Tony Nelson and Roger Healy's ranks

[cjmalagodi]

In the first season of I Dream Of Jeannie, Tony Nelson and his best friend, Roger Healey, both worked at NASA as astronauts. They were originally captains on the show and were subsequently promoted to major later on that season and remained in that rank until the end of the series. I am doing a poll on what rank should Nelson and Healey should be promoted to. I think they deserve to be promoted to Lt. Colonel and even a full Colonel. What do you think?

CJ Malagodi

[Josh9125]

I like them as majors.

[Commander Benson]

We can do some extrapolation to arrive at an educated guess as to what ranks Nelson and Healey attained.

First, let me establish a couple of guidelines:

• According to I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later and I Still Dream of Jeannie, both Nelson and Healey attained the rank of colonel (O-6). However, I am disregarding this; others, of course, will feel differently, but I do not consider either revival film as part of the canon. In the case of the first, no Larry Hagman as Nelson = no I Dream of Jeannie. As for the latter, it committed the sin--an error committed by inexcusable inattention to detail--of depicting Healey as being in the Air Force, when he was an Army officer. In addition, applicable Federal law would have forced Nelson and Healey to retire by the time of the second revival film (more on this below).

• I am not so versed in the show that I know any chapter-and-verse details of Nelson's and Healey's careers that may have been mentioned in any particular episode. So, if any of you more knowledgeable recalls a fact that contradicts any of my assumptions, then I defer to you, of course.

First, let's set the parameters for the length of Nelson's service (for convenience, I'll presume Healey's career mirrored Nelson's--a premise supported by the fact that they both were promoted to major in the same week--a highly unusual, but not impossible event to occur to two officers in separate services):

• Nelson was promoted to major (O-4) in late 1965. In those pre-DOPMA days, the time-in-service for an officer to reach O-4 could vary from six-to-nine years, depending on branch of service and shortage of officers at the O-4 level. Assuming best-case scenario--logical, given that Nelson was an astronaut, which would make him a front-runner over the majority of O-3's being considered for promotion--Nelson would have made major in six years, which puts his time of entry into the service as no later than c. 1959.

• In 1981, the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) took effect, standardising time-in-grade/service promotion requirements and retirement requirements for all of the military services. No longer could each service have its own standards for promotion and retirement; these were now specified by Federal law. Military officers were not "grandfathered" by this act; they became subject to its provisions as soon as it took effect.

For purposes of determining the length of Nelson's service, DOPMA's requirements for retirement are pertinent.

•• Officers in the rank of O-4 (majors/lt. commander) who fail twice to be promoted to the next rank must retire after 20 years of service as an officer. (A continuation board may extend certain officers past this time.)

•• Officers in the rank of O-5 (lt. colonels/commanders) who fail twice to be promoted to the next rank must retire after 28 years of service as an officer.

•• Officers in the rank of O-6 (colonels/captains) who fail twice to be promoted to the next rank must retire after 30 years of service.

Officers of general/flag rank may serve until they reach the age of 65; officers of certain medical specialities or receiving a Presidential deferment may serve until age 68, but no officer can remain on active duty past the age of 68.

If we accept 1959 as the year Nelson entered the service, that means, if he failed to be promoted past major, he would have been able to serve until at least 1981, when DOPMA took effect.

If he failed to be promoted past lieutenant colonel, then he would have been forced to retire in 1987.

If he had failed to be promoted past colonel, then he would have been forced to retire in 1990. (This is why neither Nelson, nor Healey, whose career is presumed to parallel Nelson's, could not have been serving on active duty at the time of the second revival movie--1991.)

If Nelson attained general rank, then he could serve until he reached the age of 65/68.

• Looking at the promotion windows for Nelson, the usual time-in-grade required for promotion to lieutenant colonel (both pre-and post-DOPMA) is 5-to-6 years (depending on what month the promotion board meets. That means Nelson would be a major for 5-to-6 years before being considered for promotion if he were on the normal promotion path.

Both before and since DOPMA, there is a provision for "deep-selecting" officers for promotion--or promoting them early. DOPMA limits such deep selections to only 2% of the available promotions for a given year.

However, we know that Nelson was not deep selected, since he remained a major for the remainder of the series, ending in May, 1970. That means he was probably selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel in late 1970 or early 1971. As an astronaut with a sustained rate of superior performance, it's doubtful that Nelson would have been passed over for promotion. Dr. Bellows' doubts and suspicions about Nelson would not have had much impact on Nelson's reports of fitness, since they would have been signed off by Generals Peterson and Schaeffer, neither of whom believed in Bellows' doubts as to Nelson's competence.

So, it is almost a certainty that Nelson, and Healey, made lieutenant colonel.

