No matter his age Wiliam Shatner, the original Captain James T. Kirk, is still ready for a fight.
Star Trek’s William Shatner is 89-years-old. Though you’d never know it because he’s still incredibly youthful-looking and he’s still ready to throw down with anyone and everyone thanks to Twitter. Taking the chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise in 1966 as James T. Kirk, Shatner rose to fame within the Star Trek franchise and portrayed the rebellious but cool captain of the Enterprise for nearly 30 years.
While not always beloved by his castmates, Shatner has become a big-time fan favorite for his willingness to poke fun at some of pop-cultures least (and most) liked personalities. Shatner is known for his Twitter flame wars with other celebrities and doesn’t back down from anyone, not even actors who may share his philosophical beliefs.
He’s also not shy about taking on the United States military, either. Shatner took a shot at the publically chastized Space Force, a yet to be launched new addition of the United States military that may or may not be around in a few years. Despite being nmed after Starfleet and Star Trek, the folks over at Space Force won’t use the Navy rank designations, and will instead label their top officers as “Colonels” and not “Captains”. Colonels are the rank reserved for the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
Dear @SpaceForceDoD, I have a question to ask, if it’s OK. I’m just a nobody here but I was wondering; is it true that the commanding officer onboard a “Space Force” ship is designated a Colonel & not a Captain? 😳🤷🏼♂️ Is this up for debate? I think I’d like to debate the issue.😉
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 22, 2020
Shatner was hoping to have a civil (ha) discussion about possibly changing the designation from Colonel to Captain but the Space Force account didn’t respond. That said, his response didn’t go unnoticed by the military.
We did have the original USS Enterprise.
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) August 24, 2020
The US Navy decided to chime in and pointed out that the U.S.S. Enterprise wasn’t just a quippy named used in a science fiction series but was actually a name picked by Gene Roddenberry due to its iconic association with the United States armed forces.
While it’s not entirely clear if the Navy is attempting a dig at Star Trek, it’s entirely possible they’re on Shatner’s side, suggesting that Space Force fall in line with the Navy way of doing things.