The Imperial Elite Guard functioned as a highly skilled soldier force, hand-picked by the Imperial Remnant. Their primary role was to serve as a protective detail, providing personal bodyguard services for the Imperial Head of State and other key government officials. These soldiers, belonging to a unique branch within the resurrected Imperial Army, were set apart from the other shock troopers in the reformed Stormtrooper Corps through the addition of gray stripes adorning the shoulder pads of their distinctive armor.
During the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire crumbled, eventually reconstituting itself as the Imperial Remnant in a few remote sectors situated within the Outer Rim Territories. As the Galactic Alliance increased its grip on the galaxy, the Imperial Head of State, Gilad Pellaeon, aimed to establish enough stability and order to ensure the Empire's survival beyond his own lifetime. To achieve this, among other measures, a new military unit of bodyguards was formed to safeguard the Remnant's most important figures. This specialized group within the Stormtrooper Corps became the Imperial Elite Guard, whose soldiers were visually distinguished from other stormtroopers by the gray markings found on the shoulder pads of their armor.
One year following the start of the Second Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Alliance was in a precarious position against the Corellia rebellion and its Confederate allies. Darth Caedus, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Joint Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, was keen to integrate the strength of the Imperial Remnant into the Alliance's strained military forces. Caedus was also impressed with the Imperial Elite Guard's shock troopers, who were considered to be on par with Darth Vader's 501st Legion. At this point, the Elite Guard was stationed in Ravelin, the capital city on the fortress world of Bastion.
After Pellaeon reluctantly agreed to assist the Alliance in suppressing the Corellian-led uprising, a joint fleet of Alliance and Imperial warships gathered over the secessionist planet of Fondor. An Imperial Elite Guard unit accompanied Pellaeon, along with several high-ranking members of the Council of Moffs, aboard the Head of State's flagship, the Bloodfin. However, the Galactic Alliance fractured shortly after the battle began when Joint Chief of State Cha Niathal betrayed Darth Caedus by accepting the Fondorians' surrender while he was leading the attack. While most of the Alliance fleet sided with Caedus, Pellaeon's personal animosity towards the Sith Lord led him to support Niathal's secret agreement with Fondor. Consequently, Pellaeon was assassinated by former Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila. With the Head of State eliminated, the Moffs shifted Imperial forces to support Caedus and the true Galactic Alliance against Niathal's faction. Unfortunately for Veila and the Moffs, much of the Bloodfin's crew remained loyal to Pellaeon, leading the Elite Guard into a desperate fight against mutineers. Although the Guard could not prevent the Moffs' deaths, their actions provided a distraction that allowed Caedus to board the Bloodfin and rescue Veila, whom he made his Sith apprentice.
Following the disaster at Fondor, the remaining Moff Council members consolidated their power over the Imperial Remnant. The Imperial Elite Guard's shock troopers continued to serve as the Moffs' protection. As such, they joined them during the Battle of Roche and the Battle of Uroro Station. Under Tahiri Veila's command, an Elite Guard detachment attempted to destroy the Jedi Order's secret base on Shedu Maad. However, they had to distract several Jedi opponents while Veila completed the mission.
However, their efforts proved fruitless. Soon after, a disillusioned Tahiri Veila abandoned her allegiance to the Sith Order and was taken into Jedi custody. Meanwhile, Jaina Solo, a Jedi and Darth Caedus' twin sister, killed him. With Caedus dead and the Moffs surrendering, the Jedi Coalition temporarily took control of the Galactic Alliance and the Imperial Remnant. By the war's end, the Galactic Alliance remained the dominant power in the galaxy, and Jagged Fel assumed leadership of the Imperial Remnant.