Commander / Legends Commander was a military rank or title , and was used in several different ways during the era of the Clone Wars , Galactic Civil War and Yuuzhan Vong invasion , as well as other wars . Military usage . As a generic mode of address , “ commander ” was appropriate to many military officers . Almost anyone in command of a distinct ship , outfit or taskforce could be called " commander " of the unit . Examples of these commanders were found within all military branches . They ranged from Fleet Commander s , Field Commander s , and Flight Commander s to more prestige full titles such as Force Commander s and High Commander s . It must be noted though , that the commanding officers of naval capital ships usually preferred to be addressed as " Captain " . According to Emperor Palpatine in the " Imperial Handbook : A Commander ' s Guide " , the official field manual for officers within the Imperial Military , a commander within the Empire was required to excel , which requires that they fight and if need be die in the service of the Empire , and also indicating that the commander won ' t be defeated even if he fell in battle due to the various branches fighting on . The various commanders in the Imperial Military , who were largely formidable military talents , also were considered the true holders of power within the Empire , even though they technically only carried out the orders of the Emperor . " Commander " was also a more specific rank within many military hierarchies . In some ranking systems , this title would rank just above captain while in others it would rank just below it . The Commander was in some cases the closest superior to a Lieutenant Commander in the same ranking system . The militaries of the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance , both had ranking systems where Commanders were ranked above captains . But at the same time , there were numerous examples of the same militaries having other hierarchies placing Commanders below Captains . Evidently there were different ranking systems depending on specific service branches or institutions . Navy ranks . In the ex - Imperial naval forces loyal to Thyferran Chief of State Ysanne Isard , there was a second usage of Commander described by Fliry Vorru as being greater than that of " a mere Captain , " but this second rank is rarely attested , and may have stemmed from a confusion with the Imperial Navy ' s rank of Captain of the Line . Other officers like Commander Gherant were known at the height of the Empire to have been inferior in rank to Captains like Firmus Piett , and such commanders also existed in the New Republic military . Army / Starfighter ranks . In Imperial Starfighter and Army units , a Commander apparently ranked between a Captain and a Major . Within the Galactic Empire , specifically the Imperial Army , a commander was responsible for setting the terms of the battle , and then moving swiftly and decisively once the parameters of engagement have been outlined . In addition , the commander ' s ability to follow protocol was often the deciding factor on how orders transmitted from the Army Command , including what units a commander deploys into battle or how the units are to be used , with set objectives and available resources being a determining factor . Aside from monitoring the presence of the Rebel Alliance on a given world , an Imperial Army Commander was also cognizant of the criminal underworld , as many of them ( which included Hutts , smugglers , bounty hunters , and others who live in civilization ' s fringes ) , even if they technically have no formal membership with the Rebel Alliance , are still enemies all the same . An Imperial Army commander was also required to respond to threats with the appropriate amount of forces , and as such , assessing what a situation requires ( such as escalation , additional units , special units , etc . , etc . ) was a central part of a commander ' s duties . In Rebel Alliance and New Republic Starfighter Command organizations , references exist to a rank of Commander , sometimes specifically Flight Commander or Wing Commander , covering at least one tier of the hierarchy between Captain and Colonel ; by the time of the Galactic Alliance , these titles had apparently been replaced by Major and Lieutenant Colonel . Pre - Battle of Hoth , the rank insignia was between Captain and General , while post - Battle of Hoth , it was between Captain and Lieutenant Commander . In the former instance , its design was a silver patch showing four yellow bumps , covering all but the upper right corner of the patch in a near - X - formation , while in the latter instance , the design was that of a gold - trim patch possessing three red bumps , two with each being on the lower corners of the patch , and one being at the topmost center of the patch . The promotion of Commander Eldo Davip to Major General after the Battle of Borleias suggests that in some elements of the New Republic or Galactic Alliance military , a rank of Commander may replace Brigadier . Other systems . The Mandalorians used the rank of commander . In the GAR , the rank of Commander was borne by senior clone officers , and some Jedi , including many padawans . Among the Yuuzhan Vong , most warship captains and a few task force commanders bore a rank of Commander , and superior officers were known as Supreme Commanders . In the armed forces of the Chiss Ascendancy , variations on " Commander " were used as ranks or titles in a variety of different contexts . In the years before the Clone Wars , a frontier patrol group of the Expansionary Fleet could be commanded by an officer with the title of Force Commander , often simply styled " Commander " ( Crahsystor in Cheunh ) . Much later , in " c " . 