Captain Shatner?

[spshu]

William Shatner fans are pushing for him to become a honorary Canadian Navy captian.

Shatner Should Be Honorary Captain

A online campaign to make William Shatner an honorary naval captain is underway.

A newly-formed Facebook group is campaigning for Shatner to become an honorary captain in the Canadian Navy.

[Owen E Oulton]

Ah, but there is no Canadian Navy as such. There is a Naval Element of the Canadian Armed Forces. The RCN, RCAF and Canadian Army were unified in the late 1960's.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

"We're a combined service." : P

[spshu]

Ah, but there is no Canadian Navy as such. There is a Naval Element of the Canadian Armed Forces. The RCN, RCAF and Canadian Army were unified in the late 1960's.

Yes, but the Naval element rank of captain does not equal the Army element rank of captain does it?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Yes, but the Naval element rank of captain does not equal the Army element rank of captain does it?

Neither have the right number of stripes though. Argh!

[Owen E Oulton]

For a while in the 1970's there was no Captain (Naval) rank except as a courtesy. In the late 1980's they reinstated the naval-style ranks as official, as well as restoring the distinctive uniform for each Element. As TDK pointed out they do not use the same ranking indicators as TOS, but they do use stripes as TNG used pips. A land-element Captain wears two stripes and a sea-element Captain wears four, just as Britain and most European navies do, but distinctly different from the US with heir railroad track and chickens...

[Dan Stack]

I'm not a military person so I don't have the context for this... But is this a "normal" thing to do? I mean someone who has attained the equivalent rank has done so through years of service and sacrifice. I know it's just honorary, but it seems a little hokey to me.

Mind you I feel that way about honorary degrees. I've spent years working on a degree and the university invites someone to speak and slaps them with a doctorate...

[spshu]

I'm not a military person so I don't have the context for this... But is this a "normal" thing to do? I mean someone who has attained the equivalent rank has done so through years of service and sacrifice. I know it's just honorary, but it seems a little hokey to me.

Mind you I feel that way about honorary degrees. I've spent years working on a degree and the university invites someone to speak and slaps them with a doctorate...

Yes, it does seem hokey giving out honorary degrees and ranks for not much.

It is not completely unwaranted for military ranks. There are the Kentucky Colonel (move to a nonmilitrary status order), the Chivalric order are based on medieval military and there are the patron ranks in the British military like Colonel-in-Chief or Colonel of the Regiment.

[JALU3]

It's not Iowa, but maybe he can become a Nebraska Admiral