generals Army Cantonments Pakistan Army Museum Army Strategic Forces Command Army Educational Establishment Air Force   Air Headquarters Air War College Air Force Academy Special Service Wing Air Force Bases List of combat aircraft Combatant Air Force Squadrons Chief of Air Staff Pakistan Air Force Sherdils PAF Museum Aeronautical Complex Air Force Institute of Aviation Technology Air Force Education and Development Command Air Force Strategic Command Navy   Naval Headquarters Naval War College Naval Special Service Group Chief of Naval Staff Naval Strategic Forces Command Active ships Naval Engineering College Naval Academy Pakistan Maritime Museum PNS Ghazi PNS Hangor Naval School of Logistics and Management Strategic Institute for Naval Affairs Makran Naval Base Qasim Naval Base Kalmat Naval Base Naval hospitals (P.N.S. Shifa P.N.S. Rahat) Naval Air Station (Mehran Naval Air Base Ahsan Naval base Jinnah Naval Base) Research vessel (PNS Behr Paima) Marines Naval Air Arm Coast Guard Naval Education Establishment Wars and conflicts Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 / 1965 / 1971 1970s Baloch insurgency Siachen conflict Kargil War War in North-West Pakistan Portal Category (Army Air Force Navy)

Sean Parnell
10th Governor of Alaska
Incumbent
Assumed office July 26, 2009
Lieutenant	Craig Campbell Mead Treadwell
Preceded by	Sarah Palin
11th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
In office December 4, 2006 – July 26, 2009
Governor	Sarah Palin
Preceded by	Loren Leman
Succeeded by	Craig Campbell
Member of the Alaska Senate from the I district
In office January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2001
Preceded by	Steve Rieger
Succeeded by	John Cowdery
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 17th district
In office January 11, 1993 – January 12, 1997
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	John Cowdery
Personal details
Born	(1962-11-19) November 19, 1962 (age 49) Hanford, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sandra Scebold (1987–present)
Children	Grace Rachel
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Alma mater	Pacific Lutheran University University of Puget Sound
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Non-denominational Christian[1]
Signature
Website	Official website

Sean R. Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is the tenth and current Governor of Alaska. He was elected to a full term as Governor in November 2010. A Republican, he was first sworn in on July 26, 2009 to succeed Sarah Palin after her resignation.^[2][3] He is the first unelected Alaska Governor to be elected in his own right.^[4]

Early life[link]

Sean Parnell was born in Hanford, California, to Kevin Patrick "Pat" (born September 16, 1937) and Thelma Carol (née Liebherr) Parnell.^[5] Pat Parnell was stationed at Fort Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska, while in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s, and returned to Alaska with his family in 1973, establishing residence in Anchorage. Pat Parnell established a photocopy and office supply business alongside the busy Seward Highway in midtown Anchorage, while Thelma Parnell worked at Bartlett High School and East Anchorage High School, the latter being a short distance from their home. Sean Parnell attended East Anchorage High, graduating in 1980. He has a younger brother named Schöen.

Parnell attended Pacific Lutheran University, earning his B.B.A. in 1984, and University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) earning his law degree in 1987. He is admitted to the bar in both Alaska and Washington D.C.

Alaska legislature[link]

In 1992, Parnell was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, where he served two terms and was a member of the finance committee. In 1996, he ran for and was elected to a seat in the Alaska Senate. In the Senate, he was a member of the Energy Council and served on and then co-chaired the Senate finance committee.^[6]

Lobbying career[link]

Parnell left the Alaska Senate to become director of government relations in Alaska for the oil company ConocoPhillips.^[7]

In 2005, he joined the lobbying firm of Patton Boggs, where he advised clients on state and federal regulations in developing major oil and gas projects. Patton Boggs represented ExxonMobil in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation.^[8] In April 2005, Washingtonian and the Dallas Morning News reported that Patton Boggs was the first in revenue among lobbyists.^[9]

Parnell left Patton Boggs less than two years later on December 3, 2006^[10] to advise Governor Sarah Palin on issues related to commercializing Alaska North Slope gas.^[11][12]

Lieutenant governor[link]

In 2005, Parnell ran in the Republican primary to become lieutenant governor. In the general election, he ran as Palin's running mate. In Alaska, the lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primaries, but after the primaries, the nominees for governor and lieutenant governor run together as a slate. Palin and Parnell were elected.

