A Quick Guide To Imperial Rank Insignia

Star Wars

May 27

The Empire is a militaristic force that rules the Galaxy after the Jedi purge. Each member within the Empire has a ranking. Fans were first introduced to this in the original trilogy. The insignia has never gone away either and has appeared in every Star Wars content where Imperials are present. Ever notice the little squares on an Imperial uniform? Those are called Imperial Rank Insignia, and each one has a different meaning, to signify the role and ranking of various Imperials.

The most prominent branches of the Imperial military are the Imperial Army, Imperial Navy, Starfighter Corps, and Stormtrooper Corps. The Stormtrooper Corps have their own chain of command, and even though they are within the Imperial Military, they don’t always follow the same rules. The Stormtrooper Corps and the Starfighter Corps both were black uniforms. Those within the army and the navy wear olive green uniforms, and Imperial Security Bureau Officers wear white, as we saw in Andor.

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Pablo Hidalgo has confirmed that the Imperial rank badges we saw in A New Hope lacked any meaning. In Return Of The Jedi, all Imperial Officers are seen wearing the badge of a commander, due to a mistake by the costume department. There are two established eras of the Imperial Military, one before the destruction of the Death Star, and one after. The first era's badges tended to be a single white layer, while the second era has two vertically stacked layers of tiles. These rank insignia plaques were first used by Republic officers in the Clone Wars. They are worn on the left of the tunic, over the heart. These rank plaques could also be encoded with information that can be identified by readable devices, such as electronic locks. There were also Imperial Media Badges, that members of the Imperial Press Corps would wear.

The lieutenant is the lowest rank of an Imperial Officer. They can be identified by a simple three-tile badge in the first era. The army uses two reds and one blue, whereas the navy uses two blues and one red. The ISB uses three blue tiles, as we saw with Dedra Meero in Andor.

The rank of Captain uses three red tiles and a single blue tile, whereas the ISB and the Stormtrooper Corps use four blue tiles. The naval counterpart to Captain is Commander, which uses three blue tiles and a single red tile.

The next ranking is that of a Major. Both ISB and the Imperial Stormtroopers spot five blue tiles. Army Operations Majors have four yellow tiles and one red tile, and those in the Imperial Army wear three red tiles and two blue tiles, whereas their Naval counterparts invert the tiles, and wear three blue tiles and two red tiles.

During the Empire’s first generation, the rank of Commodore within the Imperial Navy was represented by three blue tiles, followed by three red tiles. The rank of Colonel, within the Imperial Army is the opposite and has three red tiles followed by three blue tiles. The ISB is represented by six blue tiles. Colonel Wolf Yularen, who is not a member of the Imperial Army, and is instead a member of the ISB, wore an Army Colonel badge in A New Hope, which would be the incorrect badge for a Colonel in the ISB.

One of the highest ranks within the Imperial Military is that of a General or an Admiral in the Navy. Imperial Army Generals are identified by six red tiles. The ISB Generals, Stormtrooper Corps Generals, and Naval Admirals all use six blue tiles. At the beginning of Rogue One, we see Orson Krennic wear a six-tile badge, revealing his military ranking.

Those who rank even higher than a General in the Imperial Military can be seen sporting a variety of different and unique badges. Grand Moff Tarkin’s badge is a good example of this. Grand Admirals, such as Thrawn, can be identified by their badges with three blue tiles and three yellow tiles on the top and three blue and three red tiles right below it.

Imperial Ranks Insignias are vast and different, just like everything else in Star Wars. Imperial Ranks help both those within the Star Wars universe and fans figure out what role a person may hold within the Empire. While it never always meant something, it does play a significant part in Star Wars today.

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