Over the course of its first decade of operation Stargate Command saw more than one person
take charge of the secret military base. Some of them have been ... shall we say,
“more capable” at the job than others. The base has seen great leadership,
and also some that's truly terrible. Located deep inside Colorado’s Cheyenne
Mountain, and code-named “Area 52,” the S.G.C. operates as the front line in Earth’s
struggle against alien threats. At last count more than two dozen S.G. teams operate from
Stargate Command, tasked also with planetary exploration and reconnaissance. So it takes
a certain kind of leader to ensure the success of these missions, as well as the top-secret
program’s overall mandate: explore, forge alliances, and defend Earth.
Here are the S.G.C.’s five base commanders (all five that we’ve seen so far) –
ranked from the worst to the best. There will be spoilers for Stargate SG-1 here
(and also for a couple of episodes of Atlantis). How does your ranking compare?
Before we get started: No, General West doesn’t count. No matter how many times people on
YouTube tell us we “forgot” him, he’s left off this list on purpose.
General W. O. West was portrayed by actor Leon Rippy in the 1994 Stargate movie.
And while he did command the Creek Mountain facility that housed the Stargate research program,
West was never in command of an agency called “Stargate Command.” The S.G.C. wouldn’t
be formed until the first episode of the television series, “Children of the Gods.”
There, a secret presidential order authorized its creation – along with recon teams SG-1
through SG-9 – to use the Stargate to deploy teams off-world on an ongoing basis.
Leaving aside the fact that strictly speaking West’s command wasn’t even in the same
mountain, what he oversaw was the unit tasked with opening the Stargate in the first place.
This was Catherine Langford’s long-gestating scientific research project. And there’s
even some evidence in the movie that General West didn’t spend much time on site.
After the first mission to Abydos the research project was mothballed, the gate was closed,
and West was reassigned. This was prior to the S.G.C.’s formal organization one year later.
But let’s also give an honorable mention
to one other officer who was seen sitting in the big chair ... only in his case,
it was in an alternate timeline. In the fourth season finale of Stargate Atlantis, called
“The Last Man,” we saw that series mainstay Major Lorne was eventually promoted and assigned
to lead Stargate Command. General Lorne hears out Rodney McKay’s plan to change the timeline
they are living in. McKay ultimately succeeds, so we don’t know
if our Lorne will eventually take this command. Now, on with the list!
Number 5: General Bauer. In the fourth season of Stargate SG-1 an aggressive
N.I.D. black-ops division decided that the Stargate program was not making progress
fast enough. Earth faced existential alien threats seemingly at every turn, and it needed advanced
weapons and technology to defend the planet. Unsatisfied with General Hammond’s leadership
(and his moral integrity), the N.I.D. blackmailed the General by surreptitiously threatening
his grandchildren, forcing him to step down. (That's in the episode “Chain Reaction.”)
In his place they installed Major General Bauer (played by actor Lawrence Dane).
Bauer was a tough (and hard-headed) Air Force General near the end of his career. He wasn’t corrupt
by any means ... but he got the job because he was someone willing to do what the N.I.D.
wanted, even taking reckless risks to develop a new weapon of mass destruction.
Bauer sent a team to steal refined naquadah from the Goa’uld, losing a man in the process.
Then, he ordered Major Samantha Carter to use the mineral to detonate a high-yield explosive
device on a planet with high concentrations of naquadah in the soil.
The off-world test site was incinerated, and Bauer declared victory ... until he learned
that the Stargate would not shut down. Radiation was now pouring through the gate to Earth,
and there wasn’t any way to stop it. The base was evacuated, and Stargate Command
nearly lost ... until the gate reached the 38-minute time limit and disconnected the
wormhole automatically, mercifully sparing the Earth.
That’s a pretty terrible first day. Next time, General – listen to Sam.
Number 4: Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Dr. Weir was in charge of the S.G.C. for only
a short time (probably a matter of weeks), and to date she’s been the base’s only
civilian commander. At the end of the show’s seventh season
Dr. Weir was hand-picked by the new President, Henry Hayes, after he was sworn into office
and briefed on the existence of the Stargate program. This was a crucial time: Anubis’s
fleet was about to attack Earth, and SG-1 discovered an Ancient outpost beneath the
ice of Antarctica. After this, an international treaty introduced
new complications to the normal operations at the S.G.C. Russia, China, France, and Great
Britain would have a bigger say. And the International Oversight Advisory – the I.O.A. – exercised
civilian oversight of the program. With a background in international diplomacy,
Weir was a good fit here. Elizabeth was a capable leader – but she
also seemed to recognize from Day 1 that she was out of her depth. Politically her hands
were tied during much of her short tenure, leaving her with little to do but pass along
bad news to the team. But then the Goa’uld came knocking. In the
wake of Anubis’s defeat Baal was now stronger than ever, and the rest of the System Lords
sought an alliance with Earth against him. As a seasoned negotiator, Elizabeth was in
the perfect position to meet the delegation. Here in Season 8 the character was also recast.