But what about colonel? That is a bigger hurdle. Selection to O-6 is tighter than selection to O-5. Here, niggling questions such as those presented by Dr. Bellows would have more of an impact, present a greater chance of failure to select.

However, there is a kicker, one which would work in Nelson's and Healey's behalf.

Traditionally, every astronaut who walked on the moon received a 'spot" promotion to the next rank upon his return to Earth. (The only exception was in the case of Navy Captain Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon; he was not promoted to rear admiral upon his return since he had been promoted to captain just before he had left for the moon.)

I don't know the IDOJ episodes well enough to recall if Nelson and Healey had been sent on a mission to land on the moon. (If they had, it fouls up this whole exercise.) To remain consistant with real life, I am presuming that they did not during the course of the show, since they remained majors for the duration.

But if either of them did walk on the moon anytime after 1971, then traditionally, he would have been spot promoted to colonel.

Moreover, if they had been promoted to colonel on time, as part of the normal selection process, which would have been c. 1976, and then made a moon landing after 1977, they would have been spot promoted to brigadier general.

Taking the above into consideration, my best guess is Nelson and Healey certainly made lieutenant colonel; had a strong likelihood at making colonel; and there was a fair, but not overwhelmingly strong, chance of making brigadier general.

[cjmalagodi]

To Commander Benson:

You have quite an interesting knowledge on certain television programs as well as your longtime navy career. How long have you been in the Navy? I have seen some of your previous posts on I Dream of Jeannie. Are they any questions you like to post relating to IDOJ?

CJ Malagodi

[Commander Benson]

Thank you.

I've been in the Navy for twenty-four years.

I only had one real question about I Dream of Jeannie, which I posted here a long time ago, and no-one knew the definitive answer. Nor have I seen it in any web site or reference book.

To use the short form of my question:

Since it was never germane or integral to any plot or development in IDOJ, why did the show producers go to the trouble (and subtle expense) of making Healey an Army officer--when it would not have changed a thing if he had been Air Force like Nelson, Bellows, Petersen, [i]etc.[/]?

[FrankJSell]

I've heard mention of this on the TV-Land boards and it seems like a reasonable explanation. Perhaps because had he been in the Air Force like Tony, his uniform would have been blue as well so they just wanted a little variety in color when they picked out Roger's uniform.

There's something even more interesting. In one of the Black and White episodes, Tony is a magician and, in one particular scene, he asks for Roger to hand him his (Tony's) hat. Tony proceeds to crack an egg in it and when he tries to make it disappear, he can't. And Roger looks at the hat and says, "That was MY hat..." Now, how could both of them mistook Roger's hat for Tony's if they were different colors? This makes me think that perhaps they changed Roger's uniform when they started the second season, much like they changed the theme song, intro cartoon, bottle, etc. Anyway, hope this helped a little.

[Commander Benson]

There's something even more interesting. In one of the Black and White episodes, Tony is a magician and, in one particular scene, he asks for Roger to hand him his (Tony's) hat. Tony proceeds to crack an egg in it and when he tries to make it disappear, he can't. And Roger looks at the hat and says, "That was MY hat..." Now, how could both of them mistook Roger's hat for Tony's if they were different colors? This makes me think that perhaps they changed Roger's uniform when they started the second season, much like they changed the theme song, intro cartoon, bottle, etc. Anyway, hope this helped a little.

The problem with that theory, Mr. Sell--and I can understand your reasoning--is that Healey's uniform is obviously--to a military man, anyway--an Army uniform, even in the monochrome episodes.

There are differences between the Army and Air Force service dress uniforms (which are the ones Nelson and Healey wear in nearly every case) than just colour.

If you will observe Healey's uniform, even in the first season, it has the insignia of his specialty on the lapels of his blouse (jacket). Those devices which resemble tiny castles on his lapel indicate that he is in the Army Corps of Engineers. Air Force officers do not wear such designations on the lapels.

The "wings" insignia, which indicate qualification as an aviator/astronaut, that Healey wears over his ribbons is clearly the Army's device. The difference can be seen when compared to Nelson's wings.

Lastly, Army officers wear a one-inch black stripe down the sides of their trousers--Healey had this. Air Force officer uniforms do not have such a stripe.

Therefore, Healey was clearly an Army officer from the beginning.

Other than the colour of their uniforms, the most obvious uniform indication that Nelson and Healey were in two different services was the bills of their combination caps, once both men were promoted to major.

The Army and the Marine Corps (which took its rank structure from the old Continental Army) designate the promotion from captain (O-3) to major (O-4) as a change in status from a "company grade" officer to a "field grade" officer, and the O-4's of those two services wear the gold braid--colloquially called "scrambled eggs"--on the visors of their combination caps.

