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56-611: Commander Abraham Whipple (September 26, 1733 – May 27, 1819) was an American naval officer best known for his service in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and being one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio . Born near Providence , Colony of Rhode Island , Whipple chose to be a seafarer early in his life and embarked on a career in the lucrative trade with the West Indies , working for Moses and John Brown . In

112-470: A section (section commander), vehicle (vehicle commander) or gun (gun commander), to the subaltern or captain commanding a platoon (platoon commander), or to the brigadier commanding a brigade (brigade commander). Other officers commanding units are usually referred to as the officer commanding (OC), commanding officer (CO), general officer commanding (GOC), or general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-C), depending on rank and position, although

168-563: A wreath . Within the Metropolitan Police Service, the tips of the tipstaves are blue and not red, unlike other forces. Until the abolition of the rank of deputy commander in 1968, however, a commander wore the same badge of rank as a deputy assistant commissioner. In Australia, commander is a rank used by the Victorian, Tasmanian, Western Australian, South Australian, and Australian Federal police forces. The insignia consists of

224-609: A command or unit. Some large police departments and sheriff's offices in the US have a commander rank. Most commonly, this is the next rank above captain. Examples of this include the Chicago Police Department , Los Angeles Police Department , San Francisco Police Department , Portland Police Bureau and Rochester Police Department . In others, such as the Phoenix Police Department and Saint Paul Police Department ,

280-555: A commander rank is the next rank above lieutenant, and is equivalent to captain. In the Northport, Florida's police department, however, commanders are below captains. A commander in the LAPD is equivalent to an inspector in other large US departments (such as the NYPD ); the LAPD rank was originally called inspector as well, but was changed in 1974 to commander. The Metropolitan Police Department of

336-436: A crown over three bath stars in a triangular formation, equivalent to a brigadier in the army. In all four forces, it is junior to the rank of assistant commissioner , and senior to the rank of chief superintendent , with the exception of Western Australia and Victoria where it is senior to the rank of superintendent . In New South Wales the position of commander is instated to officers (usually superintendents) in charge of

392-565: A lieutenant but too small to warrant the assignment of a post-captain and (before about 1770) a sailing master ; the commanding officer served as his own master. In practice, these were usually unrated sloops-of-war of no more than 20 guns. The Royal Navy shortened "master and commander" to "commander" in 1794; however, the term "master and commander" remained (unofficially) in common parlance for several years. The equivalent American rank master commandant remained in use until changed to commander in 1838. A corresponding rank in some navies

448-532: A staff. Since the British Royal Air Force 's mid-rank officers' ranks are modelled on those of the Royal Navy , the term wing commander is used as a rank, and this is the equivalent of a lieutenant colonel in the army or a commander in the navy. The rank of wing commander is above that of squadron leader and below that of group captain . In the former Royal Naval Air Service , which was merged with

504-407: A title in certain circumstances, such as the commander of a squad of detectives, who would usually be of the rank of lieutenant, and in some police or sheriff's departments where commanders are ranks, officers or deputies of separate ranks are also referred to as commander by title. The Montreal police force, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal , uses the rank of commander (Commandant) . In

560-532: Is frigate captain . In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4. Various functions of commanding officers were also styled commander . In the navy of the Dutch Republic , anyone who commanded a ship or a fleet without having an appropriate rank to do so could be called a Commandeur . This included ad hoc fleet commanders and acting captains ( Luitenant-Commandeur ). In

616-408: Is also a generic term for an officer commanding any armed forces unit, for example " platoon commander ", " brigade commander" and " squadron commander". In the police, terms such as " borough commander" and " incident commander " are used. Commander is a rank used in navies , but is very rarely used as a rank in armies . In most armies, the term "commander" is used as a job title. For example, in

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672-484: Is designated as mission commander. The commander is the captain of the ship, and makes all real-time critical decisions on behalf of the crew and in coordination with the Mission Control Center (MCC). The title of aircraft commander is used in civil aviation to refer to the pilot in command (commonly referred to as "captain", which is technically an airline rank and not related to the commander's role on board

