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Captain Picard Has A New BFF: The Marine Corps Commandant

Jeff Schogol
April 04, 2018 at 05:18 PM Entertainment
Sir Patrick Stewart (left) at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas on August 9, 2015. Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller (right) at Edson Ridge, Guadalcanal on Aug, 7, 2017.
Film Magic / Gabe Ginsberg; Marine Corps / Cpl. Samantha Braun.

Best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Sir Patrick Stewart has found a kindred spirit in Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller.

Neller – likely the most lethal Trekkie in history – recently expressed his admiration for “Next Generation” and Stewart's Captain Picard during a March 29 discussion at The Atlantic Council think tank.

“It’s a leadership show, because you always find that the crew and the captain are put in some sort of moral, ethical, operational dilemma, which I find interesting,” the commandant said.

In the quarter century since “Next Generation” ended, Stewart has been gratified to hear from people who were inspired by “Next Generation” to survive personal ordeals, such as rehab, he said. After Task & Purpose sent Stewart’s representatives video of Neller’s praise, the legendary Shakespearean actor replied to the commandant.

Sir Patrick Stewart (left) at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas on August 9, 2015. Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller (right) at Edson Ridge, Guadalcanal on Aug, 7, 2017.Film Magic / Gabe Ginsberg; Marine Corps / Cpl. Samantha Braun.

“I was deeply moved by a letter from a sergeant in the Las Vegas Police Department, explaining how there were days when he despaired for humanity but once home he would watch an episode or two of TNG and his faith would be restored,” Stewart said.

“However, just now watching an interview with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller and hearing him praise TNG, a very satisfied smile lit up this Captain's face,” Stewart said. “He said that for him TNG was about leadership above anything. I took that very personally as, if anyone knows about leadership, it has to be him.”

Captain Picard Commandant Gen. Robert Neller commandant of the marine corps Entertainment fan general Marine Marine Corps Next Generation show Sir Patrick Stewart star trek tv
the blotter

An ex-sailor allegedly bought guns with a military discount, then resold them to criminals

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Photo: US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

A former sailor who was busted buying firearms with his military discount and then reselling some of them to criminals is proving to be a wealth of information for federal investigators.

Julio Pino used his iPhone to record most, if not all, of his sales, court documents said. He even went so far as to review the buyers' driver's license on camera.

It is unclear how many of Pino's customer's now face criminal charges of their own. Federal indictments generally don't provide that level of detail and Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson declined to comment.

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feres doctrine

The Army allegedly missed this soldier's cancer diagnosis for 2 years. The VA found it within days

Analysis
Photo illustration by Paul Szoldra/Task & Purpose

It all began with a medical check.

Carson Thomas, a healthy and fit 20-year-old infantryman who had joined the Army after a brief stint in college, figured he should tell the medics about the pain in his groin he had been feeling. It was Feb. 12, 2012, and the senior medic looked him over and decided to send him to sick call at the base hospital.

It seemed almost routine, something the Army doctors would be able to diagnose and fix so he could get back to being a grunt.

Now looking back on what happened some seven years later, it was anything but routine.

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iraq to the future

The US military now has to ask the Iraqis for permission before giving close air support to troops in combat

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U.S. Army Cpt. Katrina Hopkins and Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Rogers, assigned to Task Force Warhorse, pilot a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) operation at Camp Taji, Iraq, Dec. 18, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Javion Siders)

U.S. forces must now ask the Iraqi military for permission to fly in Iraqi airspace before coming to the aid of U.S. troops under fire, a top military spokesman said.

However, the mandatory approval process is not expected to slow down the time it takes the U.S. military to launch close air support and casualty evacuation missions for troops in the middle of a fight, said Army Col. James Rawlinson, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.

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honor the fallen

Pentagon identifies Army reservist who died in non-combat incident in Saudi Arabia

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Army Spc. Clayton James Horne

Army Spc. Clayton James Horne died in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 17, making him the eighth non-combat fatality for Operation Inherent Resolve so far this year, defense officials have announced.

Horne, 23, was assigned to the 351st Military Police Company, 160th Military Police Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based in Ocala, Florida, a Pentagon news release says.

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unsung heroes

Army Lieutenant accused of taking an APC on a joy ride found not guilty by reason of insanity

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Joshua Yabut/Twitter

The soldier who was arrested for taking an armored personnel carrier on a slow-speed police chase through Virginia has been found not guilty by reason of insanity on two charges, according to The Richmond-Times Dispatch.

Joshua Phillip Yabut, 30, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle — in this case, a 12-ton APC taken from Fort Pickett in June 2018 — and violating the terms of his bond, which stemmed from a trip to Iraq he took in March 2019 (which was not a military deployment).

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