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The following are prominent ranks of the Galactic Empire from the fictional universe of Star Wars.
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Executor
In the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe, the Imperial Military Executor rank was a title created by Emperor Palpatine to refer the supreme commander of the Imperial military machine. This rank denoted control of all Imperial army, navy and every armed entity in the Empire's government. It was a prestigious position held by Lord Darth Vader by the time of the events surrounding the Galactic Civil War. Executors include Darth Vader, Sedriss, and Xecr Nist.
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Grand Admiral
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Grand Admiral is a supreme Imperial rank of the Galactic Empire, outranking all other political and military personnel, including Imperial Moffs; they did not supersede personal representatives of the Emperor, however. The original concept of a Star Wars Grand Admiral was based on the actual rank of Grand Admiral in the German Navy.
Grand Admirals are directly appointed by Emperor Palpatine and answer directly to the Emperor, or his authorized executors, in all matters. The creation of the rank of Grand Admiral was widely recognized as a method of bringing the Imperial Military more fully under the control of the Emperor. In the Imperial Army, the equivalent of a Grand Admiral is known as Grand General. Some Star Wars sources also give reference to a rank known as Grand Marshal which is conjectured to be held by the supreme commander of all Imperial starfighter forces.
At the time of the Battle of Endor, marked by many as the beginning of the fall of the Galactic Empire, there were a total of twelve Grand Admirals in service, including the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had recently replaced the traitorous Grand Admiral Zaarin. As Thrawn's promotion to Grand Admiral had been a closely-guarded secret, the Rebel Alliance was unaware that Zaarin had been replaced.
The insignia for Grand Admiral is seven blue and red rectangles, with two code cylinders, worn on a white uniform. Grand Admirals were the only officers in the entire Imperial military to wear white uniforms; all other officers in the Imperial Army and Navy wore black, brown, olive, or gray. An alternate version of the rank badge displays six blue rectangles with three yellow and three red. Grand Admiral Thrawn is shown to be wearing this alternate insignia on the cover of the Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire.
The Grand Admirals
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Grand General
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Grand General is considered the highest possible Imperial Army rank. The rank of Grand General is personally granted by Emperor Palpatine and is regarded as outranking even Imperial Moffs.
The Imperial Navy equivalent of Grand General is known as Grand Admiral. While the rank of Grand Admiral is well known as the rank held by Grand Admiral Thrawn, the position of Grand General is relatively rare and has only been mentioned in a handful of Star Wars literature sources. It can be assumed, that like the position of Grand Admiral, the rank of Grand General was an effort made by Palpatine to bring the Imperial Army under his direct control.
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High Admiral
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High Admiral is considered the highest possible rank of the Imperial Navy with the exception of the rank of Grand Admiral. The rank of High Admiral is also junior to the military-political rank of Moff.
An Imperial High Admiral is typically in command over groups of fleets to which the High Admiral commands several subordinate Fleet Admirals. The Imperial Army equivalent of the rank of High Admiral is known as Surface Marshal. A rank of High General does exist, but is considered the equivalent of a Fleet Admiral.
While an actual High Admiral has never been seen in a Star Wars film, several unofficial publications have speculated on the appearance of the rank's insignia. Sources from the time frame of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope indicate that the insignia for High Admiral is very similar to that of Moff. Literature from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back proposes the rank insignia to be the same as Fleet Admiral, however with the display of one code cylinder to the right of the rank badge instead of two on either side.
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High Colonel
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High Colonel is considered a rank between a regular Colonel and a Brigadier General in the Imperial Army. The rank is considered the equivalent of a Line Captain in the Imperial Navy.
The military rank of High Colonel has never been shown in a live action Star Wars production and only rarely has the rank been mentioned in literature of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The rank may have been entirely invented by authors as an Imperial Army equivalent to the one Line Captain who makes an appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
The insignia for High Colonel is conjectured to be the same as that of Line Captain, that being six yellow squares with a code cylinder worn on either side of the badge.
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High General
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Line Captain
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Line Captain is a military rank of the Star Wars universe, considered the most senior line rank of the Imperial Navy, below the flag ranks of the Admiralty. It also sits above the rank of Group Captain and below a Flight Commodore in the Starfighter Corps.
The rank of Line Captain has only been seen once in a live action production, that being in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In the film, a Line Captain on board the Death Star reports to Darth Vader that the captured Millennium Falcon is empty of its passengers and crew. The script of Star Wars Episode IV listed the characters name as “Captain Khurgee”.
The insignia for Line Captain was displayed in Star Wars Episode IV as a row of yellow rank squares with a code cylinder worn on either side of the badge. Later Star Wars films do not show any further Line Captains, however publications from the Star Wars Expanded Universe indicate that an alternate insignia for Line Captain exists which consists of four columns of red and blue squares.
The alternate insignia for Line Captain is the badge worn by an Imperial computer character in the video game TIE Fighter who serves as mission commander.
Line Captain is a rank of the Imperial Navy equivalent to the rank referred to as High Colonel in the Imperial Army. Those who compare Star Wars and Star Trek have stated that Star Wars Line Captain would be considered the equivalent of a Fleet Captain in Starfleet.
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Surface Marshall
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Surface Marshal is a military rank used in some science fiction sources to denote an Army or other military officer who commands all military forces on an entire planet. In some cases, the rank may be held by those who command all forces in a solar system or even entire space sectors.
The rank of Surface Marshal is almost always defined as separate from ranks of space fleets since such ranks are typically modeled after naval titles. Surface Marshal, which is an expansion of the rank of Field Marshal, inherently indicates ground forces only.
Surface Marshal is most common in the universe of Star Wars where it is the second highest possible Imperial Army rank. The rank is junior to the Moff positions and to the position of Grand General (Army equivalent of a Grand Admiral). A Surface Marshal has never been seen in a live action Star Wars production, but the rank makes several appearances in Star Wars literature and computer simulations (such as Star Wars Galaxies).
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