728-464: Is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Army , United States Air Force , United States Marine Corps , and United States Space Force . Notably, commander is the first rank at which the holder wears an embellished cap, whereas officers of the other military services are entitled to embellishment of similar headgear at O-4 rank. Promotion to commander in the U.S. Navy

784-688: Is governed by United States Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980 or its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA). DOPMA/ROPMA guidelines suggest that 70% of lieutenant commanders should be promoted to commander after serving a minimum of three years at their present rank and after attaining 15 to 17 years of cumulative commissioned service, although this percentage may vary and be appreciably less for certain officer designators (i.e., primary "specialties") depending on defense budgets, force structure, and

840-465: Is immediately above "commander-captain" ( Norwegian : Kommandørkaptein , Swedish : Kommendörkapten , Danish : Kommandørkaptajn ), which is equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of commander. In Denmark, the rank of commander exists as kommandørkaptajn (commander captain or commanding captain), which is senior to orlogskaptajn (captain) and kommandør (commander), which

896-531: Is senior to kommandørkaptajn . Kommandørkaptajn is officially translated into English as "Commander, Senior Grade", while orlogskaptajn is officially translated as '"Commander." A commander in the Royal Navy is above the rank of lieutenant commander , below the rank of captain , and is equivalent in rank to a lieutenant colonel in the army. A commander may command a frigate , destroyer , submarine , aviation squadron or shore installation, or may serve on

952-637: Is the Dutch equivalent of the British air commodore . The rank of commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is identical in description to that of a commander in the British Royal Navy . RAN chaplains who are in divisions 1, 2 or 3 (of five divisions) have the equivalent rank standing of commanders. This means that to officers and NCOs below the rank of commander, lieutenant colonel, or wing commander,

1008-468: Is typically a lieutenant or captain , a squadron commander is typically a major or lieutenant colonel , a group commander is typically a colonel , a wing commander is typically a senior colonel or a brigadier general , a numbered air force commander is a major general or lieutenant general , and the commander of a major command is a general . In the United States Space Force ,

1064-549: The British blockade on the night of 30 April 1778, returning the heavy fire of the British frigate HMS Lark and damaging that vessel, killing 3 of her crew and wounding 17, firing on frigate HMS Juno and damaging a tender that was sent to dock in Newport, Rhode Island , where it sank. She sailed directly for France , arriving at Paimboeuf 30 May to procure guns and supplies for Continental Navy vessels under construction. During

1120-735: The French and Indian War period, he became a privateersman and commanded privateer Game Cock from 1759 to 1760. In one six-month cruise, he captured 23 French ships. In 1772, Whipple burnt the first British naval casualty of the American Revolution , the revenue cutter Gaspee , in the Gaspée Affair . The first to unfurl the Star Spangled Banner in London, Whipple was also the first to sail an ocean-going ship 2000 miles downriver from Ohio to

1176-537: The Gaspee and I will hang you at the yard arm!" Whipple responded, "Sir, always catch a man before you hang him." Three years later, the Rhode Island General Assembly appointed Whipple commodore of two ships fitted for the defense of the colony's trade. On June 15, 1775, (the day the sea captain received his commission), Whipple led his men to capture the tender to frigate HMS Rose . After cruising in

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1232-552: The Incident Command System the incident commander is in charge of the response to an emergency. The title may pass from person to person as the incident develops. The title of commander is used in chivalric orders such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for a member senior to a knight . The title of knight commander is often used to denote an even higher rank. These conventions are also used by most of

1288-555: The Ohio Company of Associates in 1788 and the initial westward migration into that territory, Whipple and his family became pioneers on the American frontier and were among the founders of the town of Marietta, Ohio , and the first named proprietor of Charleston, Vermont . Granted a pension by Congress in recognition of his distinguished service in helping to win American independence, Whipple died at Marietta, Ohio , on May 27, 1819, and

