Imperial officer 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 Old Republic after the end of the Clone Wars , some officer s were tasked with leading the stormtrooper s , the troop s of the new regime . Overview . Officer s were high - class soldier s who held various positions of responsibility , authority , and duty within the various branches of Galactic Empire ' s military . Common traits among those officers were ambition , ruthlessness , and strong approval of Emperor Palpatine ' s plans to destroy the rebellion . 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 human s at the expense of alien s , 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 Thrawn , a Chiss who held the title of Grand Admiral . Imperial officers wore a uniform that consisted of a double - breasted tunic with matching trousers , a pair of black boot s , 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 officer s , 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 . History . At the end of the Clone Wars , Chancellor Sheev Palpatine , leader of the Republic , unilaterally reorganized the regime into an autocratic Galactic Empire and also ordered the extermination of all Jedi . The Republic military was then reformed into the Imperial Military . Although most of the Imperial leadership , particular that of the military , hailed from the Core Worlds and Inner Rim , the heart of the Empire , there was room for mobility . Wilhuff Tarkin , who became the Empire ' s first Grand Moff , was born on the Outer Rim world of Eriadu , which , before the rise of the Empire , was not a particularly well - known world . Although it was annexed by the Empire during the height of its reign , the planet Jelucan , a world of poor farmer s and minor noble s , provided several prominant officers , such as Thane and Dalven Kyrell and the peasant Ciena Ree . The Empire did not shy away from welcoming colonials from the fringes into their ranks either , although they did not often garner as much respect from their superiors , meaning that they had to work extra hard if they were to rise through the ranks . Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto was born on the planet of Lysatra , which was deep in Wild Space , near the Unknown Regions , where the Empire ' s influence was scarce . Vanto ultimately gained admission into the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant and became one of the most prominent officers in the Seventh Fleet under Grand Admiral Thrawn , serving as second in command aboard the Star Destroyer " Chimaera " . Due to resentment towards those alien species that 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 few exceptions . The Chiss Mitth ' raw ' nuruodo , better known by his Core name " Thrawn , " was one of them , having attended the Royal Imperial Academy . Although initially unpopular with the Imperial Admiralty for his unconventional tactics , he ultimately became highly regarded , being promoted to Grand Admiral and given command of the Seventh Fleet . Ironically , he only accepted his commission as a means to infiltrate the Empire in order to assess its might , as his fellow leaders in the Chiss Ascendancy , where his true loyalties lay , believed that it could make a powerful ally to defend from looming threats in the Unknown Regions . Once the Galactic Civil War broke out , more and more officers began to see combat . This led to more and more of them being dispatched to do combat . Prior to the outbreak of the war , there were more captain s , lieutenant commanders , and commander s than there were ships in the navy , meaning that the younger and more inexperienced officers , particularly those who had joined after the Proclamation of a New Order or had not served in the Clone Wars , either served in positions that they were overqualified for or were inactive altogether . This changed after the destruction of the Death Star , which left a power - vacuum in the high command . This led to many younger officers being promoted . The same exact thing happened after the Emperor ' s death at the Battle of Endor . In the time after the Battle of Endor , the Imperial turncoat Ralsius Paldora noted that 1 in every 148 Imperial officers would surrender to the New Republic and sought asylum . Contrary to how it was two decades earlier , many younger , under - qualified officers as young as in their early twenties were promoted and given command of their own ships , even Star Destroyers , as was the case 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 slowly lost much of its power . The military took control over the Empire , effectively transitioning it into a stratocracy under the command of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax and his Shadow Council . Despite this , some greedy Imperial officers would try to seize power for themselves or take their forces and leave the Empire altogether , hoping to build factions of their own . Rax , after declaring himself Counselor to the Empire , would then reunite some Imperial leaders and lead them to Jakku , where they made one final stand against the New Republic , which proved to be a devastating loss for the Empire . After the Empire ' s defeat on Jakku , its leadership , under Grand Vizier Mas Amedda , signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic . The conditions of the surrender placed various restraints on the weakened Empire . One of these conditions stated that those Imperial officers who did not repent for their actions were to be branded as war criminals . Despite this formality , the Imperial Navy was still permitted to remain organized , so long as it relocated to the Imperial remnant established in the Core and the Inner Rim . Even so , some staunch Imperial officers refused to accept defeat , affiliating themselves with a militarized faction of the Empire that locked itself into a cold war with the New Republic . Eventually many would relocate their forces to the Unknown Regions , where they would help establish the military of the First Order .