An individual's military rank was their placement within a military hierarchy. The military forces of the Galactic Republic, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Chiss Ascendancy, the Galactic Empire, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the New Republic, Imperial Remnants, the First Order, and the Resistance all utilized military ranks in their hierarchy.
A military rank was an armed forces title used to denote a military officer's placement within an established military hierarchy and structure. Military ranks were divided into army and navy forces, although governments such as the Galactic Empire used military ranks for other organizations, such as the Imperial Security Bureau.
The Republic's enforcement agencies, such as the Republic Defense Coalition and the Judicial Department utilized ranks. The RDC used the ranks of admiral, naval captain, ensign, and petty officer. The rank of provost marshal was used within the Judicial Department by both its leader and the leader of the Judicial Academy. Judicials also used the rank of naval captain and lieutenant.
The Republic Military consisted of multiple cadres of officers in at least two military branches, the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy. The Armed Forces of the Galactic Republic consisted of clone trooper officers operating in army and naval roles, Jedi officers, and non-clone and non-Jedi Republic officers. Jedi officers used the military ranks of High Jedi General, Jedi General, and Jedi Commander. These Jedi ranks allowed for Jedi officers to lead both ground and space forces.
From left to right: Clone Captain Rex, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, and Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, each an example of a clone officer, a Jedi officer, and an enlisted officer in the Republic Military, respectively.
Clone officers used their own ranking system for their cadre. Clone Marshal Commander was a corps-level rank that was achievable for a clone trooper, and was followed by Clone ARC Commander and Clone Commander. The ranks of Clone Captain and Clone major followed, and then Clone Lieutenant, Clone Sergeant, Clone Corporal, and Clone Private. Clone Private was the lowest rank in the Republic Army. Prior to officially graduating from training, clones used the rank of clone cadet. Clone Commander, Clone Captain, and Clone Corporal were also used as naval ranks.
Non-clone and non-Jedi Republic officers used multiple military ranks. Governor-General was a military and political rank within the Republic, when galaxy sector was under a state of emergency. Adjutant General was a senior military rank for both the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy. For the Republic Navy, flag officer ranks consisted of Admiral and Rear Admiral. Following flag ranks, was the rank of naval Captain and Lieutenant Commander. Lieutenant was a subordinate junior officer rank. In the Republic, the rank of midshipman was also used. In the Grand Army of the Republic, the rank of General was used, as was Brigadier General and the subordinate rank of colonel. The rank of captain was additionally used in the military's Republic Intelligence branch. The rank of Master Chief was additionally used.
The military of the Chiss Ascendancy contained the Chiss Defense Force and the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. Following a Chiss officer's promotion to a flag officer, the Chiss had to renounce all family ties and pledge themselves fully to the military. The military ranks of Supreme Admiral and Supreme General were at the pinnacle of the hierarchy, and followed by Fleet Admiral and Senior General, Admiral and General, Mid Admiral and Mid General, and lastly Commodore. Subsequently, senior officers ranked at Senior Captain, Mid Captain, Junior Captain, Senior Commander, Mid Commander, Junior Commander, and Lieutenant Commander. Junior officers were given the rank of lieutenant, and was followed by Senior Warrior, Mid Warrior, and Junior Warrior. Personnel within Chiss Academies could hold the rank of colonel. Older cadets of the Chiss Ascendancy held the rank of Senior Cadet.
General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Separatist military
The armed forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems maintained a composition of Separatist officers and droid officers. Senior-ranking Separatist officers used multiple ranks, including the Separatist Army ranks of General and colonel. Subordinate to those ranks was commandant, commander, and Captain. In the Separatist Navy, the flag officer rank of Admiral was used, as was captain.
Droid officers, ranging from ST-series military strategic analysis and tactics droids, T-series military strategic analysis and tactics droids, OOM command battle droids, and standard B1-series battle droids used a variety of ranks in army and naval capacities. ST-series droids could use the ranks of general and commander, while T-series droids utilized commander, as did OOM command battle droids. The commander rank was used in an army and naval role. B1-series battle droids used the ranks of captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and corporal.
Darth Vader held no formal rank in the Imperial Military, but he was regarded as the de facto Commander-in-Chief
The Imperial Military was the successor of the Republic Military, adopting the use of the rank insignia plaques and certain military ranks. Imperial military ranks were used in the Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Starfighter Corps, and certain COMPNOR agencies such as the Imperial Security Bureau. The Sith Lord Darth Vader held no formal rank in the Imperial Military, in fact he was regarded as a "lord" instead of having a direct rank, but he was regarded as the informal Commander-in-Chief of the military.
The Imperial Army and the Imperial Starfighter Corps used ground-based military ranks, despite the Imperial Starfighter Corps pertaining to the Imperial Navy. The Imperial Security Bureau used both ground-based and naval ranks. These military ranks included that of general officer ranks, such as Grand General, General, vice general, and brigadier general. Subordinate ranks included colonel and lieutenant colonel, and rank of major was also used, inferior to the colonel-level ranks.