1344-620: The Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, the pilots held appointments as well as their normal ranks in the Royal Navy, and they wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. A flight commander wore a star above a lieutenant's two rank stripes, squadron commander wore two stars above two rank stripes (less than eight years' seniority) or two-and-a-half rank stripes (over eight years seniority), and wing commander wore three rank stripes. The rank stripes had

1400-583: The Spanish Army , the Spanish Air Force and the marine infantry , the term commander is the literal translation of comandante , the Spanish equivalent of a Commonwealth major . The Guardia Civil shares the army ranks, and the officer commanding a house-garrison (usually an NCO or a lieutenant, depending on the size) is addressed as the comandante de puesto (post commander). In the United States Army ,

1456-470: The US Army , an officer with the rank of captain ( NATO rank code OF-2 ) may hold the title of " company commander ", whereas an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel ( NATO rank code OF-4 ) typically holds the title of " battalion commander". The title, originally "master and commander", originated in the 18th century to describe naval officers who commanded ships of war too large to be commanded by

1512-470: The United States Air Force , the term "commander" (abbreviated "CC" in office symbols, i.e. "OG/CC" for "operations group commander") is applied officially to the commanding officer of an Air Force unit; hence, there are flight commanders, squadron commanders, group commanders, wing commanders, numbered air force commanders, and commanders of major commands . In rank, a flight commander

1568-578: The American colonies, and reached Paimboeuf . After acquiring guns and supplies for the Continental Army, the Providence and the Boston sailed home to the colonies, taking three prizes en route. Upon his return, Whipple received command of a small squadron— Providence , Ranger , and Queen of France . On one occasion in mid-July 1779, this group of ships encountered a large British convoy in dense fog off

1624-714: The British Venerable Order of Saint John , a commander ranks below a knight. USS Providence (1776 frigate) The second Providence , a 28-gun frigate , built by Silvester Bowes at Providence, Rhode Island , by order of the Continental Congress , was launched in May 1776. After being blockaded in the Providence River for more than a year, the new frigate, under command of Captain Abraham Whipple , ran

1680-513: The British until he was paroled to Chester, Pennsylvania , at which point he took no further part in the war. Upon the conclusion of hostilities, Whipple took up farming near Cranston , Rhode Island. For the rest of his life, he remained a farmer, with the exception of two spells of seafaring as master of merchantmen, first of the General Washington and then of the St. Clair . With the formation of

1736-1006: The Caribbean, which opened trade with the Northwest Territory. Abraham Whipple was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of Rhode Island. Whipple was born on September 26, 1733, to Noah Whipple Jr. Abraham Whipple and Sarah Hopkins were married on August 2, 1761. They had three children: John, Catherine, and Mary. Catherine later married Colonel Ebenezer Sproat of the Continental Army . Whipple sold enslaved people as part of his mercantile career; in November 1763, Whipple sold an enslaved woman named Deuse to Nicholas Brown & Co. As American colonists began to express their opposition to

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1792-558: The District of Columbia also uses the rank of commander, which is a grade above inspector and two grades above captain. In the Montgomery County, MD police department a commander is a captain assigned to command a police district. The insignia worn is commonly every insignia between major and major general, depending on the police or sheriff's department. Albuquerque Police Department commanders are captain equivalents, however, with

1848-543: The Newfoundland Banks. Whipple concealed his guns and ran up the British flag. Thus disguised, Whipple cut 11 prizes out of the convoy, eight of which contained spoils of war valued together at over one million dollars (roughly 25.7 million in 2024 dollars), making the venture easily one of the richest captures of the entire war. Whipple then cruised off Bermuda before arriving at Charleston, South Carolina . On December 23, 1779. British forces threatened Charleston, which

1904-666: The aircraft). Within the British police , Commander is a chief officer rank in the two police forces responsible for law enforcement within London , the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police . In both forces, the rank is senior to chief superintendent ; in the Metropolitan Police it is junior to deputy assistant commissioner and in the City of London Police it is junior to assistant commissioner . In forces outside London,

