Who commands the aircraft and crews that operate from an aircraft carrier?
And what is their relationship to the Captain of the ship?
shareImmediate?.. the CAG, or Air Wing Commander. CAG stands for Commander, Air Group... back when Air Wings were called Air Groups. They stuck with CAG even though they were now called Air Wings because CAW sounded more like something a Raven would say rather than a title.
The CAG is the CO or Commanding Officer for the entire Air Wing.
The Carrier CO is the Commanding Officer for the Carrier itself, but not the Air Wing.
Above both of these men is the Carrier Strike Group Commander... an ADMIRAL.
The Admiral is in command of all aircraft, ships, and personnel assigned to the Strike Group.
this includes the Air Wing, the Carrier, and all the ships, escorts and replenishment/refueling ships assigned.
Just to clarify, they're on a equal footing is that what you mean? I suppose what I'm wondering is if it came down to it, say for some reason the Admiral and other command is out of the picture, would one of them have say over the other? For instance, and remember I'm talking from naivety here, what if the CAG needed to position the ship in order to perform certain operations with his aircraft, but the ship's captain considered it too risky to take the ship to the location required.
shareWhile it is two separate chains of command with each being the top of each respective chain and the admiral above the first common denominator where the two chains become one... Minus the Admiral... the Carrier CO is the more senior authority and ultimately has responsibility for the Carrier and everyone and everything aboard said ship, to include the embarked Air Wing.