George Hammond (Stargate)

George S. Hammond is a United States Air Force Major General (later Lieutenant General) from Texas,[1] who commands Stargate Command (SGC) in the first seven seasons of Stargate SG-1. The series pilot introduces Hammond as the successor of Major General West, the commander of the Stargate Project in the original Stargate film.[2] Hammond had been stationed as a Lieutenant at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (the present-day location of Stargate Command) in 1969,[3][4] Hammond's mentioned relatives include his wife, who had died of cancer four years before the events of the series began, and his granddaughters named Kayla and Tessa (whose telephone number occupies Hammond's first speed dial button above the President of the United States which occupies the second).[5] His father is also mentioned in the Season 2 episode entitled 1969.[3]

General Hammond has control over each SG mission,[6] but is rarely directly involved with the off-world adventures of SG teams. He is only shown off-world in season 2's "Prisoners", season 3's "Into the Fire" and "Forever in a Day", and the season 7 premiere "Fallen"; he also commands the Earth spaceship Prometheus in season 7's "Lost City" and season 8's "Prometheus Unbound". Hammond's command of the SGC is interrupted once in season 4's "Chain Reaction", where Hammond retires under duress and is temporarily replaced by Major General Bauer.[4] The series never clearly establishes Hammond's second-in-command, although producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in season 7 that "if Hammond were to retire, there's a strong possibility that [Colonel Jack O'Neill] could take over command of the [Stargate Command] base".[7]

In the season 7 finale "Lost City", newly inaugurated President Henry Hayes is pressured into replacing General Hammond with Dr. Elizabeth Weir for a three-month review process of the SGC.[8] Hammond is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and is placed in command of the new Homeworld Security department afterwards; Brigadier General Jack O'Neill takes over command of Stargate Command in the season 8 opener "New Order".[9] Hammond appears in the season 1 episode "Home" of Stargate Atlantis, and appears in seasons 8 through 10 of Stargate SG-1. After Hammond appears in season 9's "The Fourth Horseman" in a civilian suit instead of a military uniform, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter confirms Hammond's retired status in season 10's "The Road Not Taken".[10] In his last appearance in the alternate timeline film Stargate: Continuum, General Hammond acts as a military advisor to President Henry Hayes. Carter reports to Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard in the Stargate Atlantis Season 5 finale/series finale episode, "Enemy at the Gate" that Hammond recently died from a heart attack and that the Daedalus-class ship Phoenix was renamed the George Hammond in his honor.[11]

According to Approaching The Possible by Jo Storm, the season 2 episode "1969" showed that Hammond climbed the military ladder "by being shrewd, intelligent, and [by being] possessed of a long vision" despite being a "spouted bottom-line pragmatis[t]".[12] Don S. Davis described General Hammond as initially "hard-nosed and straight-ahead",[6] and later as seemingly "stern and straight-laced".[13] Recognizing the need to fulfill the role as a General, Davis still tried to "bring a few levels to him that show some understanding and that make him a little more likeable."[6] The welfare of the men and women under Hammond's command is paramount in the general's mind.[13] Besides knowing that people may not return from his sanctioned missions, General Hammond has to decide when to forgo rescue attempts to not put more lives in danger, even if he "always does so reluctantly and with regret".[14] As shown in "Chain Reaction", Hammond would rather leave the military quietly than risk the careers and lives of his staff and his family, "which must go against all his blustery Texas background".[15]

Davis appreciated Hammond's closeness to the SG-1 team and his willingness to compromise.[14] At the beginning of the series, Hammond does not accept the alien warrior Teal'c but comes to trust and respect him after realizing Teal'c's devotion to the Stargate Program.[14] Despite his admiration for Dr. Daniel Jackson's enthusiasm in the beginning, Hammond has a hard time understanding Daniel's unorthodox and non-military approach to problems until Hammond comes to realize the importance of a civilian viewpoint to SG-1's mission.[14] When the alien Jonas Quinn joins SG-1 in season 6, Davis compared Hammond's response to Jonas to his reaction to Teal'c in season 1. Although Hammond does not blame Jonas for Daniel's death in "Meridian", "the situation does make it difficult for [Hammond] to totally take the young man under his wing and embrace him like family as he has the rest of SG-1".[14] Davis named the NID as Hammond's only source of frustration, since they regularly outflank Hammond and SG-1. Hammond's only option is to call the President for support, but most cases end with SG-1 or Hammond breaking the rules to assure the survival of humanity, so "Hammond will do whatever he must to get things done".[16]