Commander Air Group: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:18, 4 January 2026

The Commander, Air Group (CAG) is the senior pilot aboard a battlestar, responsible for Air Wing operations and personnel. The billet is filled by the senior flight officer with a rank of captain or higher.

It should be noted that Commander, Air Groups may also be in overall command of all local battlestar Air Wings, following and including Pegasus integration into the Fleet.

Commander, Air Group battlestar Galactica

For a complete list of all Galactica CAGs, see: Senior Staff of Galactica

Person	Rank	Period of Service	Notes
Armin "High Top" Diaz	Captain	c. 42 BCH (58YR) - Blood and Chrome	Served as William "Husker" Adama's CAG during the First Cylon War.
Jackson "Ripper" Spencer	Major	c. 1 BCH (99YR) to 0 ACH (2000BYR) - "Miniseries, Night 1"	KIA during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Lee "Apollo" Adama	Captain → Major	0 ACH (2000BYR) - "Miniseries, Night 2" to "Resistance"; "Home, Part II" to "Pegasus"; "Resurrection Ship, Part II" to "Epiphanies" 2 ACH (2001BYR) - "Torn" to "The Son Also Rises"	While in dereliction of duty for actions aboard Colonial One in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II," he remains CAG up until he went AWOL between "Resistance" and "Home, Part II" due to alignment with Laura Roslin faction. Demoted to Lieutenant during second stint under Thrace by Rear Admiral Helena Cain. Promoted to Major during third term as CAG, likely in overall command of both Galactica and Pegasus air groups.
George "Catman" Birch	Captain	1 ACH (2000BYR) - "Home, Part II"	Briefly replaces Lee "Apollo" Adama who goes AWOL as part of the Laura Roslin faction.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace	Captain	1 ACH (2000BYR) - "Resurrection Ship, Part I" to "Epiphanies"; "Downloaded" to "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" 2 ACH (2001BYR) to 4 ACH (2003BYR) - "Sine Qua Non" to "Daybreak, Part II"	Was in overall command of both Galactica and Pegasus air groups during Rear Admiral Helena Cain's tenure.
Louanne "Kat" Katraine	Captain	1 ACH (2000BYR) - 2 ACH (2001BYR) - "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" to "Exodus, Part II" 3 ACH (2002BYR) - "The Passage" (honorary, in memoriam)	Served as CAG during New Caprica settlement and occupation period. Later given honorary re-assignment in memoriam following her passing.
Karl "Helo" Agathon	Captain	2 ACH (2001BYR) to 4 ACH (2003BYR) - "The Son Also Rises" to "Six of One"	CAG following Lee "Apollo" Adama's retirement from service.

Commander, Air Group battlestar Pegasus

Person	Rank	Period of Service	Notes
Cole "Stinger" Taylor	Captain	0 ACH (2000BYR) to 1 ACH (2000BYR) - "Razor" to "Resurrection Ship, Part I"	Relieved by Admiral Cain following Standoff Between Galactica and Pegasus.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace	Captain	1 ACH (2000BYR) - "Resurrection Ship, Part I" to "Epiphanies"; "The Captain's Hand" to "Razor"	Transferred from Galactica; later re-assigned back to Galactica.
Unknown		Time of Pegasus destruction	CAG at time of destruction unknown, but Louanne "Kat" Katraine likely oversaw air wings from both Galactica and Pegasus as part of New Caprica defense fleet.

