Last year, we had occasion to put together a set of working notes on Downtown, celebrating the legacy of a lesser known Wing Commander character to display some of the depth of established lore players might not be familiar with by putting together a thorough in-universe biography and walking through some of the common continuity issues surrounding him. With the recent passing of actor Peter Jason, we thought it would be worthwhile to put together a set of notes on Admiral (or is it Captain?) Wilford.
Character Biography
This writeup is done in the style of a wiki entry and takes into account all existing sources in an attempt to construct a singular story. It does not represent the specific intent of any one author; details on the development of Wilford's character and a discussion of the various changes to the story that have occurred over the years are discussed in further sections below the history.
Daniel Eugene Wilford
"Telamon is such a frontier system that their planets have retained their original discovery numbers, but it's still part of the Border Worlds Union -- all systems are equal in our eyes. If there's a fire to put out there, let's do it." - Vice Admiral Daniel Wilford, UBWN
Daniel Eugene Wilford was a Terran Confederation Space Navy and Union of Border Worlds Navy officer who served during the Kilrathi War, the Back Lance Affair and the Nephilim conflict. Wilord was second in command of the UBWN during the Border Worlds Conflict and captained the TCS Midway during the first battles with the Nephilim.
Wilford's parents were on the first colony ship to settle their planet in the Outer Worlds. Around 2611, he was the first child born on the planet and grew up 500 miles from his nearest neighbor. As a teenager, he passed his college entrance exams with flying colors and was identified by the newly organizing Border Worlds Joint Planetary Defense Force as a candidate for ROTC training. The BWJPDF was formed to coordinate frontier planetary militias against the threats of criminals, terrorists and Kilrathi saboteurs. In the interests of building their own corps of trained officers, they negotiated an agreement with the Terran Confederation military to allow the training of non-citizens as military officers. In 2629, Wilford was commissioned as an active duty Terran Confederation Space Navy officer.
The original intention was that Wilford would serve a four year training tour and then return to the Border Worlds. As the Pilgrim War carried on and the war with the Kilrathi began and expanded, the length of the tour doubled and then tripled. Wilford rapidly rose to the rank of Captain and ultimately served throughout the entire Kilrathi War. He distinguished himself serving in both staff and command assignments and was regarded as an especially capable commander who took interest in supporting his subordinates. During his TCSN service, Wilford married and around 2663 fathered the first of four children. Around 2668, Wilford served aboard the TCS Tarawa under Captain Jason Bondarevsky before the False Peace. Around 2669, he was assigned to take over Enigma sector command and briefed on the black budget research taking place in the Axius System.
When the war ended, he retired from the Terran Confederation Space Navy and retired back to his home in the Border Worlds. Although he initially intended a permanent retirement, he was quickly convinced by Admiral Vance Richards to return to work for the Joint Planetary Defense Force in order to apply his wartime experience to building a modern force. He was commissioned as a Rear Admiral and put in charge of the new fleet's operations. He would prove to be an essential reason the Border Worlds were able to hold out until evidence of the Black Lance conspiracy could be presented.
Thanks to Wilford's leadership, the JPDF was able to quickly develop an effective navy using surplus Confederation weaponry, equipment provided by the Free Republic of the Landreich and unorthodox conversions of obsolete equipment. Within three years, the Border Worlds fleets had been organized into multiple fleets built around six effective carriers and an ever-increasing force of capital ships. Wilford prioritized building experience, seeking to onboard retired veterans of the Kilrathi War in both enlisted and officer roles. He also actively instigated asymmetrical force modifiers including remote jump drives, manned insertion pods and more.
As tensions between the Confederation and the Border Worlds came to a head in 2673, Wilford was made Vice Admiral with orders to organize and then fight the newly-formed Union of Border World Navy to withstand the expected invasion. He would be the second highest ranking officer in the fleet during the conflict, reporting directly to Admiral Richards. Wilford made his flag aboard one of the escort carriers provided by the FRLN with plans to fight from the front. On August 21, he took over full tactical command from Richards.
The first days of the conflict were marked by constant movement from system to system as Wilford rallied forces to deal with the hotspots emerging across the frontier. It quickly became clear that the Confederation intended to precede a full scale invasion with a variety of smaller incursions and flare-ups which would divide and reduce the Border Worlds military. These ranged from backing rebel forces in the ongoing Circean civil war to direct fighting at Lennox to experimenting with a system-blocking jamming device in the key fuel-producing system of Peleus. To counter this, Wilford divided his forces, dispatching the Outer Worlds Fleet built around the BWS Intrepid to help deal with situations. When Colonel Christopher Blair took command of the BWS Intrepid, Wilford became his direct superior and provided the ship its orders directly. He also commanded the Border Worlds marine forces, dispatching Lt. Colonel Dekker's company to the battle in Lennox and then attaching them to the Intrepid. His constant movement proved to be a challenge in organizing his broad commands; he was often unavailable for real time communication and relied instead on issuing orders via recorded messages.