1960-413: The brass version of the captain's insignia. In some other police or sheriff's departments where the captains have brass insignias instead of silver, such as Florida's Lee County Sheriff's Department, commanders are above captains, and below majors, with the insignia being brass captain's bars with wreathes around. Northport's police commanders have the insignia of second lieutenants. Commander is also used as

2016-622: The chaplain is a superior. To those officers ranked higher than commander, the chaplain is subordinate. Although this equivalency exists, RAN chaplains who are in divisions 1, 2 or 3 do not actually wear the rank of commander, and they hold no command privilege. Commander is a naval rank in Scandinavia ( Kommandør in Danish and Norwegian, Kommendör in Swedish) equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of captain. The Scandinavian rank of commander

2072-642: The continental orders of chivalry. The United Kingdom uses different classifications. In most of the British orders of knighthood, the grade of knight (or dame) commander is the lowest grade of knighthood, but is above the grade of companion (which does not carry a knighthood). In the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire , the grade of commander is senior to the grade of lieutenant or officer, but junior to that of knight or dame commander. In

2128-565: The enemy fleet all day without causing alarm. They took 11 prizes, many by quietly sending boats to take possession. The squadron slipped away with their prizes during the night. They sent 8 of the prizes, valued together with their cargo at over a million dollars, into Boston and Cape Ann . The Squadron returned to Boston and 23 November sailed from Nantasket Roads , first cruising eastward of Bermuda , arriving at Charleston, South Carolina 23 December to defend that city. Providence , with other ships of Commodore Whipple's Squadron remained for

2184-633: The fleet of the Admiralty of Zeeland however, commandeur was a formal rank, the equivalent of Schout-bij-nacht (rear-admiral) in the other Dutch admiralties. The Dutch use of the title as a rank lives on in the Royal Netherlands Navy , as the equivalent of commodore . In the Royal Netherlands Air Force , however, this rank is known by the English spelling of commodore which

2240-529: The needs of the service. For instance, as in various small colonial settlements (such as various Caribbean islands) commanding the garrison was the crux of the top job, the military title Commandeur could be used instead of a civilian gubernatorial style, not unlike the Portuguese captain-major . In the British Army , the term "commander" is officially applied to the non-commissioned officer in charge of

2296-589: The policies of the Crown , acts of defiance became increasingly prevalent. An early incident occurred on June 9, 1772, when Whipple led 50 Rhode Islanders in the capture and burning of the British revenue cutter Gaspee . The ship had run aground off Pawtuxet while chasing the packet Hannah . The burning initiated an exchange of notes between Whipple and Captain James Wallace of HMS Rose . Wallace wrote, "You Abraham Whipple on June 10, 1772, burned his majesty's vessel

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2352-441: The rank equates to assistant chief constable which bears the same insignia. The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in 1946, after the rank of deputy assistant commissioner was split in two, with senior DACs keeping that rank and title and junior DACs being regraded as commanders. The Metropolitan Police also used the rank of deputy commander , ranking just below that of commander, between 1946 and 1968. Officers in charge of

2408-506: The rank of commander due to the size, complexity, and high-profile nature of the borough. The Metropolitan Police Service announced that by summer 2018 the rank would be phased out, along with that of chief inspector . However, in August 2017 it was announced that the new Commissioner Cressida Dick had cancelled the plan to phase them out. The rank badge worn by a commander or an assistant chief constable consists of crossed tipstaves within

2464-459: The return voyage and Providence arrived Portsmouth, New Hampshire , 15 October. Transferred to Boston to seek a crew, Providence sailed from Boston 18 June 1779 as flagship of Commodore Abraham Whipple, cruising eastward in company with Ranger and Queen of France . In the early morning of mid-July, the squadron was in a dense fog off the banks of Newfoundland and fell in with a Jamaican fleet of some 150 sails. The vessels remained with

2520-521: The sea the first square rigged vessel built on the Ohio, opening to commerce resources beyond calculation. Born September 26th, A.D. 1733. Died May 27th, 1819. Aged 85 years. Several ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Whipple in his honor. There is a Whipple Street, Avenue or Court in almost every one of the 39 municipalities in the State of Rhode Island. Commander Commander