Torri Higginson took over the role from Jessica Steen, and made Elizabeth her own.
Eventually Dr. Weir found her true calling. She was reassigned to lead the international
research team at the Antarctic outpost. And soon after Elizabeth found herself heading
up an expedition through the Stargate to the lost city of Atlantis.
Number 3: General Jack O’Neill. In Season 8, SG-1’s team leader took a position
that put him in charge of the entire S.G.C. – but he did it with some trepidation.
Jack O’Neill was used to being in the middle of the action, risking his own life,
always in a position to get his people out of danger. Now, he had to send teams off-world
while he stayed behind. It was a tough transition, but Jack weathered
the storm (a lot of them), kept the base safe, and held both Baal and the Replicators at bay
– with a quip and a smile ever at the ready.
This was a year that saw the defeat of the Goa’uld, the destruction of the Replicators,
a giant plant infest the base, a disembodied Anubis run amok, a billionaire threaten to
expose the program to the world, rogue operatives steal the Stargate, and a Jaffa wedding.
And at the end of it, there was cake. At first Richard Dean Anderson’s Jack O’Neill
thought that he wouldn’t be up to the task. But he really rose to the occasion, and discovered
new ways to be a leader. He commanded the S.G.C. for one year before he was ready to
move on ... but not to retirement just yet. General O’Neill’s new assignment was at
the Pentagon, leading the newly formed office of Homeworld Command. This put him at the
President’s right hand, overseeing U.S. interests in an international alliance that
oversaw the Stargate program, the Atlantis expedition, the BC-304 deep space carrier
fleet, and the ninth-chevron project on Icarus Base.
Number 2: General Hank Landry. Portrayed by veteran actor Beau Bridges,
Hank Landry stepped into command at the S.G.C. in the program’s ninth year. Calm and confident,
Landry had years of command experience under his belt, as well as the confidence of the
man who put him in that chair – his predecessor, Jack O’Neill.
General Landry also inherited a well-oiled machine, with support personnel
(like Walter Harriman) at the top of their game, and all major threats to Earth
more or less dealt with ... at least for his first few days. Then came a new crisis,
as Earth once again kicked the hornet's nest and stumbled into a powerful new threat.
Once alerted to their existence, the followers of the Ori sent emissaries to the Milky Way Galaxy
as a prelude to an all-out invasion. It was Landry who manned the front lines,
standing up to the Ori Priors when they came knocking. He suffered first-hand when they
unleashed a biological plague. And he stood toe-to-toe with a Goa’uld spy
working for the Ori. Relying on SG-1’s skill and expertise,
General Landry helped to lead Earth through the Ori crisis that threatened the entire galaxy.
At last report Landry was still in charge at Stargate Command.
Number 1: General George Hammond. What can be said about Major General George
Hammond? The officer who led the S.G.C. for the longest was also the very best at the
job. “Hammond of Texas” (as Bra’tac called him) was tough but fair, a seasoned
military man who wouldn’t back down from a fight – yet who was also wise and compassionate.
Hammond commanded the base from the program’s inception. And for its first seven years of
operation he was the steady center that his people could always count on to have their
backs. Hammond’s character was originally pitched
as gruff and hard-headed, barking orders and giving ultimatums in ways that put him at
odds with SG-1. But actor Don S. Davis was having none of it.
Under his influence Hammond quickly went from “strongman” to strong leader, who exercised
his authority by empowering those under his command. It made for a better character, better
relationships, and a healthy base of operations inside Cheyenne Mountain.
General Hammond oversaw the beginnings of the Stargate program in 1997 and its careful,
ethical pursuit of its standing orders. He led by example, with confidence and a moral
backbone, willing to put himself on the line and to make the tough calls.
He stood toe-to-toe with the likes of Apophis and Nirrti; helped to build alliances with
the Tollan, the Tok’ra, and the Asgard; and fought off a Replicator infestation.
Finally, Hammond took command of Prometheus to help defend the planet from Anubis’s
assault fleet. George Hammond retired in peace, and after
he passed away he got a ship named in his memory:
the deep space carrier U.S.S. George Hammond. He was ... the best.
Well that’s what we think, anyway – what's your ranking? Would you move any of these around?
Tell us why in the comments below! You can find our full coverage of the Stargate
franchise at GateWorld.net. And make sure you’re subscribed to the channel now
so you don’t miss a thing. Thanks for watching!