{"id":52681,"date":"2020-08-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:28:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:28:30","slug":"what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","title":{"rendered":"William Shatner wants to  know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To the very esteemed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/05\/space-force-troops-wont-be-called-spacemen\/\" target=_blank>members of Space Force<\/a> and other grand poohbahs of the United States government agencies who may have a say in this, I have one question for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What the heck is wrong with you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m talking about the ranks of the Space Force!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What are you doing to us? \ud83d\ude31 There was no Colonel Kirk; not even in the mirror universe (which is what 2020 feels like at times.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you know your entertainment space history? \ud83e\udd14 \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let me show you what I mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/01\/21\/these-space-force-uniforms-look-awfully-familiar\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spaceforce.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">These Space Force uniforms look awfully familiar<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Space Force has put its own spin on occupational camouflage.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout entertainment history, which precedes actual space flight history by decades, we had captains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLe Voyage Dans La Lune\u201d (\u201dA Trip to the Moon,\u201d 1902) \u2014 the earliest known space film \u2014 had a captain in command of the rocket ship played by Henri Delannoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Captain Buck Rogers was a WW2 Navy pilot who awoke 500 years later to a new world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In WW2, Navy fighter pilot Donald \u201cFlash\u201d Gordon was a captain [who] took his nickname from the science fiction show where Flash did not have any rank of title bestowed upon him. Even with no title; the name is coincidentally adopted by a \u201ccaptain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c2001: A Space Odyssey\u201d (1968) had a lunar shuttle captain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the movie \u201cAlien\u201d (1979). the ship Nostromo was \u201ccaptained\u201d by Tom Skerritt\u2019s character: Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And even though it pains me \ud83d\ude29 to point out, Han Solo was \u201ccaptain\u201d of the Millennium Falcon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, there are plenty of captains beyond Star Trek and space franchises. There\u2019s Captain America, Captain Marvel, Captain Midnight, Captain Planet, Captain Cook, to name just a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, what am I getting at \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (I\u2019m getting there\u2026just give me a moment.) \ud83d\ude24 It\u2019s been a captain throughout entertainment history that have gone into space and been the heroes that saved the day, the planet, the galaxy and the universe. Where in any of this rich history of inspired heroes travelling into space was there a\u2026colonel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shall we have look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s start with major (two ranks below colonel).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Major Don West\u2019s ineptness caused the space family Robinson to be \u201cLost in Space\u201d on their space ship the Jupiter 2 forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s Major Anthony Nelson \u2014 who piloted a spacecraft that came crashing down next to a deserted island where he found an ancient bottle that contained a woman named Jeannie and brought the attention of Colonel Alfred Bellows to him for his crazy antics at NASA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We cannot forget USAF Colonel Steve Austin, an astronaut who crashed his ship and severely injured himself that cost taxpayers $6 million to put him back together, who was portrayed by my dear friend, Lee Majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, there was Colonel Wilhelm Klink of \u201cHogan\u2019s Heroes.\u201d Granted the show was not set in space nor was he in command of a space ship, but was one of the ineptest characters ever put on TV that was beautifully portrayed by Werner Kleperer and he held the rank of a colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is how Army ranks (and colonels in particular) are portrayed to the public by Hollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cStar Trek\u201d has borrowed so much of its iconic rank symbols from the U.S. military and NASA. When you unveiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/15\/heres-your-first-look-at-the-space-force-flag\/\" target=_blank>the Space Force logo<\/a>, many immediately saw it as an homage to \u201cStar Trek\u201d (even though our Delta was an homage to the previous military space insignias). Why not borrow back from \u201cStar Trek\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So wrapping this up, I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So please reconsider and name the Space Force ranks after the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just my \u201ccolonel\u201d of wisdom. \ud83d\ude18<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My best,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Shatner<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>William Shatner is a Canadian-born actor whose portrayal of Starfleet Capt. James T. Kirk is one of the most iconic roles in the history of science fiction pop culture.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This is an Op-Ed and as such, the opinions expressed are those of the author. If you would like to respond, or have an editorial of your own you would like to submit, please contact Military Times managing editor Howard Altman, <\/i><a href=\"mailto:haltman@militarytimes.com\"><i>haltman@militarytimes.com<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":89010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":78,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[78,100,25,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6236],"class_list":["post-52681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"4WWAW5J6U5D3XDZEK7ZBIFUDQY","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force? - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bill Shatner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bill Shatner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 749,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kirk.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Commentary\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Opinion\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force? - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kirk.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kirk.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kirk.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/26\\\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Commentary\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"commentary\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force? - Army Times","description":"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?","og_description":"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00","author":"Bill Shatner","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bill Shatner","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?","datePublished":"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/"},"wordCount":749,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kirk.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary","Daily News Roundup","Newsletters","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/","name":"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force? - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kirk.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2020-08-26T10:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T07:28:30+00:00","description":"This famous captain has a few words for how the Space Force names its ranks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kirk.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kirk.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/08\/26\/what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-space-force\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commentary","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/","ad_zone":"commentary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"William Shatner wants to know: What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kirk.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52690,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52681\/revisions\/52690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52681"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}