Individuals holding positions of authority and responsibility within the Galactic Empire's military, and some of its civilian departments, were known as Imperial officers.
Following the Galactic Republic's downfall and the conclusion of the Clone Wars, most officers were assigned to supervise the Imperial Army and Navy. Some, however, commanded the stormtroopers, the new regime's elite troops.
The Galactic Concordance's signing led to the outlawing of Imperial officers as part of disarmament efforts. Those who refused to surrender to the New Republic were considered war criminals.
Soldiers of high rank, known as officers, occupied various roles of duty, authority, and responsibility throughout the Galactic Empire's armed forces. Ambition, ruthlessness, and a strong endorsement of Emperor Palpatine's strategy to eliminate the rebellion were traits commonly observed among these officers. The Empire inherited a complex military hierarchy upon its establishment, where many Imperial officers realized that promotions were widely available. This fostered a culture of blaming others for failures and trying to hide unethical behavior. Officers knew that exploiting the errors of others was a method of furthering their own careers. Arrogance and vanity frequently resulted in new commanding officers ordering modifications to their command, such as alterations to what was allowed on a starship, solely to eliminate any signs of the previous commander and the culture they had established.
Within this group of officers were Imperials who genuinely supported the Galactic Empire's legitimacy and sought to broaden its influence throughout the galaxy, as well as individuals who joined the Imperial Military to secure a comfortable existence at the cost of the Empire's adversaries. The Empire's upper levels included people whose powerful families gave them preferential treatment and opportunities for advancement. Across the galaxy, officers underwent training at one of numerous prestigious academies, which produced ambitious men and women who would precisely reflect the Imperial doctrine of control via authority. As the distinction between the Imperial political machine and the Imperial war machine became less clear, the Empire gradually evolved into a stratocracy, a transition largely unnoticed by many in the galaxy.
Given the Empire's preference for humans over aliens, the officer ranks were primarily composed of humans. Furthermore, males held the majority of high ranks. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a Chiss who eventually attained the military rank of Grand Admiral, was a notable exception to the Empire's humanocentrism. Imperial officers wore a uniform consisting of a double-breasted tunic with matching trousers, black boots, a belt, and an Imperial kepi command cap. Regulations ensured that all officers maintained a neat and tidy appearance while in uniform.
Even though officers frequently kept their hair short to maximize efficiency, they were all permitted to keep it long as long as they wore it in tight braids. This enabled Nash Windrider, a male officer from Alderaan, to keep a traditional hairstyle from his homeworld. In addition to those officers who commanded the Navy or the Army, there were other areas of expertise. Loyalty officers, also known as Security Officers, were in charge of finding and eliminating any subversive individuals within the Empire's own ranks. The Galactic Empire made an effort to find recruits in its Imperial Academies who had the potential to become officers. Recruits who were thought to have such talent were occasionally sent to specialized officer academies, such as the academy on Arkanis.
As Raymus Antilles, captain of the Alderaan fleet, pointed out, Imperial officers were typically rigid in their thought processes and decision-making. Imperial captain Cerasus Ehllo made it a point to reject any form of perceived disrespect, even from his wife [Aryssha Starros](/article/aryssha_starros], because of his position as an Imperial officer. Khu Fornot, a former scout trooper, had a negative opinion of Imperial officers, claiming that they lied to "grunts" like himself while delegating "the real work" to them. Tern Koyatta, an Imperial technician who posed as a general, countered that an Imperial officer only withheld information if their subordinates did not need to know it. Indeed, Thrawn once pondered how a commander would not always divulge every aspect of their strategy to their subordinates, yet obedience was still required for the entire unit to succeed.
Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the Republic's leader, unilaterally reorganized the regime into an autocratic Galactic Empire at the conclusion of the Clone Wars. He also ordered the extermination of all Jedi. The Republic Military was subsequently transformed into the Imperial Military. Although the majority of the Imperial leadership, particularly the military, came from the Core Worlds and Inner Rim, the Empire's heart, there was still some room for advancement. Wilhuff Tarkin, who became the Empire's first Grand Moff, was born on the Outer Rim world of Eriadu, a planet that wasn't particularly well-known before the Empire rose to power. Despite being annexed by the Empire at the height of its power, the planet Jelucan, a world of impoverished farmers and minor nobles, produced a number of notable officers, including Thane and Dalven Kyrell, as well as the peasant Ciena Ree.
