Imperial officer battle armor Imperial officer battle armor was field armor worn over the uniform of an Imperial officer that consisted of a blast helmet and torso armor , with a rank insignia plaque on the chest plate ' s upper left side and an officer ' s disk on either side of the helmet . The armor was color - matched to the underlying uniform and there were two basic variations . An earlier variation in use by the year 4 BBY whose chest plate and helmet was identical to that of an Imperial combat driver , minus the faceplate . Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin donned a gray version of this variant when confronting Kanan Jarrus after his capture on Lothal . Officer Viggen wore the same variant during his skirmish with Commander Ryden on Imvur . By 2 BBY , a second variant was in use that consisted of a snowtrooper ' s chest armor and back plate and a helmet nearly identical to that of an AT - ST driver , along with a pair of goggles and a holster . The one worn by Grand Admiral Thrawn was white , with golden shoulder boards similar to the ones on his regular tunic . Governor Arihnda Pryce wore one during a mission with Rukh . During the Battle of Hoth , General Maximillian Veers wore olive battle armor , as well as a utility belt that contained mission data . Behind the scenes . Imperial officer battle armor was originally created for the 1980 film . It was first identified in the episode guide for " Zero Hour , " the the twenty - first and twenty - second episodes of the animated series " Star Wars Rebels " third season , which originally aired on March 25 , 2017 . John Mollo explored several options for the Imperial generals in " The Empire Stikes Back " . At one time , Veers was dubbed a " field commander " and was to appear in an Imperial tunic adorned with heavy decorative edging and multiple insignia , paired with an elaborate gorget in place of body armor . Several styles of headgear were also considered , including a wide - profile earphone cap and a decorated Imperial field cap . Mollo ' s final design for Veers during Battle of Hoth used elements of the snowtrooper costume for visual continuity within the Imperial ranks . Over his standard Imperial uniform , Veers wore the same chest , back , and belly armor as snowtroopers . However , his armor was colored olive to match his officer uniform and finished with different than those on snowtrooper armor . Imperial - rank insignia bars were also added to match Veers ' dress uniform . Finally , a sidearm holster attached to the belt ensured the general was ready for combat . Like his body armor , Veers ' helmet was made from the same mold as the snowtrooper helmet , so it had the some basic shape . However , it did not have the eyepiece or installed in the front and the olive helmet had more decorative elements greeblies that its snowtrooper counterpart . An bar ran down the back of the helmet , along with an intricate greeblie mounted on the temple and two small " Imperial discs " on either side of the bottom corners . The interior of the helmet was also finished with olive vinyl as it was visible on camera . It was augmented with a pair of dark goggles , a chinstrap , and microphone piece . Only two helmets were created for production , but they were as a basis for the AT - ST driver helmets created for .