Imperial officers were individuals, predominantly human, who held a position of authority and responsibility in the military forces, and some civilian elements, of the Galactic Empire. When the Empire succeeded the Galactic Republic after the end of the Clone Wars, some officers were tasked with leading the stormtroopers, the troops of the new regime.
Officers were high-class soldiers who held various positions of responsibility, authority, and duty within the various branches of Galactic Empire‘s armed forces. Common traits among those officers were ambition, ruthlessness, and strong approval of EmperorPalpatine’s plans to destroy the rebellion. Since its creation, the Empire inherited a complex military hierarchy, within which many Imperial officers discovering that most of them were permitted promotions. This created a culture of shifting blame on others for mistakes and attempting to avoid exposure of committing unprincipled actions. Officers understood that exploiting the mistakes of others was a way to advance their own careers. Among these officers were those Imperial who authentically believed in the legitimacy of the Galactic Empire, and sought to expand its influence in the galaxy, as well as those who joined the Imperial Military with the intention of earning a comfortable livelihood at the expense of the Empire’s opponents.
The upper echelons of the Empire included those whose influential families afforded them preferred treatment and advancement. Officers were put through one of several prestigious academies across the galaxy that raised ambitious men and women who would perfectly echo the Imperial mantra of control through authority. As the line between the Imperial political machine and Imperial war machine became more blurred, the Empire so gradually transformed into stratocracy that many in the galaxy simply took no notice.
Since the Empire favored humans at the expense of aliens, the ranks of its officers were dominated by the former. Additionally, most of those holding high ranks were males. One notable exception to the Empire’s humanocentrism was Mitth’raw’nuruodo, a Chiss who was eventually promoted to the military rank of Grand Admiral.
Imperial officers wore a uniform that consisted of a double-breasted tunic with matching trousers, a pair of black boots, a belt and a command cap. There were regulations that made sure all officers maintained a neatly groomed appearance while wearing their uniforms. Although officers often cut their hair short for optimal efficiency, all were permitted to keep it long on the condition that they wore it pinned back in tight braids. This allowed Nash Windrider, a male officer from Alderaan, to retain a traditional hairstyle from his homeworld.
In addition to those officers who exerted command in the Navy or the Army, there were other specializations. Loyalty officers, also known as Security Officers, were tasked with identifying and culling any seditious individual within the Empire’s own ranks.
The Galactic Empire made an effort to identify recruits in its Imperial Academies who were potential officer material. Recruits identified to potentially have such talent were sometimes sent to specialized officer academies, such as the academy on Arkanis.