is a fictional character on the
Science Fiction Television show ''
Stargate SG-1 '', played by
Ben Browder . His
Callsign is "Shaft", from
Camshaft , a pun on his first name.
He is apparently from the
American South , and hence has a slight Southern accent. He sometimes makes references to his
Bible -thumping grandmother.
Mitchell's father was a test pilot for the
Air Force until an accident cost him both legs. Mitchell would admit years later that seeing his dad without legs for the first time scared him. (''SG-1'' episode "
Collateral Damage ")
Cameron had a crisis of conscience several years before becoming a
F-302 pilot. During a sortie (possibly in either
Afghanistan or
Iraq ), Mitchell, piloting an
F-16 Fighting Falcon , was given orders to fire upon a convory of vehicles believed to be carrying enemy combatants. However, almost immediately after he launched his missiles he was ordered to fire, because it was determined that the convoy was actually refugees fleeing to safety. Even though he was absolved of any wrongdoing, having received direct orders to fire and assured to the validity of the target, he was still wracked with guilt and almost resigned.
Mitchell led the squadron of
F-302 fighters in the battle against
Anubis ' forces in
Antarctica at the end of season 7. He was shot down and badly injured. While still hospitalized he was awarded the
Medal Of Honor . He was promised a place on
SG-1 should he recover. In season 9 Mitchell is assigned as
SG-1 's new
Commanding Officer .
Upon making his entry at the
SGC he is upset to learn that the rest of SG-1 has moved on. After several valiant tries he concludes he is "not gonna get the band together".
When Mitchell leads Dr.
Daniel Jackson ,
Vala Mal Doran , and a reluctant
Teal'c on a quest to gain knowledge and riches, they find an
Ancient Communication Device , buried in an
Arthurian tomb - complete with holo-
Merlin .
Subsequently, when Daniel and Vala inadvertently alert the
Ori -
Evil Ascended beings - to the presence of humans, Mitchell's prospects looked a little less dim. With such a dangerous new enemy both Daniel and Sam were eager to return to the front line. After a botched attempt to capture
Ba'al , it became clear that Teal'c had fallen into disfavor with the
Jaffa High Council . This binds him stronger to the
Tau'ri , ensuring both his return to the
SGC's Flagship Team and Mitchell's satisfaction.
It is unknown whether the
Chinese Mitchell used while Jackson was conversing with
Chinese IOA delegate Dr. Chen Xiaoyi is indicative of an actual knowledge of Chinese or simply a word he picked up.
- In " Collateral Damage ", Cameron claims he was about ten years old when the First Space Shuttle Launch occurred. ''Columbia'' , the first Shuttle , launched in 1981. This would make him around 34 years old, which is very young for a Lieutenant Colonel , and about ten years younger than the actor who portrays him. This, in fact, makes Cameron so young that he would have had to have made each of his promotions not just "below-the-zone" but at the minimum time-in-grade as established by federal law (10 U.S.C.).
