page_title: List of Stargate Atlantis characters
section_title: Recurring military characters
hierarchical_section_title: List of Stargate Atlantis characters / Recurring Earth characters / Recurring military characters
caption_attribution_description: Dean Marshall at Pegasus Three, London
context_page_description: The characters from the Canadian military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis were created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. The series follows the adventures of a human expedition to the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Stargate has brought humanity into contact with other cultures, including new and powerful enemies: the Wraith, the Genii, and later the Asurans and a lost tribe of Asgard, all while trying to uncover the secrets the Ancients left behind.
  Stargate Atlantis has a small cast, amounting to ten main cast actors over its five-season run. Most characters are introduced in outgoing expeditions outside the city of Atlantis.
context_section_description: Sergeant Bates, played by Dean Marshall (seasons 1, 4) – A career military man who serves as the head of security on Atlantis in season 1. He first appears in "Rising" as a Marine under Colonel Sumner's command, and participates in their mission to Athos. In "Suspicion", he voices his belief that one of the Athosians is collaborating with the Wraith, putting him at odds with Major Sheppard and Teyla. His conflict with Teyla heightens in "The Gift". After Teyla discovers she has Wraith DNA, he believes her to be a security risk as the Wraith could exploit their telepathic connection to her to obtain information. In "The Siege", he all but accuses Teyla of working with the Wraith, and the two almost come to blows. Shortly after Bates is found severely beaten, found to be the work of a Wraith who had infiltrated the city. Due to his injuries, Dr. Carson Beckett places Bates in a medically induced coma. Bates is shown to have returned to Earth and honorably discharged from the military in the season 4 episode "Outcast". He began working for IOA field operations, and assists Sheppard and Ronon in capturing a rogue human-form Replicator.
  Laura Cadman, played by  Jaime Ray Newman (season 2) – A USMC lieutenant who is an expert in explosives. In "Duet", she is dematerialized by a Wraith dart along with McKay. Her mind temporarily shares McKay's body due to complications in the rematerialization process, during which she acts on her attraction to Carson Beckett by kissing him. She is eventually returned safely to her own body. In "Critical Mass", she helps in locating the sabotage done to Atlantis by an operative of the Trust. Beckett pursues a relationship with her, but he says "it didn't work out" in "The Return".
  Dillon Everett, played by Clayton Landey (seasons 1–2) – A United States Marine Corps Colonel who is sent from Earth through the Stargate to help Atlantis against the incoming Wraith attack in "The Siege, Part 2". He received the ATA gene through gene therapy before coming to Atlantis. He immediately relieves both Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard of command. Col. Everett is attacked by a Wraith and ages considerably. Before Everett is shipped out with the next batch of wounded in "The Siege, Part 3", Sheppard visits him in the infirmary.
   Steven Caldwell, played by Mitch Pileggi (seasons 2–5) – A USAF Colonel and the commander of the Earth battlecruiser Daedalus. He first appears in the season 2 premiere, "The Siege, Part 3", arriving just in time to save Atlantis from the Wraith. The Pentagon wants to make Col. Caldwell military commander of Atlantis, but Major John Sheppard is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and remains military commander of Atlantis with the support of Dr. Elizabeth Weir, President Henry Hayes and the IOA. In "Critical Mass", Caldwell is revealed to be possessed by a Goa'uld working for the Trust, but his plan to destroy Atlantis fails and the Goa'uld is eventually removed with Asgard beaming technology. Caldwell takes command of Atlantis in "The Long Goodbye" when both Weir and Sheppard are compromised by psychotic and bloodthirsty alien entities.
   Abraham Ellis, played by Michael Beach (seasons 3–5) – A USAF Colonel and the commander of the Earth ship Apollo, first appearing in "First Strike". Very intelligent, Col. Ellis does have a penchant for being somewhat gruff and extremely averse to wasting time, often cutting people off before they finish their sentences, if they go on for too long after he gets the answer he wants. He successfully completes his mission to destroy the Asuran fleet on their homeworld, though this leads to an attack on Atlantis that forces the city to abandon its planet. In "Adrift" and "Lifeline", Ellis contacts Samantha Carter at Midway Station after Atlantis fails to arrive at its intended destination. Together, they find the city and rescue Sheppard's team from the Asurans. Ellis and the Apollo return in "Be All My Sins Remember'd" to battle against the Asurans. He also appears in Stargate: The Ark of Truth (set before "First Strike"), monitoring an Ori fleet approaching Ear
caption: Dean Marshall played Bates
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