However, officers in the Navy and the Air Force do not adorn their visors with the same decoration until they reach the rank of O-5 (commander, for the Navy; lieutenant colonel, for the Air Force). This demarks the advancement from a "junior officer" to a "senior officer".

In the first season, the show missed this change to Healey's cover; his bill remained as unadorned as Nelson's. But somebody got on the ball over the hiatus, because from the second season on, Healey's cover displayed the scrambled eggs, while Nelson's, of course, did not.

Frankly, it is more realistic to have Healey an Army officer, since NASA is a joint-service command. (At various times, the show also showed Naval officers, too.) And I applaud the show's attention to detail. However, I Dream of Jeannie was not a show which was necessarily dedicated to displaying the military precisely and it certainly wouldn't have made a difference to the viewers if Healey had been an Air Force officer, too. (In fact, most viewers assume he is, anyway.) So I have always wondered why whomever is in charge of making such decisions decided to make Healey an Army officer.

If I ever have the opportunity to communicate with Bill Daily, that will be the first question I ask him.

I appreciate your trying to solve this mystery for me, sir.

[Commander Benson]

I appreciate your trying to solve this mystery for me, sir.

Actually, Mr. Sell, I just discovered you may have helped to do just that, but not in the way you suggested.

At your mention of this topic being discussed on the TVLand message boards, I took a moment to review the IDOJ message board there. I found the germane thread and went through the posts. This response caught my eye:

"INTERESTINGLY, I SAW LARRY HAGMAN AT THE TVLAND CONVENTION AND HE SAID THE ORIGINAL PLAN FOR THE SHOW WAS TO HAVE THREE GUYS, ONE FROM THE NAVY TOO, BUT THE BUDGET COULDN'T AFFORD IT."

This goes a long way to answer the question.

As I recall that first episode, Captain Healey did not have a large part, and he was seen together with Navy Lieutenant Pete Conway (played by actor Don Dubbins). The impression was given that Nelson, Healey, and Conway comprised a team of astronauts. (NASA typically groups its astronauts into separate mission teams.)

This tends to corroborate Hagman's statement above, and from that, one can extrapolate:

The original storyline called for three astronauts--one Air Force officer (Nelson), one Army officer (Healey), and one Navy officer (Conway). The character of Lieutenant Conway was dispensed with, due to budget constraints (and also because it probably occurred to the writers that not much more could be done with three astronauts than could be with two).

Ultimately, this expanded Captain Healey's rôle into that of Captain Nelson's confidant and foil. Since Healey had already been outfitted as an Army officer, it would be less expensive to keep him an Army officer (thereby, avoiding the cost of tailoring a new uniform to put Healey in the Air Force). It would also avoid the awkward question of having to explain to any enquiring viewer why Healey suddenly switched from the Army to the Air Force. (Although, most likely, that was a minor consideration; television shows of that era and genre rarely concerned themselves with such inconsistencies. Doubtless, budget savings was the major motivation.)

This makes a great deal of sense, and is the best explanation I have heard so far.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction, sir.

[FrankJSell]

I'm glad I was able to help, albeit very little. Thank you for your service to our great nation and for your vast knowledge regarding this subject.

[iDOhavealife]

Wow, Commander Benson, what a wonderful analysis. I had one point to make about this statement, though:

<< Moreover, if they had been promoted to colonel on time, as part of the normal selection process, which would have been c. 1976, and then made a moon landing after 1977, they would have been spot promoted to brigadier general.>>

The last moon landing was Apollo 17 in 1972, I believe. So, no chance of going to the moon after 1977.

Absolutely wonderful points, though .

[Commander Benson]

The last moon landing was Apollo 17 in 1972, I believe. So, no chance of going to the moon after 1977.

Another sign of encroaching old age, I'm afraid. The last moon landing didn't seem that long ago, but you're right: the last two men to walk on the moon--Dr. Harrison Schmidtt and CAPT Eugene Cernan--did so on 12-3 December 1972.

[iDOhavealife]

Believe me, I know what you mean about encroaching old age and suddenly realizing how quickly time has passed, LOL.

[I poop j00r pants]

They both should have been Lt. Colonel Major.

[BubbleBoy]

Colonel

[sg1niner]

After the research I've been doing for my crossover fanfic, I realized Tony and Roger are/were Majors for just WAY too long.

I think they're going to get promoted soon in my story.

Stargate SG-1 is USAF oriented, and Roger's amour, Samantha Carter, just got promoted to Lt. Colonel this past season. They have a USAF advisor to make sure they stay realistic in all this, consulted that advisor about the accuracy of her rating a promotion. So I'm trying to stick with that.

Yep, Majors WAY too long. But not General. Maybe full Colonel, yes.

(BTW, the scuttlebutt around the campfire is that the USAF really likes SG-1, it depicts that branch of the military in a very positive light. Far out.)