More junior ground-based ranks in the Galactic Empire included the army rank of commander, captain, and the lesser rank of lieutenant. Following ground-based military ranks included that of staff sergeant, first sergeant, Sergeant major, and sergeant. The rank of corporal was followed by that of specialist and private.
As Admiral Kassius Konstantine stands back, Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" speaks to a fellow Imperial officer.
The Imperial Navy's officer corps had a variety of naval military ranks in its structure. Flag officers used Admiral of the Navy, grand admiral, fleet admiral, admiral, vice admiral, rear admiral, and commodore. There were also sector admirals in the navy's structure. Academies could train Imperial officers to captains of the line, and flag captains also existed in the Imperial Navy. The Imperial Navy additionally used commander, lieutenant commander, captain, and gunnery captain. Subsequent naval ranks were senior lieutenant, lieutenant, second lieutenant, junior lieutenant, and ensign. Warrant Officer was another military rank used in the navy. Prior to graduation, Imperial cadets could be given the rank of Cadet First Class, as well as yeoman.
The Imperial Starfighter Corps, despite being part of the navy, used several ground-based military ranks. Such ranks included colonel and major, and furthermore used the rank of second lieutenant commander, subordinate to that of major. The Imperial Starfighter Corps also utilized senior lieutenant, lieutenant, and flight officer.
The Galactic Empire used joint political and military titles, allowing individuals to both govern an area as well as command military forces. Grand Moffs were at the echelon of the hierarchy, governing oversectors and the military assets within. Moffs followed, with each Moff governing a galactic sector. Subsequent were star system and planetary governors, including Lieutenant Governors and Acting Governors.
The Imperial Academy system utilized the rank of commandant, while Captain-Inspector, Inspector, and Lieutenant-Inspector were used by the Empire's Inspectorate agency. The rank of sublieutenant was also used in the armed forces of the Empire.
The Alliance Armed Forces consisted of multiple branches, each using military ranks as part of their organization. The Alliance Army, Ordnance and Supply, Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service, Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps, Support Services, and Sector Command all used the rank of general. Subordinate ranks included colonel, major, commander, captain, lieutenant, First Sergeant, sergeant major, logistics sergeant, sergeant, corporal, and private.
The Rebel Alliance Navy used naval ranks, such as admiral, commodore, naval captain, commander, lieutenant commander, lieutenant,and ensign.
The New Republic Defense Force shared multiple ranks with the preceding Rebel Alliance. Naval ranks included Fleet Admiral, admiral, commodore, naval captain, commander, lieutenant commander, lieutenant, and ensign. Ground-based ranks included general, Lieutenant General, major, commander, captain, lieutenant, Staff Sergeant, sergeant major, sergeant, corporal, and private.
The First Order was a military junta, with its military ranks displayed on rank insignia on their military uniforms. The military ranks of Allegiant General and Grand Marshal allowed the bearer to command both ground and space forces. First Order Army ranks included those of general, colonel, major, commander, captain, first lieutenant, lieutenant, and sergeant. The Order also used the rank of high colonel.
First Order Navy ranks included senior ranks such as admiral, naval captain, commander, lieutenant, ensign, Chief Petty Officer, Warrant Officer, and Petty Officer. The First Order starfighter corps used multiple ranks, including major, commander, and lieutenant. The First Order Security Bureau also used multiple military ranks, such as colonel, commander, and lieutenant.
The Resistance, was led by a general, although there were other generals within the organization. Additionally, there were multiple flag officer ranks, including admiral, vice admiral, and commodore. The Resistance navy additionally used the rank of naval captain and commander. The colonel rank was used by the Resistance Starfighter Corps, which also used the ranks of commander, lieutenant commander, fighter captain, and lieutenant. The ground forces used major, captain, lieutenant, and sergeant. Ensign was additionally used within the organization. Resistance military ranks were displayed on rank badges, red denoting army ranks and blue denoting naval ranks.
The Sith Eternal used multiple ranks within their military, including admiral, naval captain, Sith trooper commander, petty officer, lance corporal, and corporal. Allegiant General carried over from the First Order.
Various factions used standard military ranks for their armed forces. Planetary defense forces and local planetary armed forces used ranks such as general, admiral, captain, and others. The Mon Cala planetary defense services and Mon Calamari monarchy overall used the rank of Grand Admiral, Admiral, Commander, Captain of the Guard, Fleet Captain, and Captain Third Class. The Gungan Grand Army, in addition to the ranks of general and captain, also used the rank of Bombad General.
The Kilji Illumine, a zealous Unknown Regions faction, was led by a Generalirius, considered to be similar to Generalissimo. The Illumine Kilhorde consisted of the ranks of general and colonel. The Nikardun Destiny, an Unknown Regions expansionist empire, was led by General Yiv the Benevolent, and the military ranks consisted of generals and tactical commanders. The leader of the Utapau Skyforce utilized the military rank of Air Commodore. Prince-Admiral was both a royal and military rank, used by Jonashe Solo of ancient Corellian royalty.
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