This is one of those things we saw bubbling this past year….William Shatner, Captain James Tiberius Kirk himself, has been pondering via his always lively Twitter account about the legitimacy and usefulness of the newest branch of the United States of America’s military- Space Force.
William Shatner as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek,” photo courtesy of the CBS Archives
Not to be confused for the Netflix comedy series of the same name (that actually has a trademark claim that predates the USA’s) starring Steve Carrell and John Malkovich, Space Force leaves many of us wondering what the hell.
Shatner, never a man to mix words, decided to take his quandaries all the way to publication the Military Times in an op-ed the 89-year-old wrote himself (which you can read here).
Dear @SpaceForceDoD, I have a question to ask, if it’s OK. I’m just a nobody here but I was wondering; is it true that the commanding officer onboard a “Space Force” ship is designated a Colonel & not a Captain? ???♂️ Is this up for debate? I think I’d like to debate the issue.?
“Star Trek” has borrowed so much of its iconic rank symbols from the U.S. military and NASA. When you unveiled the Space Force logo, many immediately saw it as an homage to “Star Trek” (even though our Delta was an homage to the previous military space insignias). Why not borrow back from “Star Trek” and adopt our ranks as well? We took them from the Navy for good reason, even though Gene Roddenberry was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps. They made better sense when talking about a (space) ship.
So wrapping this up, I’m going to say that if you want the public to believe in heroes, that you should adopt the Navy ranks as they are the ones the public is most used to being heroes.
So please reconsider and name the Space Force ranks after the U.S. Navy.
Mary Anne Butler (Mab) has been part of the fast-paced world of journalism since she was 15, getting her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (where she is still Editor-in-Chief), Bleeding Cool (where she was News Editor), and now NerdBot as News Editor.
Over the past 10 years, she’s built a reputation at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band with an international presence.
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