Imperial Military ( Sith Empire ) The Imperial Military was the martial force of the Sith Empire established in the galaxy ' s Unknown Regions following the Great Hyperspace War . The military was under the direct command of the Sith Emperor , but was overseen by the Minister of War . The Imperial Military invaded the Galactic Republic during the Great Galactic War and was ultimately victorious in the conflict . The two branches of the military were the Army and Navy , although both branches also interacted with Imperial Intelligence . They fielded millions , if not billions , of troops and ships . An example of officers in the Imperial Army and Navy were Grand Moffs Zellos and Rycus Kilran , respectively . The founding father of the military was considered to be Grand Moff Odile Vaiken , who was honored hundreds of years after his death . He drafted every non - Force - sensitive adult into the military and made them go through an intense training regimen , while at the same time building up a fleet of vessels . The Imperial Military was particularly close with Darth Malgus , and the Sith Lord reciprocated the appreciation — highly uncommon for Force - sensitive Sith at the time . Organization . The Imperial Military was the backbone of Imperial society and the Empire itself , as Imperial culture and society had been highly militarized since the Empire ' s early years on Dromund Kaas . Odile Vaiken ' s training regimen , which saw use by the Empire for centuries after Vaiken ' s death , led to the drafting of every able - bodied adult into military service . This remained a mainstay of the military in the centuries after his death : every non - Force - sensitive in the Empire was automatically conscripted into the military upon reaching adulthood , and they remained in service until retirement or disability . While advancement and promotion helped skilled military officers establish powerful families with histories of military service , the children of those families were expected to earn their own place in the military and received no special treatment on account of their lineage . Above the ranks of generals and admirals in the Army and Navy , there existed the rank of Moffs and Imperial High Command , which answered directly to the Ministry of War . The individual who holds the rank of Grand Moff , which was established for Odile Vaiken , answers directly to the Minister of War and possesses special privileges , often developing close ties to the Dark Council . Moffs were allowed greater variety in their uniform colors , as they typically tailored their uniforms to reflect past service and their current command . Imperial officers also utilized code cylinders , which allowed them access to secure areas and intelligence resources . Army . The Imperial Army was the ground forces of the Sith Empire , and the soldiers of the Empire typically wore black armor and carried blaster rifles into combat . Ground forces begin live - fire exercises in the jungles of Dromund Kaas within weeks of their enlistment into the military , and even those non - combatants in the military were trained in the use of basic weapons , survival skills , and first aid . The Army also made use of Imperial siege tank s , Imperial walker s , and a number of models of war droids . Imperial heavy troopers were issued full - body black armor crafted from duraplast , with colored markings signifying their unit or special assignments . Their leg armor was specially designed to preserve mobility and to protect from shrapnel , and while their belt housed extra ammunition and grenades for easy access , the armor ' s bracers housed environmental and targeting controls , and the readouts on the suit ' s chest provided medical diagnostics for treating soldiers who were wounded in their armor . Heavy infantry soldiers typically wore about a hundred pounds of armor , and most soldiers carried rifles , sidearms , grenades , and five days of rations . The typical service period for an Imperial soldier was twenty - five to thirty years . Imperial Army rank structure was as follows : Private , Specialist , Corporal , Sergeant , Ensign , Lieutenant , Captain , Major , Colonel , and finally General . A fire team typically consisted of two or three soldiers , while a squad ranged from five to ten , and a platoon from fifty to a hundred soldiers . Companies could range from a hundred to three hundred troopers , and a battalion , which was typically commanded by a major , consisted of 700 - 1 , 500 . Colonels commanded brigades , which ranged from 5 , 000 - 7 , 500 soldiers , and the largest standard unit was a division , which ranged from 20 , 000 - 40 , 000 soldiers . A larger unit designated