Advance Station 3-8, also known as Echo Station 3-8, was a remote Rebel installation situated close to Zone Twelve on the ice planet of Hoth. It functioned as a forward outpost for Echo Base, which served as the Alliance's primary center of operations, or primary headquarters, on Hoth. In the year 3 ABY, a Rebel trooper assigned to Station 3-8 observed an unidentified object approaching the station and communicated this information back to Echo Base. The object, which was later identified as an Imperial Viper probe droid tasked with locating the Rebel's headquarters, obliterated the outpost before the transmission could be completed.
Advance Station 3-8 was among the isolated outposts, identified by the comm designation "Echo Station," that acted as a sentry position for the Rebel Alliance's headquarters, Echo Base. The station's placement was near Zone Twelve on the ice planet of Hoth, specifically to the east of Echo Base and the Clabburn Range. Echo Stations were staffed by Rebel troopers and equipped with artillery emplacements for defense in the event of an Imperial offensive.
Established by the Rebel Alliance during their time stationed on Hoth, Station 3-8 functioned as a remote outpost on the frigid world. It was one of several Rebel stations assigned to monitor meteor activity and detect any Imperial incursions. In 3 ABY, the Galactic Empire, in its ongoing pursuit of the Alliance's primary headquarters, deployed probe droids across the galaxy to assist in pinpointing the Rebels' main base. One such probe droid was dispatched to the Hoth system; after landing on Hoth, it eventually came across evidence suggesting the presence of a Rebel base. Simultaneously, the Alliance became aware of the droid's presence but were unable to ascertain its identity. While personnel at Echo Base deliberated on its nature, a Rebel trooper stationed at Advance Station 3-8 radioed Echo Base, reporting that the station had detected the object on its sensors.
The droid entered Station 3-8's line of sight, but before the trooper could identify it, the probe droid annihilated the outpost utilizing its blaster cannon. The trooper's message abruptly ended in static, severing the communication. As the probe droid transmitted information regarding the Alliance's presence on the planet to the Empire, General Carlist Rieekan, the commander of Echo Base, dispatched Rogues Ten and Eleven—pilots Tarrin Datch and Tenk Lenso, respectively—to Station 3-8. Rieekan instructed the pilots to maintain a low-altitude holding pattern over the station and to remain vigilant for any potential threats. Datch and Lenso transported Captain Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca to the probe droid's location; Solo successfully destroyed the droid, but the data it had gathered reached the Empire, significantly contributing to the subsequent Imperial attack on Hoth.
The destruction of Station 3-8 is depicted differently across various adaptations of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. The film's novelization, the movie storybook, and the Marvel comic issue that includes the outpost's destruction offer varying quotations detailing the final moments of the unidentified trooper stationed at the outpost. Furthermore, the novelization portrays the trooper contacting Echo Base to report the probe droid, while in the comic adaptation, Echo Base initiates contact with Station 3-8. The film itself does not include any dialogue from the trooper or confirm the station's destruction; the outpost is only mentioned when General Rieekan dispatches Rogues Ten and Eleven to Station 3-8—a reference to George Lucas's earlier film, THX 1138. However, the screenplay does mention "the smoldering ruins of station three-eight" immediately following this line.
A map illustrating the Battle of Hoth, featured in the second edition of Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back (and subsequently in the Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition), positions Station 3-8 among the extensive network of trenches located north of Echo Base, directly in the path of the primary Imperial assault. Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy presents a nearly contradictory depiction; this reference book indicates that the Alliance detected the Imperial probe to the east of Echo Base. Consistent with both the novel and comic adaptations of the movie, Station 3-8 was destroyed around this time, thus placing it east of the base and away from the Empire's general advance. The outpost's location is not the sole discrepancy between the maps; the placements of the shield generator and ion cannon were also subject to change.