Notes

CAGs have normally been captains throughout the series, but always senior to all other pilots. Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama is initially appointed CAG by virtue of his rank, and eventually is promoted to major with several captains serving under him as squadron commanders. Subsequent CAGs (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, George "Catman" Birch, Louanne "Kat" Katraine) are captains when appointed. In Thrace's case in "Pegasus," Lee Adama is demoted to Lieutenant under her by Rear Admiral Helena Cain.
"CAG" is a US Navy term that has gained widespread recognition through films and television series such as "Top Gun" and "JAG". The term "CAG" is obsolete as Air Groups are now known as Air Wings and the position is "Commander, Air Wing" (CAW), but it is still used, especially on an informal level. The term "Air Wing" is also used on Battlestar Galactica ^{(TRS: "Pegasus")}.
The CAG's rank and place in the ship's hierarchy is one area where Battlestar Galactica diverges from the US Navy. In the real world, the CAG is a captain (O-6) of equal seniority to the ship's captain (or skipper), with both under the command of an admiral who commands the Carrier Strike Group. Battlestar Galactica places the CAG under the ship's commander, and at major or even captain he or she holds a relatively low rank.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''Commander, Air Group''' (more commonly known as the '''CAG''') is the senior pilot aboard a [[battlestar]] and is responsible for all flight operations by its [[Air Wing]].  The minimum rank required to hold this position is Captain, though a Major can also fill this position.
+__NOTOC__
+The '''Commander, Air Group''' ('''CAG''') is the senior pilot aboard a [[battlestar]], responsible for [[Air Wing]] operations and personnel. The billet is filled by the senior flight officer with a [[Military Ranks (RDM)|rank]] of captain or higher.
+It should be noted that Commander, Air Groups may also be in overall command of all local battlestar Air Wings, following and including ''Pegasus'' integration into [[The Fleet (TRS)|the Fleet]].
 ==Commander, Air Group battlestar ''Galactica''==
-:''For a complete list of all Galactica CAGs, see:  [[Senior_Staff_of_Galactica#Commander.2C_Air_Group|Senior Staff of Galactica]]''
+:''For a complete list of all Galactica CAGs, see: [[Senior_Staff_of_Galactica#Commander.2C_Air_Group|Senior Staff of Galactica]]''
-* Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]] ("[[The Son Also Rises]]" to present)
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
+|-
+! Photo !! Person !! Rank !! Period of Service !! Notes
+|-
+| [[File:Armin Diaz.png|link=Armin Diaz|232x232px]]|| {{callsign|High Top}} || Captain || c. {{BCH|42}} - [[Blood and Chrome|''Blood and Chrome'']]|| Served as {{Callsign|Husker}}'s CAG during the [[Cylon War|First Cylon War]].
+|-
+| [[File:Bsg-cag-1.jpg|link=Jackson Spencer|200x200px]]|| {{callsign|Ripper}} || Major || c. {{BCH|1}} to {{ACH|0}} - "[[Miniseries, Night 1]]" || KIA during the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].
+|-
+| [[File:Lee_Adama.jpg|266x266px|link=Lee Adama]] || {{callsign|Apollo}} || Captain → Major || {{ACH|0}} - "[[Miniseries, Night 2]]" to "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]"; "[[Home, Part II]]" to "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]"; "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]" to "[[Epiphanies]]"
+<br />{{ACH|2}} - "[[Torn]]" to "[[The Son Also Rises]]"
+|
+# While in dereliction of duty for actions aboard ''[[Colonial One]]'' in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]," he remains CAG up until he went AWOL between "[[Resistance]]" and "[[Home, Part II]]" due to alignment with [[Laura Roslin faction]].
+# Demoted to Lieutenant during second stint under Thrace by Rear Admiral [[Helena Cain]].
+# Promoted to Major during third term as CAG, likely in overall command of both ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' air groups.
+|-
+| [[File:Birch.jpg|link=George Birch|284x284px]]|| {{callsign|Catman}}|| Captain || {{ACH|1}} - "[[Home, Part II]]" || Briefly replaces {{Callsign|Apollo}} who goes AWOL as part of the [[Laura Roslin faction]].
+|-
+| [[File:Kara_Thrace.jpg|266x266px|link=Kara Thrace]]|| {{callsign|Starbuck}}|| Captain || {{ACH|1}} - "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]" to "[[Epiphanies]]"; "[[Downloaded]]" to "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]"
+<br />{{ACH|2}} to {{ACH|4}} - "[[Sine Qua Non]]" to "[[Daybreak, Part II]]"
+| Was in overall command of both ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' air groups during Rear Admiral [[Helena Cain]]'s tenure.
