Alliance Military / Legends The Alliance Military was the military arm of the Alliance to Restore the Republic ( later Alliance of Free Planets ) charged with the monumental task of defeating the Galactic Empire ' s vast military forces and defending the Alliance ' s operations to foment rebellion against Emperor Palpatine ' s iron fist rule . Leaders . The Commander - in - Chief , a title held by Chief of State Mon Mothma , her Chief of Staff , the Minister of War and the Supreme Allied Commanders formed the Alliance High Command , which formed the central nervous system of the Alliance Military . High Command oversaw both the centralized Alliance Special Forces and the semi - autonomous Sector Force s . The structure of the Alliance military was designed by Bail Organa , who used his experiences on the Old Republic Senate Military Oversight Committee to aid in setting up the Alliance High Command . The Alliance military was separated into two distinct branches : Alliance Forces and Sector Forces . In 4 ABY , Ackbar was appointed Supreme Commander of the Alliance Military . That year , the Alliance Military changed into the New Republic Defense Force . High Command . The High Command was the mind of the Alliance military . It was composed of the Chief of State , who was also Commander in Chief , the Minister of War , the Chief of Staff , and the various Supreme Allied Commanders . The High Command directed all Alliance military forces in a coordinated effort . For this reason , Alliance tactical doctrine dictated that the High Command and the Alliance Fleet were generally not to be in the same place at the same time , since the Alliance could withstand the loss of either the Fleet or the High Command but not both . The most important members of the High Command were the various Supreme Allied Commanders , who had direct command and control of each facet of the Alliance military . Notable members of High Command were Gial Ackabar , Jan Dodonna , Crix Madine , Bail Organa , and Leia Organa . Alliance Forces . The Alliance Forces were the part of the Rebellion ' s military that was directly controlled by the Alliance and High Command . This included the Alliance Fleet and attached starfighter wings , as well as the small but powerful ground forces that composed SpecForces , fleet regiments and small ground units . Fleet . The majority of the strength of the Alliance Forces was concentrated in the Rebel fleet . While only consisting of a small fraction of the ships available to the Imperial Navy , the Rebel fleet was the most powerful single military unit available to the Alliance High Command . Due to the scarcity of funds for the Rebellion , most warships employed in the Rebel fleet were either captured or donated by friendly / allied individuals and worlds , the vessels that were openly bought were usually cheap and / or outdated such as the GR - 75 medium transport . The fleet was under the direct command of Admiral Gial Ackbar , the Supreme Commander of Rebel space forces . Starfighter Corps . The Alliance Military had a unit of starfighters separate from the navy , essentially becoming its own military branch . Ground forces . While the bulk of the ground forces operated by the Rebellion consisted of various Rebel cells and Sector Forces , Alliance Command did maintain a small but powerful ground force . The Rebel SpecForce operated ten ground combat divisions and was a prominent part of the Alliance Army ; its duties included protecting the High Command from assault , as took place on Hoth . While smaller than the Imperial Army , the Alliance Army often used hit - and - run tactics to infuriate Imperial officers . Aquatic navy . The Alliance had an aquatic Navy supported by R2 - D5 labor droids and its vehicles were constructed at shipyards . Sector Forces . The Sector Force s were semi - autonomous military units that were responsible for maintaining the Rebellion on local levels . These were the Alliance affiliated resistance movements that resisted the Empire in their own respective sectors . In most cases these were small sized local armies that conducted regular day to day business independently , though they technically partially subordinate to the High Command . Sector Forces were at times augmented by Alliance starfighter and ground forces . Branches . Supreme Allied Commanders . The Supreme Allied Commanders were the chiefs of each branch of the Alliance military . Each Supreme Allied Commander and their staff was expected to run their departments smoothly and efficiently . Efficiency was most important , as time and funds were always in short supply for the Alliance . There were seven Supreme Allied Commanders , broken down as follows : Fleet Command . This department was responsible for the most important aspect of the Alliance military — the Fleet . Fleet Command was headed by the admiral of the fleet itself . The admiral of the fleet , besides being the operation combat commander , also oversaw the training , organization , and deployment of the fleet , giving the Fleet Command supreme power over the Alliance fleet . Ordnance and Supply . The Procurement and Supply department was responsible for providing adequate supplies for the military , such as foodstuffs , fuel , spare parts , weapons , etc . In practice , Ordnance and Supply maintained only the Fleet and starfighter units , leaving each Sector Command responsible for maintaining their own local ground forces . OaS worked very closely with the Minister of Supply in the civil government . Starfighter Command . This department oversaw the control of all Alliance starfighter squadrons . In was responsible for training new pilots , assigning squadrons to the fleet , and loaning squadrons to Sector Commands for important missions . This command was considered one of the more difficult , as it regularly had to deal with multiple requests for squadrons while faced with limited available resources . Jan Dodonna was placed in charge of this entire branch and all rebel starfighter operations by Mon Mothma . Support Services . Alliance Support Services oversaw the small number of transport and cargo craft maintained by the Alliance . Support Services also maintained all Alliance hospital ships and safe worlds . While not as glamorous as Fleet or Starfighter Command , it was nonetheless one of the most crucial . Intelligence . Alliance Intelligence was responsible for keeping track of all Imperial units and maintaining undercover operatives . It was considered the most dangerous of all branches of the Alliance , including the fleet . Intel also maintained the Alliance ’ s small fleet of deep space surveillance vessels and probe droids . The operatives of Intel often had to compile information from hundreds of sources just to put together a reliable picture on the activities of the Empire . Special Forces . Composed of the Alliance ground forces . Small in number , due to the fact that most armies were local forces under Sector Forces , the SpecForces were elite forces marked by excellence of training , brilliant leadership , and high morale . SpecForce units defended High Command , were attached to the Fleet , and aided Sector Forces across the Galaxy . Sector Command . This branch was tasked with coordinating the various Sector Forces , assigning assets , and ensuring that each sector worked in line with Alliance policy . There were thousands of Sector Forces scattered across the galaxy , making this task extremely difficult .