Battlestar Galactica: The Wildly Varied Career Of Lee "Apollo" Adama
9. Major, And Then Commander, Adama (The Captain’s Hand—Season 2, Episode 17)
At the start of The Captain’s Hand, it’s revealed that Lee has been
promoted to the rank of Major, though he does not seem to consider that a
significant achievement. Over the course of the episode, the Battlestar Pegasus loses its third consecutive commanding officer, former Chief Engineer Barry Garner.
When asked by his father--now Admiral Adama--for his assessment of where Garner went wrong, Lee Adama replies, "He was used to working with machines. Command is about people." The Admiral challenges him to remember that as he assumes his first command.
With that advice, Lee is promoted to Commander and put in charge of the Pegasus.