commanding officer

NOUN
18 LETTERS · 5 SYLLABLES · STARTS WITH C

commanding officer is a valid 18-letter word worth 33 points in Scrabble and 40 points in Words with Friends.

SCRABBLE WORDS WITH FRIENDS
C3O1M3M3A1N1D2I1N1G2O1F4F4I1C3E1R1
3 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 4 + 4 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 =33 PTS
DOUBLE WORD → 66TRIPLE WORD → 99
MEANING

What does commanding officer mean?