an " Assault Group " or " Operations Group " could be formed from over 40 , 000 soldiers , which were placed under the command of a Moff or high - ranking Sith Lord for specific assignments and then broken up after the completion of the mission . Navy . The Imperial Navy was the naval branch of the Imperial Military , and was overseen by the Ministry of War alongside the Army . Imperial Navy ranks adhered to the following structure : Private , Specialist , Corporal , Petty Officer , Ensign , Lieutenant , Commander , Captain , Group Captain , Commodore , and Admiral . The primary vessel of the Navy was the " Harrower " - class dreadnought , a massive dreadnaught produced by Taerab Starship Manufacturing and measuring approximately 800 meters in length , that required a crew of 2 , 400 and carried a troop complement of 7 , 300 . The " Harrower " - class was supported by the smaller " Terminus " - class destroyer , which was operated by 520 crewman and carried only 285 troops , and the even smaller " Gage " - class transport . The two main shuttles used by the Sith Empire were the Imperial shuttle and the Imperial assault shuttle . The Navy deployed a number of starfighters — the Mark VI " Supremacy " - class starfighter and its numerous advanced models were the standard starfighter of the Navy , and they made use of B28 " Extinction " - class bombers as well as a variety of transports , assault craft , shuttles , and cruisers . History . Following the defeat of the original Sith Empire of Naga Sadow , and the Sith exodus , the remnants of the Empire made their way to Dromund Kaas . There , the Emperor and his Dark Council let Grand Moff Odile Vaiken form the new Imperial military , by drafting every non - Force - sensitive adult and having them go through an intense training regimen . At the same time , he began work on the Navy , building ships but knowing it would be complete long after his death . Eventually , the Army undertook its first operation , the Dromund Kaas wilderness campaign , in which they cleared out territory for the Empire ' s new capitol . Aferwards , the Navy took part in its first operation , which became Odile Vaiken ' s final campaign , against an alien civilization . The outcome of the campaign was unknown , but Vaiken was killed during it . After three centuries of preparation , during which Imperial Intelligence spies infiltrated the Galactic Republic , the Empire attacked several Outer Rim Territories systems . Some were already controlled by puppet governments of the Empire and allowed Sith fleets to use their systems as staging grounds . After the Republic Senate heard of the attacks , they sent a lightly escorted diplomatic envoy to a Navy fleet . They waited until the envoy sent the Senate back feeds of their fleet , before destroying them . It became known as the Skirmish in the Tingel Arm , which started the Great Galactic War . The military was on the frontlines throughout the Great Galactic War . It had mass numbers , as demonstrated in the second assault on Bothawui . However , some of their greatest failures were at Bothawui . A small fleet was dispatched there to take it over , though the Republic defenders were underestimated . The first attack was a failure , and though in the second they came closer to victory , the Empire was ultimately defeated there . In the second battle , they used numbers rather than good tactics , which led to the defeat . Heavy casualties were sustained by the Army at the hands of a few Republic soldier s and one Jedi . The forces there were led by Grand Moff Zellos . Other operations throughout the war included the Minos Cluster Campaign , the Third battle of the Seswenna sector and the Tingel Arm campaign . The final battle of the war included the Sith emerging victorious in taking Coruscant , during the Sacking of Coruscant . The Jedi Temple was successfully raided by a task force of Sith Warrior s as Army troops secured the rest of Galactic City . The war ended with the Treaty of Coruscant , marking the beginning of the Cold War . During that conflict , the Imperial and Republic militaries did not engage each other directly but fought numerous proxy wars . Afterwards , though , the peace was broken and open warfare broke out in the Galactic War . Following the attempted coup led by Malgus during the Battle of Ilum in 3641 BBY , the Empire began inducting aliens into the ranks of the Imperial forces as a measure to ensure their loyalty ( an inclusive measure had already been instituted by the Sith , allowing aliens and Force - sensitive slaves to be trained on Korriban ) , despite the objections of the humanocentrist elements of the military , including Grand Moff Ilyan Regus .