Editing Commanding officer (section)

===Navy and Coast Guard===
In the [[United States Navy]] and [[United States Coast Guard]], commanding officer is the official title of the commander of a ship, but they are usually referred to as "[[Sea captain|the Captain]]" regardless of their actual rank: "Any naval officer who commands a ship, submarine or other vessel is addressed by naval custom as 'captain' while aboard in command, regardless of their actual rank."<ref>America's Navy: Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet: Navy Officer Titles: Captain, [https://archive.today/20170302062327/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/Pages/Navy-Officer-Titles.aspx] </ref> They may be informally referred to as "Skipper", though allowing or forbidding the use of this form of address is the commanding officer's prerogative.

A prospective commanding officer (PCO) is a U.S. Navy officer who has been selected for his/her own command.  The term is used in correspondence or in reference to the officer before they assume command of the unit (ship, squadron, unit, etc.).

If the sailor in command of a unit is an enlisted member, rather than a commissioned or [[warrant officer]], he or she is referred to as the "officer in charge" rather than "commanding officer".  In the Coast Guard it is common for smaller cutters to be commanded by a [[chief petty officer]].