Acts 10:7

And when the angel that spake unto him was departed, he called two of his household-servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; and having rehearsed all things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

The scope and extent of the centurion's authority appears in this verse to have been far beyond what is usually associated with the commander of a hundred men. Several of the soldiers were assigned to wait on Cornelius continually, and one of these was dispatched with the two servants sent to Joppa, perhaps to serve as an escort or guard. Moreover, the two household-servants appear in context as two of many, certainly not as the only two he had. Also, the authority to initiate and order a military mission involving a soldier plainly belonged to Cornelius, indicating an authority more like that of a colonel or general in present-day armies, rather than that of a captain, with which rank centurion is usually equated.

The detail thus dispatched by Cornelius left almost immediately; because their arrival time at Joppa, some 30 miles distant, on the following day about noon, demands the understanding that they departed for Joppa about 3:00 o'clock that same afternoon of the angel's visitation, the same being the ninth hour (Acts 10:3). See under Acts 10:9. The promptness and obedience of Cornelius to the angelic command are evident.

Having rehearsed all things unto them ... A mutual love and trust between Cornelius and his subordinates appear in such a thing as this. Rather than writing a letter, Cornelius fully explained the details and purpose of his mission to trusted servants and sent them on their way.