Resistance army The Resistance army was the land - based branch of the Resistance , an independent paramilitary group founded by General Leia Organa to defend the New Republic after said organization refused to take the threat of the First Order seriously forcing her to take matters into her own hands . The Resistance army saw action during the Battle of Takodana and the Battle of Crait . Description . The Resistance army was the ground forces of the Resistance , an independent paramilitary outfit dedicated to defending the New Republic . It was based at the Resistance base on D ' Qar . Officer ranks within the army were Lieutenant , Captain , Major , Commander , Colonel , and General . Ranking members of the Resistance army could be identified by a badge with red markings . Due to the limited manpower and resources of the Resistance , personnel in both the Resistance army and Resistance navy sometimes rotated roles . History . Following the Hosnian Cataclysm , soldiers of the Resistance army accompanied General Leia Organa in a Resistance transport towards the end of the Battle of Takodana . The Resistance sustained heavy casualties during the Evacuation of D ' Qar and the subsequent pursuit through hyperspace by the First Order Navy . After evacuating the Resistance MC85 Star Cruiser " Raddus " , the surviving members of the Resistance fled to the former Rebel Alliance outpost on the planet Crait in five U - 55 orbital loadlifter s . When First Order ground forces led by the new Supreme Leader Kylo Ren landed on Crait to destroy the Resistance , Resistance soldiers under General Caluan Ematt manned the trenches outside the Resistance outpost . During the Battle of Crait , the Resistance also deployed V - 4X - D ski speeder s against the First Order ' s walkers but were forced to retreat by the First Order ' s Superlaser siege cannon . While the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker distracted Ren , the surviving members of the Resistance military escaped aboard the " Millennium Falcon " with the last Jedi Rey and Chewbacca . Organization . The core of the Resistance army were the Resistance trooper s , the army also counted with specialized units such as the rocket - jumper s , Wookiee Warrior s , medic s and scout s . Commonly during the battle the army was led by military officers The rarity of skilled personal lead to army and navy often switching service branches . One example was the doing evacuation of D ' Qar , where the soldiers present on the MC85 Star Cruiser " Raddus " was assigned to shipboard security as bridge guard . A short time later , the navy repaid the favor , when the pilots flew army V - 4X - D ski speeder doing the Battle of Crait . Vehicles and machinery . The Resistance army was equipped with several artillery emplacements , including the V - 120 artillery emplacement , the V - 232 artillery emplacement , and the DF . 12 Com Turret . The army was also equipped with Planetary shield generators . The Resistance army had several vehicles in their possession , including V - 4X - D ski speeder s and Gian - 211 patrol speeder s Weapons and equipment . Resistance army personnel were equipped with blaster pistol s and blaster rifle s . Blaster pistol models used by the army included DT - 15 blaster pistol s , Glie - 44 blaster pistol s , and DH - 17 blaster pistol s . Rifles used were EL - 16 blaster s , EL - 16HFE blaster rifle s , DH - 17 blaster rifle s , and M - 45 repeating ion blaster s . Members of the Resistance army were also outfitted with thermal detonator s , comlink s , TE4 . 4 field quadnoculars , and RM - 45 ammunition and tool pouch es .