2008 congressional campaign[link]

On March 14, 2008, Parnell began his campaign to take on embattled 18-term Congress member Don Young in the August 26 Republican primary.^[13] His father was the Democratic nominee running against Young in 1980. The result was a landslide; Young captured 73 percent of the vote, his largest reelection vote percentage until 2002.

Parnell was endorsed by Sarah Palin,^[14] National Review magazine,^[15] and the anti-earmark Club for Growth.^[16]

On July 31, 2008, Parnell told Roll Call that he would not drop out in his race against Young to run against Senator Ted Stevens, who had been indicted.^[17]

Parnell lost the primary for the U.S. House seat. The margin between Young, the incumbent, and Parnell was narrow, and the winner was not immediately clear. The result released on September 18 showed Young winning by 304 votes. Parnell said the odds of overturning Young's victory were too small to warrant a recount.^[18]

Governor of Alaska[link]

Ascent to office[link]

On July 26, 2009, halfway through her term as governor, Sarah Palin resigned. Parnell replaced her becoming Alaska's 10th governor in accordance with the Alaska Constitution.^[2] Craig Campbell, commissioner of Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, succeeded Parnell as lieutenant governor after Joe Schmidt, commissioner of corrections and Palin's designated replacement for Parnell, refused the position. Parnell and Campbell were sworn in to their new positions on July 26^{[dubious – discuss]} by Alaska Supreme Court Associate Justice Daniel E. Winfree.

2010 campaign[link]

Parnell ran for a full term as governor in 2010. In the primary, he faced off against Bill Walker, a former Cabinet member^{[dubious – discuss]} and aide to former governor Walter J. Hickel, and Ralph Samuels, a retiring member of the Alaska House of Representatives. Though Walker seemed to gain a lot of traction towards the end based on the issue of building a long-awaited natural gas pipeline, Samuels and Walker split the anti-Parnell vote^{[citation needed]} and Parnell won the nomination. He faced off against former House Majority Leader and 2008 Congressional nominee, Ethan Berkowitz.^[19] and was elected with Mead Treadwell who had won the August primary for Lieutenant Governor. Though Berkowitz, and former 2006 Congressional nominee, Diane Benson, seemed to have the strongest ticket seen by Democrats in a while^{[citation needed]} that included endorsements from Walker; Parnell-Treadwell eventually defeated Berkowitz-Benson by over ten points.^[20]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Parnell

	Alaska portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal

• Office of Governor Sean Parnell official Alaska government site
• Parnell for Governor official campaign site
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

v t e Republican Party nominees for Governor of Alaska Butrovich (1958) Stepovich (1962) Hickel (1966) Miller (1970) Hammond (1974, 1978) Fink (1982) Sturgulewski (1986, 1990) Campbell (1994) Lindauer (1998) Murkowski (2002) Palin (2006) Parnell (2010)

v t e Governors of Alaska District (1884–1912) Kinkead Swineford Knapp Sheakley Brady Hoggatt Clark Territorial (1912–1959) Clark Strong Riggs Bone Parks Troy Gruening Heintzleman Hendrickson (acting) Stepovich Hendrickson (acting) State (since 1959) Egan Hickel Miller Egan Hammond Sheffield Cowper Hickel Knowles Murkowski Palin Parnell

v t e Lieutenant Governors of Alaska Wade K. Miller Ward Boucher Thomas T. Miller McAlpine Coghill Ulmer Leman Parnell Campbell Treadwell

v t e Current statewide political officials of Alaska U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R) Mark Begich (D) U.S. Representative Don Young (R), Representative At-Large State government Sean Parnell (R), Governor Mead Treadwell (R), Lieutenant Governor State Senate Gary Stevens, President Kevin Meyer, Majority Leader John Coghill, Minority Leader State House Mike Chenault, Speaker Alan Austerman, Majority Leader Beth Kerttula, Minority Leader Supreme Court Walter L. Carpeneti, Chief Justice Dana Fabe Craig F. Stowers Daniel E. Winfree (one vacancy) AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY