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Considering that he's performed exceptionally for many years, has proven leadership capabilities and is highly intelligent, why haven't they given him a higher rank?

user931
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Twilight Sparkle
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    Because Colonel America doesn't sound as good as Captain America? – Ayrx May 31 '14 at 15:57
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    I'm fairly sure that he's retired, or at the very least not on active service. – Valorum May 31 '14 at 16:29
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    He was Colonel America in the Marvel Zombie universe. It...ended badly. – Jeff May 31 '14 at 17:13
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    General America! – Möoz May 31 '14 at 23:16
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    I suspect that it's the same reason that Captain Crunch has never been promoted. (Except in Futurama, but that's a cartoon.) – Wayne Jun 01 '14 at 00:45
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    Well, he's not really a Captain to begin with... sooo – 22nd Century Fza Jun 01 '14 at 05:45
  • One of these days, maybe he at least receives a Medal of Honor for going above and beyond the call of duty, risking his life behind enemy lines. – Michael Stum Jun 01 '14 at 10:11
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    Among the many other reasons he wouldn't be promoted is that he's effectively irreplaceable in his current job. Thus, he's too valuable to be promoted. To be promoted you have to be marginally competent at what you do, but not so good that you can't be easily replaced by the next marginally competent oaf the organization can find. What? You want to promote an exceptional field agent, put him behind a desk, and let him go to seed? I don't think so! :-) – Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні Jun 02 '14 at 12:34
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    So Colonel Sanders outranks Captain America? That's not cool. – coburne Jun 02 '14 at 13:11
  • Because Captain America could never be allowed to outrank Captain Obvious. – Carl Witthoft Jun 02 '14 at 14:20
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    Captain America was his PR name. He was never a Captain to begin with. – Michael Brown Jun 02 '14 at 15:24
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    @MikeBrown it's very possible he was given a field commision. That practice was much more common place, and easier to push the paperwork through during WWII than it is now. – Monty129 Jun 02 '14 at 18:58
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    @Wayne I believe it's "Cap'n" not Captain. Also anyone who's in command of a sea going vessel holds the title of Captain, but not necessarily the rank of captain. – Monty129 Jun 02 '14 at 18:59
  • @coburne Colonel Sanders was a "Kentucky Colonel" - that's an honorary title from the Commonwealth of Kentucky for outstanding community service or other accomplishments (such as selling a lot of chicken). Though Sanders enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1908 he was honourably discharged after three months, it appears without promotion at all. – Adam Eberbach Jun 03 '14 at 04:13
  • @Monty129 If he was given a field commission, does that mean that he used to be Sergeant Major America? – KSmarts Feb 17 '15 at 16:14
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    @KSmarts he's referred to as "Private Rogers" so I'm guessing he's commissioned from an E-1 or E-2 directly to Captain. "Private America" sort of sounds like a patriotic porn title though so they probably didn't use that. – Monty129 Feb 17 '15 at 16:19
  • @Monty129 So, no "Specialist America" either? – KSmarts Feb 17 '15 at 16:24
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    "Capitan America" sounds like a name for a hero. "Major America" sounds like a polling result. "Colonel America" sounds like a name for a villain. "General America" sounds like a name for a mega-corporation producing everything from atom bombs to zippos. "Admiral America" also sounds like good name for a hero, but unfortunately poor guy was never in the Navy... – Darth Hunterix May 19 '15 at 20:28
  • @CarlWitthoft ...or Captain Awesome. – miltonaut Jun 03 '16 at 10:25
  • @monty129: “anyone who's in command of a sea going vessel holds the title of Captain” — even if you’re only in command cos you beat up everyone else on the boat? – Paul D. Waite Mar 26 '19 at 08:13
  • He got to the “Star Wars / Trek” part of his list, and listened to Kirk’s advice about never letting them get you out of the chair. – Paul D. Waite Mar 26 '19 at 08:16
  • It's really unfair that Captains America, Britain, Marvel, Crunch, Obvious, among others, haven't been promoted. – galacticninja Nov 06 '22 at 02:39

4 Answers4

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Because rank follows job

Army rank isn't just a question of experience, heroics or capabilities. It's not like going up a level in a D&D game. After a certain point, an officer's rank implies his job, not only his abilities.

A US Army Captain usually commands units the size of Companies or smaller, meaning at most a group of 80-250 soldiers. This is in keeping with Captain America's usual scale - he usually leads platoons, actually, but in the First Avenger movie we saw him lead a larger group to rescue hostages.

Generally speaking, the work he does is not that of a Major, Colonel or General. He's a field agent and tactical warrior, not a strategist or high-level commander.

Because you have to be in service to be promoted

Of course, all this ignores the fact that as far as I know he isn't, as of the main Marvel timeline, an active member of the US Army. He works with S.H.I.E.L.D, and keeps his existing rank, but since he's not an active commissioned officer, he won't continue moving up the ranks.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan
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    The Rank Folows Job is incredibly accurate. U.S. Enlisted here, so I kinda have first hand knowledge. – Ender Jun 01 '14 at 06:03
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    As a great (and, I think, little-known) example, there are no permanent US 3- and 4-star generals. 2-star generals are temporarily promoted the extra star or two based on what rank is assigned to the position they're holding, and revert back to two stars once they leave the position. – Bobson Jun 02 '14 at 13:53
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    @Bobson - worth pointing out that the same applies to the war time only 5 star general since it can't be given out if the position isn't actively needed. – AJ Henderson Jun 02 '14 at 14:21
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    @Bobson Wikipedia claims: “Historically, officers leaving three-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.” So they either need to quickly find a new post of equal or higher stature, or retire. I didn't know this previously – thanks for pointing it out! – Bradd Szonye Jun 03 '14 at 01:22
  • I recently saw an argument on another website claiming the opposite - that as an MIA officer he would have been promoted automatically after the appropriate amount of time in each grade, and his back pay would have been in accordance with that. – Random832 Jan 03 '15 at 13:41
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He hasn't been promoted because he isn't active military personnel. It's that simple. He is considered "retired" from the US Army.

  • He had a rank when he was in the Army and when he "died" that was the rank he wore.

  • When he was found and revived, the world he lived in included many beings of superhuman stature and his previous ranking became a "sobriquet" denoting his previous service and a "recognizable brand".

  • He is a consultant with SHIELD providing "special operation services".

  • If he were to rejoin the Army in an active military capacity, he would then be eligible for promotions allowing him to increase in rank and I suspect considering his abilities and strengths as a leader would quickly find himself promoted.

  • In the canon Marvel Universe, Captain America is considered to be the finest tactical leader the Avengers have ever had and during times of combat, almost everyone INCLUDING Thor will defer to the Captain's judgment.

  • And as far as any marketing guru will tell you, you don't change a winning brand.

Community
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Thaddeus Howze
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"Captain" in his case is generally not seen as a 'rank' in the strict sense but is his Nom de guerre, his 'war name'. Though he has the authority of a combat field commander, he was originally assigned the CODE NAME 'Captain America' as a result of the Super-Soldier Program and because it was a catchy name for the anti-Nazi propaganda campaign at the time, not because he attended West Point and was promoted through the ranks to the rank of Captain.

(Note: He didn't even go through Army basic training bootcamp)

Some backstory;

Steve Rodgers went from being a scrawny civilian, allowed to enlist, was administered the Super-Soldier Serum (which was obviously a success), put through an intensive 3 month physical and tactical training program, was then 'appointed' the CODE NAME 'Captain America'. All of this happened in the span of a little over 3 months. His Nom de guerre is so well known that it would never be changed to 'Lt. Col. America' no matter how many people he commanded.

Morgan
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    It really depends on what continuity you mean - he DID go through boot during Captain America: The First Avenger. I believe he's also gone through some version of OCS in the 616 continuity. – Jeff Jun 02 '14 at 18:46
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    @Jeff -In the movie 'Captain America: The First Avenger', that wasn't bootcamp, it was a selection process to determine who would be selected and only lasted a few days. Dr. Erskine already wanted Rodgers but Colonel Phillips was skeptical until Rodgers showed his courage and self sacrifice by diving on what he thought was a live grenade. I'm not familiar with other re-writes or 'retconned' continuities. – Morgan Jun 02 '14 at 19:23
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    It was, indeed, a selection process. But it was also boot camp. They were doing PT, learning military discipline and protocol, etc. Besides, Cap shows quite a bit of familiarity with infantry protocol, tactics, and weaponry later in the movie, which he could easiest have learned in boot. – Jeff Jun 03 '14 at 13:14
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    You could argue that he got a battlefield promotion based on the duties that he was expected to perform. The way I understand it, (never having the honor of serving in the military) promotions in war time have much different rules than promotions during peace. – AndyD273 Jun 03 '14 at 15:24
  • @Jeff -I went through Marine Corps bootcamp... what they were doing wasn't bootcamp. – Morgan Jun 03 '14 at 16:40
  • @Morgan: 2 things: Marines boot is likely a LOT harder than regular Army. Second, I'm pretty sure that was 'movie boot camp'. Unless they're trying for extreme accuracy, most movies don't portray boot accurately. – Jeff Jun 03 '14 at 17:34
  • @Jeff -So this is bootcamp? http://www.fxguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/FB-FX-0082.jpg I got ripped off. – Morgan Jun 03 '14 at 18:13
  • @Jeff -Those specific guys were individually selected for that 'audition'. This was an evaluation process, not bootcamp. [Col. Phillips argues with Dr. Erskine over Steve Rogers' selection] Col. Chester Phillips: You don't win wars with niceness, Doctor. [he takes a grenade and pulls the pin] You win wars with guts. [tosses it to where the candidates are training] Grenade! Steve Rogers: [dives on grenade as soldiers scatter] Get away! Get back! [they soon realize it is a dud grenade and are amazed at Steve's bravery] Is this a test? Phillips: He's still skinny. [walks away] Steve is selected. – Morgan Jun 03 '14 at 18:31
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Made an account just to answer, but I answer mostly because I can't comment

Most likely because the "Captain" part is not really a "rank", but a moniker. Kind of like "Captain Obvious". Nobody has ever demoted Captain Obvious, no?

By the way, you don't need to be serving an "army" to be assigned a "rank". Colonel Sanders was a businessman, for example, and his rank is higher than America

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