William Ronson
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Brigadier General William Ronson is a member of the United States Air Force, and the leader of Deep Space Command.
History
Following its hijacking by the Rogue NID and its unofficial voyage to the Asgard planet Hala, the Air Force Space Command selected Colonel William Ronson to command the Prometheus during her official maiden voyage. Despite repeated issues with the Naquadria-powered hyperspace technology employed by the X-303, AFSPC was confident that the Naquadria instability could be accounted and compensated for, and a man as meticulous and precise as Colonel Ronson was exactly the right man to ensure the Prometheus crew would succeed in those efforts. Unfortunately, the Naquadria's unpredictability persisted, and Prometheus eventually found itself stranded on the planet Tagrea, 294 lightyears from Earth, without a viable means of returning. Fortunately, SG-1 had been sent along on the maiden voyage, and was able to coordinate with the Tagrean military and local scholars to locate Tagrea's buried Stargate. (SG1: "Memento")
Despite the means for his crew to return to Earth, the Prometheus herself remained stranded on Tagrea. It wasn't until SG-1 managed to acquire an Al'kesh that a means of recovering the X-303 was found, by jury rigging the Al'kesh hyperdrive to allow Prometheus to return to Earth throguh a series of 50 lightyear jumps. Taking a brief detour to investigate a nebula of scientific interest, Prometheus ran foul of an unidentified alien vessel, which abducted Ronson and his crew leaving Major Samantha Carter to repair the Prometheus and negotiate their release. (SG1: "Grace")
By the Battle of Antarctica, Ronson had handed command of Prometheus over to Colonel Kirkland, although General George Hammond would ultimately command the ship during the battle itself. Kirkland had primarily been responsible for undoing the Al'kesh hyperdrive installation, and exploring possibilities for a more long-term alternative. Prometheus would then be handed over to Colonel Lionel Pendergast, who commanded her through a series of orbital missions, and then on later interstellar missions once she had been fitted with a new Asgard hyperdrive. (SG1: "Lost City", "New Order", "Covenant")
Ronson meanwhile was reassigned within Air Force Space Command, tasked with figuring out how to retool the Air Force's hopes for a fleet of BC-303 spacecraft if Earth lacked viable hyperspace technology. When the Office of Homeworld Security was established under General Hammond, Ronson was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in charge of Deep Space Command, alongside Brigadier General O'Neill at Stargate Command, intended to emphasise the two avenues of Earth's space preparedness. Ronson drew on his experiences of the various design flaws in the Prometheus to develop the BC-304, which would also integrate the new Asgard-designed hyperdrive technology and a number of other improvements. Ronson had wanted to command the first 304, the Daedalus, on its maiden voyage to Atlantis - much as General Hammond had attempted to do with his ill-fated Pegasus Expedition aboard Prometheus - but his request was denied, and Colonel Stephen Caldwell was appointed Daedalus commander instead. (ATL: "The Siege")
By the time of the Ori Crusade, Ronson was still heading up Deep Space Command, now with General O'Neill as his superior. His purview had expanded somewhat, with Daedalus and Odyssey both operational and two other Battlecruisers under construction, though both Prometheus and the Korolev had been lost to Ori action. The loss of both ships, and the deaths of Colonel Pendergast and Colonel Paul Emerson weighed heavily on Ronson, and once again he petitioned for command of a Battlecruiser - this time the Odyssey - but was denied. Further complicating matters was Ronson's relationship the actual deployment of the Battlecruiser fleet. While he was responsible for personnel, construction, and the basic provision of the Battlecruiser fleet, it was ultimately Stargate Command who exercised in-the-moment authority over how the BC-304s were deployed, leaving Ronson in the unenviable position of selecting the officers that someone else would ultimately be sending to their deaths. While Ronson is not one for resentment or insubordinate complaining, the situation is a long way from what he would find preferable. (SGR: "The Arrow")
Despite not being a naval officer, General O'Neill occasionally refers to Ronson as a Commodore, due to his command over several ships. This is mostly because O'Neill knows it is incorrect to do so, and knows that it will irritate Ronson. (SGR: "The Arrow")
Behind the Scenes
William Ronson was portrayed by John Novak in 2 episodes of Stargate SG-1.
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