While passing through the Orestes System, Wilford ordered Blair to deal with the situation in Peleus and was pleased by the results. With some of the immediate crises prevented, Wilford decided to make a bold gamble: commit most of his forces to a fleet action in the Speradon System. Speradon was home to covert Confederation factories and support facilities which had been established in the Border Worlds advance of the intended invasion. Wilford reasoned that striking these would claim the initiative, stymie the Confederation's plans to quickly execute the war and provide equipment and munitions desperately needed by the Border Worlds. He ordered the Intrepid to rendezvous with him at Lennox and enlisted Lt. Colonel Tamara Farnsworth, with whom he had served aboard the Intrepid, to plan the three-pronged action. He ultimately transferred his flag aboard the Intrepid for the battle.
Wilford personally fought the Intrepid through the action, suffering several major hits during the successful attack on the factory complex. Afterwards, he coordinated the Intrepid's capture of the first Black Lance "Dragon" fighters. The operation at Speradon was a significant success but it backfired in some ways: the Confederation presented it as further evidence of Border Worlds aggression. Wilford's next task was a dark one: coordinating the medical and military response fo the attack on Telamon. Wilford traveled to Telamon aboard Intrepid and oversaw the work himself. He and Colonel Blair planned the spy mission to Axius and when Blair returned he orchestrated the delaying action through Orestes. Though exhausted by the responsibility and breakneck pace of the race to Earth, Wilford never faulted. He is generally recognized as being one of the most essential figures in the crisis.
With the bilateral peace accord achieved, the Confederation and the new Union of Border Worlds worked quickly to establish a good relationship. They agreed to a compact increasing military exchange and cooperation and allowing officers of all ranks to transfer between militaries should the need arise. Commodore Blair, now Senior Operational Consultant on the Megacarrier Program, recommended to Senator James Taggart, head of the Armed Forces Committee, that Wilford be offered command of the first of the new ships as a symbol of the alliance. Wilford accepted and returned to active duty service in the Terran Confederation Navy as a Captain commanding the TCS Midway (CVX-1). He retained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Union of Border Worlds Naval Reserve.
The Midway was commissioned in late 2680 with orders to test the megacarrier concept using a hand-picked crew. Wilford's tasks would include developing doctrine for commanding a warship twice the size of those used during the Kilrathi War and directly commanding the carrier's expanded Science Division under Lt. Commander Aurora Finley in addition to the usual Navy and Space Forces contingents. He also authored the "From the Captain's Desk" introductory column for Waypoint!, the carrier's onboard Space Force newsletter. In November 2680, Wilford commanded the Midway through her first combat, an operation in the Valgard System to eliminate the Demon's Eye Pack pirates that had been terrorizing the Epsilon Sector.
Wilford was in command of the Midway when the Nephilim emerged at Kilrah. Wilford ordered the Miidway's marine expeditionary unit to investigate the wreck of a Kilrathi cruiser which it was discovered was destroyed by the previously encountered aliens. Over the next weeks, Wilford commanded the Midway behind enemy lines as the invasion unfolded. Working alongside the TCS Eisen, the Midway took on the aliens and pushed their fleet back to Kilrah before destroying the wormhole gate. During the campaign he took particular interest in the career of Lance Casey. He awarded Casey the Flying Cross and Pewter Planet and recommended him for the Silver Star, a promotion to 1st Lieutenant and reassignment to the carrier's elite Black Widows squadron. He eulogized several pilots killed in action in the G'wriss System and approved Commodore Blair's both request to return to the flight roster and his decision to board the wormhole gate.
The difficult campaign left Wilford exhausted and unhappy. After the destruction of the wormhole gate, he returned home to the Border Worlds on leave. The time off helped restore his happiness and he was pleased to return to command the Midway for her victory tour of the Sol Sector. Wilford again fought the Nephilim in the Sirius System, pitting Midway against an enemy carrier group that was attempting to establish supply lines. Midway's Science Division was responsible for determining that if the second wormhole in Proxima were completed it would remain open for the life of the system's binary stars.
Personality
Wilford was particularly proud of his naval service and his colonial heritage. As the first captain of the Midway, he relished the opportunity to show off the ship. He was a man of action, anxious to serve in times of crisis. He was physically imposing and extremely hard driven, focusing on his task before anything else. Colonel Blair noted that he seemed to have exhausted himself by the time of the Telamon attack and that his body seemed to be failing him by the final hours of the race to Earth. He preferred command to staff assignments and was particularly fond of leading from the bridge. He was not easily rattled, having seen a great deal during his lengthy career. He was not a strict observer of military protocols; during the Border Words conflict he often wore cardigans with only a rank pin rather than a uniform.
