A Salute to My Favorite TV Military Men and Women

With the Fourth of July only a few days away, I am sure that plenty of folks all over the United States are planning their weekend celebrations (since the holiday is on Friday this year) whether it be preparing for a family picnic or barbeque, town parade or carnival or the big fireworks show.

For folks like me, though, who honor the holidays but don’t really do much celebrating and love television above anything else, I thought it was an appropriate time to pay tribute to some of my favorite TV military men and women because – after all – without the military’s might our country would not have been able to declare independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain back in 1776.

So, let’s take a look at my favorite TV military men and women:

Sarah MacKenzie (Catherine Bell)

Lt. Colonel Sarah “Mac” Mackenzie on JAG (played by Catherine Bell) – Mac was introduced in the first episode of JAG’s second season when the series was picked up by CBS as a mid-season replacement (the first season of JAG aired on NBC). Mac appeared in all 9 seasons of the series, starting out as a Major and eventually being promoted to Lt. Colonel in season 5. She was a decorated Marine and lawyer for the JAG Headquarters.

Karl Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett)

Captain Karl “Helo” Agathon on Battlestar Galactica (played by Tahmoh Penikett) – Helo was originally an electronic countermeasures officer on one of the Colonial Raptors on the Battlestar Galactica alongside Sharon “Boomer” Valerii (Grace Park) [who he later married and had daughter Hera with] during the original mini-series. He was eventually promoted to Captain, later alternating between the executive officer and the C.A.G. (Commander, Air Group) of the Galactica.

Colleen McMurphy (Dana Delany)

First Lt. (later Captain) Colleen McMurphy on China Beach (played by Dana Delany) – McMurphy was a nurse from Lawrence, Kansas who was stationed with the 510th Evac Hospital at China Beach in the city of Da Nang during the heart of the Vietnam War. During the show’s four seasons on ABC, McMurphy went from a young woman wanting to serve her country, through her tumultuous deployment in Vietnam to her culture shock of returning home and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson)

Colonel (later Brigadier General, Major General and then Lt. General) Jack O’Neill on Stargate: SG1 (played by Richard Dean Anderson) – For seven seasons, Jack led the SG-1 team through countless wormholes of the Stargate before taking charge of Stargate Command in season 8. In season 9, he received another promotion and was reassigned to Washington D.C. He appeared in episodes of Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe as well as Stargate: Continuum.

Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff)

Lieutenant (later Captain) Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on Battlestar Galactica (played by Katee Sackhoff) – Starbuck was considered the best in the fleet among the fighter pilots (next to on-again, off-again lover Lee “Apollo” Adama (Jamie Bamber), but she was hot-headed and challenged authority at every turn. Despite that she was eventually promoted to Captain and eventually became C.A.G. (Commander, Air Group) of the Battlestar Pegasus and later C.A.G. of the Galactica.

Harmon Rabb, Jr. (David James Elliott)

Lt. Cmdr. (then Commander and later Captain) Harmon “Harm” Rabb, Jr. on JAG (played by David James Elliott) – Harm was a third generation aviator, but due to night blindness, he transferred to the Judge Advocate General headquarters where he served as their top litigator. He was promoted to Commander in season five and then promoted to Captain in the show’s final and 10th season.

Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping)

Captain (later Major, Lt. Col. and then Colonel) Samantha Carter on Stargate: SG1 (played by Amanda Tapping) – She was not only a valued and often promoted member of the Air Force but she also held a Ph.D. in Theoretical Astrophysics. She held a high level of command on Stargate: SG1 as well as Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe as well as Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

Johnny McKay (Dan Gauthier)

Lt. John McKay on Tour of Duty (played by Dan Gauthier) – Johnny was a helicopter pilot for Bravo Company’s 2nd platoon during the Vietnam War and while he didn’t have as illustrious a military career as the others on this list, he did survive the war (despite being seriously injured) before going back to “the world” (i.e., returning home).

Special Mentions:

Mal and Zoe (Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres)

I cannot complete this list without paying a small amount of tribute to Zoe Washburne (played by Gina Torres) and Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (played by Nathan Fillion) both on the short-lived drama Firefly, who served (respectively) as a Corporal and a Sergeant in the fictional Battle of Serenity Valley before leaving the independent militia to “misbehave” in space aboard the ship Serenity.

As the Fourth of July draws closer, which TV military men and women were your favorites? Please share in our comments section below.

Happy Holidays to all!