Admiral James Komack was a male Starfleet flag officer who lived during the mid-23rd century. In 2267, he was the head of Starfleet Command in Sector 9.
That same year, Komack was responsible for overseeing the USS Enterprise's mission to Omicron Ceti III. After he learned of the survival of the colonists, he ordered them evacuated to Starbase 27. (TOS: "This Side of Paradise")
Later that year, Admiral Komack denied the request of the Enterprise to divert to Vulcan but to maintain course for Altair VI. Komack later allowed Enterprise to divert following a request made by Vulcan matriarch T'Pau. (TOS: "Amok Time")
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Background information[]
Admiral Komack, who was first mentioned as a dialogue reference in "This Side of Paradise", later appeared in "Amok Time", played by Byron Morrow, who later appeared as Admiral Westervliet in "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky".
In the revised final draft of "Amok Time", the character was described: "[He] runs along the square-built lines of an English bulldog. He is a competent man, quick of speech and thought, but he is not going to like having a starship captain question his orders." Komack was one of the few admirals seen on the original series. In most instances when Kirk reported to a flag officer, it was to a commodore.
Admiral Komack was almost entirely referred to as Westervliet in the script for "Amok Time", which established Komack as a separate character. According to de Forest Research review of the 29 May 1967 draft of the script for "Amok Time", the following was noted of the proposed name "Admiral Westervliet": "There is a serving Captain in the United States Navy, Westervelt. To avoid conflicts, suggest: Komack, used in previous scripts."
According to the text commentary for "Amok Time", by Michael and Denise Okuda, Komack was named for James Komack, director of "A Piece of the Action". That homage was later picked up in the eleventh film, when a name placard at Starfleet Academy read "James Komack".
Apocrypha[]
Komack's first name "James" comes from the 2009 Star Trek movie and the novels What Judgments Come and A Contest of Principles. The novels Provenance of Shadows and The Fire and the Rose calls him "Westervliet Komack", suggesting that he is the same character as Admiral Westervliet. Where Time Stands Still calls him "Byron Komack". The novel Open Secrets calls him "Franklin Komack".
External links[]
- James Komack at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works