Richard Dean Anderson Website - Stargate SG-1 Lexicon

GEORGE HAMMOND

When Major General George Hammond took the assignment as the commanding officer of the underground facility at Cheyenne Mountain, the stargate was inactive, and his position was meant to be an easy duty on his way to retirement. He never suspected that Stargate Command would become the last line of defense for planet Earth.

George Hammond was raised in Texas and began his military career at a young age. In 1969, as a young Air Force lieutenant, he had been assigned to the top secret missile silo at Cheyenne Mountain under Major Thornbird. His father had had his first heart attack on July 18th of that year, and two days later they had watched the first moon landing together from his father's hospital bedside. Two weeks later, he was ordered to escort four suspected Soviet spies out of Cheyenne Mountain for interrogation. In the vest pocket of one of them, he found a note with his name on it, written in his own handwriting. The note said "Help them." Without realizing it, he had met SG-1, and his future. Trusting the note, he helped SG-1 to escape, allowed himself to be shot by a zat gun as protection against a court martial, and lent O'Neill money that would amount to $539.50, with interest, in thirty years' time. In doing so he had fulfilled his own destiny, and ever since then had waited for the moment when he would recognize the cut on Carter's hand and write that note, sending SG-1 back in time with the key that would return them home.

Hammond's career was a successful one, and he was highly decorated for meritorious service in Vietnam and Kuwait. He served for a number of years with Jacob Carter, whom he considered a close friend. When he replaced General West as the commander of the Cheyenne Mountain facility, he was only a month away from a quiet retirement, and was considering writing his memoirs. His wife had died four years earlier of cancer, but he had kept in close touch with his two young granddaughters, Tessa and Kayla, who remain #1 on his speed dial, ahead of the President. Hammond chose to forego retirement, however, when Apophis stepped through the Earth stargate. The Stargate Program was activated, and the SG teams were initiated under his command with standing orders to defend Earth from possible hostile invasion, and to analyze and recover technologies for study and further development.

As the commanding officer of the SGC, Hammond answered directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the President of the United States. He directed the action from the SGC, however he has occasionally traveled through the gate himself, to negotiate for the release of SG-1 from the Taldor, to rescue SG-1 from the forces of Hathor, and to command the base on Vis Uban during the mission to destroy Anubis's superweapon. Hammond maintained a close cooperative relationship with the President, however critics within the NID demanded a more aggressive approach to gaining access to off-world technology, and when they pressured him into stepping down by threatening consequences against his family, Hammond was temporarily replaced by General Bauer until O'Neill restored his command by gathering evidence against Robert Kinsey and the NID.

Henry Hayes had been an acquaintance of George Hammond, and the two men shared a mutual respect, although their careers had taken them on different paths and they hadn't seen each other since they were both lieutenants. When President Hayes was elected to office in the seventh year of the Stargate Program, he was forced to consider the political consequences of maintaining military control of the SGC, and he made the decision to suspend current operations of the SGC for a three-month review period. Dr. Elizabeth Weir was placed in charge of the facility, and General Hammond was relieved of his command and summoned to Washington to discuss reassignment. Although Hammond felt the time had come to reconsider his long overdue retirement, Anubis's attack on Earth made his expertise all the more crucial. President Hayes ordered the launch of Prometheus with Hammond at the helm, and under his command the entire Earth fleet engaged Anubis in battle above Antarctica, allowing SG-1 to complete their mission and activate the Ancient weapons platform that defeated Anubis.

Following the battle to save Earth, Hammond deferred his retirement yet again. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and offered a position as the head of a new department at the Pentagon known as Homeworld Security. In his new role, Hammond was entrusted with the oversight of all things relating to Earth's defense including the facility in Antarctica, the BC-303 and BC-304 programs, and the SGC, and he remained in close contact with General O'Neill who replaced him as the commanding officer of the Stargate Program. When Hammond was placed in charge of the Prometheus mission to Atlantis, he chose to lead the mission himself, and he returned to the SGC to select his crew. Although the Prometheus was hijacked and diverted by Vala without reaching its destination, the ship was recovered and safely returned, and a second mission was later planned. General Hammond continued to maintain close contact with the SGC and the IOA from his office in Washington. As the Prior plague swept across the globe, he returned briefly to the SGC to coordinate in person with General Landry during the crisis before being called back to Washington.

General Hammond had also been involved with the Stargate Program in several alternate timelines and realities. In the timeline created when SG-1 journeyed to ancient Egypt and changed history, Hammond was a brigadier general in command of the USAF Research Institute at Cheyenne Mountain. When the recording left by the original SG-1 team was recovered during an archaeological dig in Egypt, Hammond summoned Carter and Daniel to locate and activate the second stargate, and he authorized the mission that sent O'Neill, Kawalsky, Carter, and Daniel to Chulak and eventually restored the timeline. When Carter was drawn into a parallel universe in which Earth was under attack by the Ori, Major General George Hammond was in command of the SGC, and he offered his support to Carter, encouraging President Landry to allow her to return to her own reality.

Approximately two years after his transfer from the SGC to Washington, General Hammond at last accepted his long overdue retirement, and he retired from active service. As a strong military leader, General Hammond has been intensely loyal to those under his command, and his strength and wisdom have earned him the respect of those who have served under him. As the head of both the SGC and Homeworld Security, he has proven himself a leader who is willing to do whatever is necessary to defend his country and humanity.

Portrayed by: Don S. Davis, Aaron Pearl