+|-
+| [[File:Kat bsgviper3 big.jpg|link=Louanne Katraine|297x297px]]|| {{callsign|Kat}}|| Captain || {{ACH|1}} - {{ACH|2}} - "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]" to "[[Exodus, Part II]]"
+{{ACH|3}} - "[[The Passage]]" (honorary, ''in memoriam'')
+| Served as CAG during [[New Caprica]] settlement and [[Cylon Occupation Authority|occupation]] period.
+Later given honorary re-assignment ''in memoriam'' following [[Passage (star cluster)|her passing]].
+|-
+| [[File:Season 3 Helo.jpg|link=Karl Agathon|301x301px]]|| {{callsign|Helo}}|| Captain || {{ACH|2}} to {{ACH|4}} - "[[The Son Also Rises]]" to "[[Six of One]]" || CAG following {{Callsign|Apollo}}'s retirement from service.
+|}
 ==Commander, Air Group battlestar ''Pegasus''==
-* Captain [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] (Relieved by Admiral [[Helena Cain|Cain]] in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]")
-* Captain [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] (Replaces Cole Taylor, but transfered back to ''Galactica'' by "[[Epiphanies]]". Temporarily transferred to ''Pegasus'' in "[[The Captain's Hand]]" and re-assigned to ''Galactica'' after "[[Razor]]")
-* CAG at the time of destruction unknown
-==See Also==
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
-*[[List of terms (RDM)|List of terms in the Re-imagined Series]]
+|-
+! Photo !! Person !! Rank !! Period of Service !! Notes
+|-
+| [[File:Cole_Taylor.jpg|200x200px|link=Cole Taylor]] || {{callsign|Stinger}} || Captain || {{ACH|0}} to {{ACH|1}} - "[[Razor]]" to "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]" || Relieved by Admiral [[Helena Cain|Cain]] following [[Standoff Between Galactica and Pegasus|Standoff Between ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'']].
+|-
+| [[File:Kara_Thrace.jpg|266x266px|link=Kara Thrace]] || {{callsign|Starbuck}} || Captain || {{ACH|1}} - "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]" to "[[Epiphanies]]"; "[[The Captain's Hand]]" to "[[Razor]]" || Transferred from ''Galactica''; later re-assigned back to ''Galactica.''
+|-
+| || Unknown || || Time of ''Pegasus'' destruction || CAG at time of destruction unknown, but {{Callsign|Kat}} likely oversaw air wings from both ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' as part of New Caprica defense fleet.
+|}
 ==Notes==
-* The minimum rank of Captain is supported throughout the series. In the Miniseries [[Lee Adama]] is appointed as CAG by virtue of his rank. Subsequently we see [[Kara Thrace]] and [[George Birch]] promoted to Captain when appointed as the CAG of the Pegasus and Galactica Air Wing respectively.
+* CAGs have normally been captains throughout the series, but always senior to all other pilots. Captain {{callsign|Lee Adama}} is initially appointed CAG by virtue of his rank, and eventually is promoted to major with several captains serving under him as squadron commanders. Subsequent CAGs ({{callsign|Starbuck}}, {{callsign|Catman}}, {{callsign|Kat}}) are captains when appointed. In Thrace's case in "[[Pegasus]]," Lee Adama is demoted to Lieutenant under her by Rear Admiral [[Helena Cain]].
-*"[[Wikipedia:Commander, Air Group|CAG]]" is a US Navy term that has gained widespread recognition through films such as Top Gun and television series such as JAG. While the term CAG is technically obsolete as Air Groups are now known as Air Wings, and the position has thus been renamed to "Commander, Air Wing" (CAW) it is nevertheless still used, especially on an informal level. The term "Air Wing" is also used on ''Battlestar Galactica'' ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).
+*"[[Wikipedia:Commander, Air Group|CAG]]" is a US Navy term that has gained widespread recognition through films and television series such as "Top Gun" and "JAG". The term "CAG" is obsolete as Air Groups are now known as Air Wings and the position is "Commander, Air Wing" (CAW), but it is still used, especially on an informal level. The term "Air Wing" is also used on ''Battlestar Galactica'' {{TRS|Pegasus (episode)}}.
 *The CAG's rank and place in the ship's hierarchy is one area where ''Battlestar Galactica'' diverges from the US Navy. In the real world, the CAG is a captain (O-6) of equal seniority to the ship's captain (or skipper), with both under the command of an admiral who commands the Carrier Strike Group. ''Battlestar Galactica'' places the CAG under the ship's commander, and at major or even captain he or she holds a relatively low rank.
+==See Also==
+*[[List of terms (RDM)|List of terms in the Re-imagined Series]]
 [[Category:A to Z]]
@@ Line 24: / Line 62: @@
 [[Category:Terminology]]
 [[Category:Terminology (RDM)]]
+[[Category:Positions]]
 [[de:Commander Air Group]]