Wilford was known to be easy going and a dedicated mentor with a reputation for adopting and nurturing promising young officers. He was not particularly timely, arriving late for his own briefing at Speradon. This often prompted his subordinates to attempt to stand out. He did not meet Colonel Christopher Blair during the Kilrathi War but always wanted to.
He is a coffee drinker.
Family
As of 2681, Wilford is married and has four children. The first of his children followed in his footsteps and entered the Terran Confederation Naval Academy as a Union of Border Worlds exchange student in 2681.
Decorations
Wilford wore five ribbons during his service as captain of the TCS Midway.
Behind the Screens
Wilford was played by famed character actor Peter Jason. His character was originally created for Wing Commander IV to replace Captain Eisen as the 'commander,' allowing Eisen to reappear in the third act and save the day with the Mt. St. Helens. He was notable in that all of his appearances were shot separately from the rest of the cast. Like Khan in Star Trek II, he always communicates with the Intrepid via viewscreen (see issues below for a discussion of the greater continuity).
Sadly, he was then called to replace Captain Eisen on the production side in Wing Commander Prophecy. Jason Bernard, who played Eisen, tragically died in October 1996. This effectively left the 'captain' role open for the next game. Instead of simply create a new commanding officer, the Prophecy team decided to bring back Wilford for the role.
Issue: What is his rank?
In Wing Commander IV, Wilford is a Vice Admiral while in Wing Commander Prophecy he is a Captain. While this results from the change in the character's role between games (discussed above), it is presented as intended and was not ever a continuity error! While Wilford is an Admiral in the Border Worlds Navy, he is only a Captain in the TCSN. In Prophecy, he has returned to his original service and rank to command the Midway. This is covered explicitly in Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy and is also mentioned by Paladin in his letter in the Prophecy Gold manual's Secret Ops addition.
That said, there is some confusion around his UBWN rank: the Prophecy guide refers to his permanent rank as Rear Admiral rather than Vice Admiral. This may not have been as intended but it is actually how the Vice Admiral rank works in the United States Navy: it is tied to a specific position and is applied only when an officer is so assigned. Wilford was a Rear Admiral who was made a Vice Admiral while he was in charge of the UBWN; when he went inactive (or was otherwise reassigned) he reverted to Rear Admiral. Note also that Geoffrey Tolwyn has the same issue: he was referred to as a Vice Admiral in The Secret Missions 2 but a Rear Admiral much later.
Issue: What is his first name?
Unlike the rank issue discussed above, this is a genuine error. While it is not spoken in the game itself, the Wing Commander IV credits refer to him as Daniel Wilford while Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy calls him Eugene Wilford. This is an issue specific to the guide rather than a broad desire to change his name or imply that he is a different character; both Wing Commander Prophecy's credits and the in-fiction ICIS manual refer to him as Daniel.
Captain/Admiral Wilford suffers from an issue common in Wing Commander lore (though he is an outlier in that it most frequently impacts characters created by Dr. William Forstchen) which is that a later source failed to note that his first name had already been established. For the lack of a better alternative, we propose a standard rule for these situations which says that multiple names are recorded in the order they were decided creatively. Thus Wilford would be Daniel Eugene Wilford, Banbridge would be Wayne Spencer Banbridge and Kruger would be Maximilian Hans Kruger.
Issue: Where was Admiral Wilford during Wing Commander IV?
In the game itself, Wilford completely disappears after ordering the Intrepid to Axius. He simply isn't mentioned again and the surprise of Captain Eisen arriving in the Mt. St. Helens causes the player never to wonder what became of him. In the novel, he arrives aboard the Intrepid for the attack on Speradon and never leaves (unlike Tolwyn in Wing Commander III, he does not take command from Blair). In continuity, he is presumably aboard the Intrepid during the final race to Earth… just standing somewhere else!
Query: What are his ribbons and other costume parts?
In Wing Commander IV, Wilford wears a light blue officer's tunic. His insignia include two Union of Border Worlds shoulder patches, a black WILFORD name tag, two silver collar pips, a silver ADMIRAL rank bar consisting of five squares in a plus shape and a 'wings' pin.
In Wing Commander Prophecy, he has a light blue officer's uniform with black shoes and a black belt. His insignia include two Unified Space Command shoulder patches, a grey WILFORD name tag, two silver collar pips, a solid silver CAPTAIN rank bar and five ribbons in three rows.
We have not been able to identify the source of the ribbon on the first row. It seems to be white/red/light blue/white. The other four seem to be genuine United States military surplus. The second row is a Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with the frame removed) and a Philippine Defense Medal. The third row is another JMUA and an Army of Occupation Medal (worn backwards).
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