2576-478: The ship, the captain and his crew abandoned her and escaped capture ashore. Assigned next to command 28-gun frigate Providence , Whipple ran the British blockade on the night of April 30, 1778, damaging HMS Lark and outrunning another British ship during the escape. Tacking for France, the Providence crossed the Atlantic Ocean unmolested, bearing important dispatches relating to agreements between France and

2632-468: The term "commander" is applied officially to the commanding officer of a Space Force unit; hence, there are squadron commanders, delta commanders, and commanders of field commands . In rank, a squadron commander is a lieutenant colonel , a delta commander is a colonel , and the commander of a field command is a major general or lieutenant general . In NASA spacecraft missions since the beginning of Project Gemini , one crew member on each spacecraft

2688-410: The term "commander" is officially applied to the commanding officer of army units; hence, there are company commanders , battalion commanders , brigade commanders , and so forth. At the highest levels of U.S. military command structure, "commander" also refers to what used to be called commander-in-chief , or CINC, until October 24, 2002, although the term CINC is still used in casual speech. In

2744-537: The term "commander" may be applied to them informally. In the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry commander is a rank equivalent to major . Commandeur as title of colonial office was the case on the island of Tobago in the Dutch colony of Nieuw Walcheren . The usage is similar/identical to the British Army , with the term "commander" having been applied to the colonel who was Commander, 2 Land Force Group, Linton Camp, and now to Commander, 1 Brigade . In

2800-436: The twelve geographical Basic Command Units are referred to as "BCU commander". However, the officers do not hold the rank of commander but instead hold the rank of chief superintendent. Prior to organisational change merging boroughs in to BCUs, officers in charge of policing each of the London's boroughs were given the title "borough commander". A previous exception to this was the borough commander of Westminster , who held

2856-442: The usual Royal Navy curl, and they were surmounted by an eagle. 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 , commander (abbreviated "CDR") is a senior-grade officer rank, with the pay grade of O-5. Commander ranks above lieutenant commander (O-4) and below captain . (O-6). Commander

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2912-414: The vicinity of Narragansett Bay , he headed south to Bermuda to procure gunpowder for use by the colony. On the return voyage, Whipple transported naval recruits to Philadelphia . Upon her arrival there, his ship, Katy , was taken over by agents of the Continental Congress and was fitted out as sloop-of-war Providence . Whipple was commissioned a captain in the Continental Navy on December 22 and

2968-433: The voyage she captured brigantine "Lord Grossvenor" at ( 40°00′N 10°00′W  /  40.000°N 10.000°W  / 40.000; -10.000 ). Three days later Grossvenor was recaptured by Letter of Marque "Nancy" and then retaken by Providence. She sailed from Paimboeuf 8 August and six days later, joined frigate Boston at Brest, France . The two ships sailed back to America 22 August. They took 3 prizes on

3024-513: Was at the time a key Continental port. The threat led Whipple to move the guns and crews from the Continental Navy ships in port on shore to reinforce the land batteries and repulse the expected British assault. However, after a rugged four-month siege , the overwhelming pressure of British arms forced the Continental forces to surrender on May 12, 1780. Whipple remained a prisoner of war of

3080-477: Was buried at Mound Cemetery in Marietta. His gravestone reads: Sacred to the memory of Commodore Abraham Whipple whose naval skill and courage will ever remain the pride and boast of his country. In the revolution he was the first on the seas to hurl defiance at proud Britain, gallantly leading the way to wrest from the mistress of the ocean her scepter, and there to wave the star spangled banner. He also conducted to

3136-532: Was given command of 24-gun ship Columbus . From February 17 to April 8, 1776, he commanded the ship during the first Continental Navy - Marine Corps amphibious expedition—the cruise to New Providence , in the Bahamas, to seize essential military supplies from the British garrison at Nassau . After returning north to New England , Whipple captured five British prizes before March 27, 1778, when his ship ran aground off Point Judith , Rhode Island . After stripping

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