19 – 22 BBY , examples are also known of a Phalanx Commander leading a Household Phalanx and a Station Commander commanding a defense platform , while the title Cadet Commander was given to the senior cadet in a Chiss training squadron , who could also be addressed as " Lieutenant " . By the time of the Swarm War in 37 ABY , the term " Commander " was used in Basic to translate the rank analogous to a naval Commander in the Galactic Alliance , one grade below Captain , but is not clear whether this usage corresponded to any of the earlier terminology . Superior ranks . The title " Commander - in - Chief " was used by some civilian heads of state in their capacity as head of their government ' s military forces - for instance , the Chief of State of the Alliance to Restore the Republic was also , " ex officio " , Allied Forces Commander - in - Chief . The position of Supreme Commander was borne by very senior officers serving various regimes , including the Grand Admiral who was effectively the head of state of Imperial Space after 19 ABY . Behind the scenes . The usage of " Commander " in " Star Wars " is complicated by the fact that authentic military usage treats " " as a rank , a position , and a title . As a rank , in the English language it refers to a senior officer ( NATO Code OF - 4 , US pay grade O - 5 ) immediately inferior to a captain ( NATO Code OF - 5 , US pay grade O - 6 ) ; this usage is found in the ( and its various Commonwealth descendants ) and the . As a position , it refers to the officer who literally commands a unit , installation , vessel , or formation . As a title , it typically refers to officers in positions of high responsibility whose command encompasses multiple independent commands . Although the title is related to the position , not all officers who are positional commanders are titular commanders , as other titles exist for the position ( e . g . , officer in charge , commanding officer , commanding general , etc . ) . It is possible and even common for officers holding the rank of commander not to hold the position or title . The specific nature of " Commander , " particularly as it is used in the Imperial Navy , is a subject of some controversy . Although the English - language model has clear dominance in the fictional reality of " Star Wars " , there are deviations from it , most notably the case of Commander Ait Convarion , who was described in " " as being " a Commander , not a mere Captain , " and this has been used to support the existence of an Imperial rank of commander broadly comparable to a commodore ( with proposed authentic support from such instances as the Dutch " Commandeur " and the Russian Imperial Navy ' s rank of " Kapitan - Kommandor " ) . At the same time , other commanders have been seen to be decidedly inferior to captains , such as Commander Gherant in the Dagobah Limited expansion set to the " Star Wars Customizable Card Game , " who was explicitly called a " deck officer " who had been " hand - picked by Captain Piett . " It must also be considered that Vorru was a politician , not an expert on naval protocol . Furthermore , if one hesitates to apply the model of authentic usage of English - language naval forces to the fictional Imperial Navy , one must also hesitate to use the rogue forces of ex - Imperial warlords as authoritative guides to the correct usage of the Imperial Navy . In any event , the matter is complicated by the imprecise use of " Commander " throughout the fictional " Star Wars " universe as a generic title of address for any officer in a position of responsibility , including Army officers ( similar to the authentic usage of the French title of " Commandant " ) . The analogous air force rank of " Wing Commander " ( borrowed into the from the Royal Navy ) is also a source of some confusion , as the Alliance has been seen to use wing commander alongside " flight commander , " which may be a rank , position , or title . It is possible that the difference in titles stems from the fact that the Alliance military and naval forces are heterogeneous in composition and background , and the parallel of wing commander and flight commander may reflect the imperfect combination of slightly different traditions ( a similar problem arises regarding the specific rank of General Etahn A ' baht in the New Republic ) .