Due to animosity towards alien species due to the many aliens who had participated in the Separatist Movement, very few found it easy to serve as officers in the military, mostly serving as low-ranking servicemen, noncombatants, and occasionally in government positions. However, there were a few exceptions. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a Chiss better known by his core name "Thrawn," was one of them, having attended the Royal Imperial Academy on Palpatine's personal order. Despite being initially unpopular with the Imperial Admiralty due to his unconventional tactics, he eventually gained the respect of a few of his peers, was promoted to Grand Admiral, and was given command of the Seventh Fleet. Ironically, he had only accepted his commission to infiltrate the Empire and assess its strength, as his fellow leaders in the Chiss Ascendancy, where his true loyalties lay, thought it could be a strong ally against or distraction for the looming threats in the Unknown Regions, most notably the Grysk Hegemony.
The Empire also readily welcomed colonials from the fringes into its ranks, though they frequently did not receive the same level of respect from their superiors, which meant they had to put in more effort to advance through the ranks. Eli Vanto, a Lieutenant Commander, was born on the planet Lysatra, which was located deep in Wild Space, close to the Unknown Regions, where the Empire's influence was minimal. Vanto was eventually admitted to the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant and rose to become one of Thrawn's Seventh Fleet's most prominent officers, serving as second in command aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera.
Tala Durith, an Imperial captain, joined the Empire in the hopes of bringing about constructive change. However, the execution of Force-sensitive families on the planet Garel persuaded her that the Empire did not uphold the ideals for which she had joined. She had even been informed before the execution that the families she had assisted in arresting had simply failed to pay their taxes. The execution convinced her to leave the Empire and help the Hidden Path group, which worked to help Force-sensitives escape Imperial reach. She worked undercover as an officer in the Imperial detachment that controlled the mining planet Mapuzo, where she helped numerous Force-sensitives escape. Ultimately, she assisted Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in escaping Mapuzo in 9 BBY and went undercover once more to assist Kenobi in infiltrating Fortress Inquisitorius in order to rescue Princess Leia Organa.
There were more captains, lieutenant commanders, and commanders than there were ships in the navy prior to the start of the Galactic Civil War. As a result, younger and less experienced officers, particularly those who joined after the Proclamation of a New Order or who had not served in the Clone Wars, either held positions for which they were overqualified or were completely inactive. Following the destruction of the Death Star, which created a power vacuum in the high command, that situation changed. As a result, a lot of younger officers were promoted. The same thing occurred following the Emperor's death at the Battle of Endor. Ralsius Paldora, an Imperial turncoat, observed that one in every 148 Imperial officers would surrender to the New Republic and seek asylum in the time following the Battle of Endor.
In contrast to two decades prior, numerous younger, unqualified officers as young as their early twenties were promoted and given command of their own ships, including Star Destroyers. This occurred when Ciena Ree was promoted to commander and given captaincy of the Star Destroyer Inflictor shortly before the Battle of Jakku. With much of the leadership destroyed either over Endor or during the rebellion on Akiva, the government gradually lost much of its power. The military took control of the Empire, effectively transforming it into a stratocracy under the direction of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax and his Shadow Council. Despite this, some avaricious Imperial officers would attempt to seize power for themselves or abandon the Empire with their forces in the hopes of forming their own factions.
Rax declared himself Counselor to the Empire before uniting the Empire and leading them to Jakku, where they made a final stand against the New Republic, which proved to be a crushing defeat for the Empire. Following the Empire's defeat on Jakku, its leadership, led by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic. The terms of surrender placed a number of restrictions on the weakened Empire. One of these stipulations stated that those Imperial officers who did not atone for their actions would be labeled as war criminals. Despite this formality, the Imperial Navy was still permitted to remain organized as long as it relocated to the Imperial remnant established in the Core and Inner Rim.
Grand Admiral Rae Sloane secretly took control of Palpatine's Contingency from Rax in order to reshape the Empire in the way she envisioned it. Indeed, some steadfast Imperial officers refused to accept defeat and instead joined a militarized faction of the Empire that engaged in a Cold War with the New Republic. Eventually, many of them would relocate their forces to the Unknown Regions, where Sloane began constructing her Imperial remnant in the months following the Battle of Jakku. The Imperial forces in the Unknown Regions would aid in the establishment of the military of the First Order.
Imperial officers wore a uniform that included a tunic, pants, cap, belt, boots, and occasionally gloves. The first three items frequently changed in color depending on the officer's branch and responsibilities. Rank insignia plaques were positioned on the tunic's upper-left chest, and one or more code cylinders were placed inside each breast pocket. Officers could don armor and a helmet for protection of their body, head, and neck if the situation called for it.
Officers wielded RK-3 blasters, SE-14r light repeating blasters, DH-17 blaster pistol, DL-44 heavy blaster pistol, and DT-29 heavy blaster pistol. They also carried flash grenades and a disruptor capable of disabling enemy weapons. During combat, officers carried portable shield generators or turrets.