The Six Different Types of Imperial Officers

We take at a look at six different types of Imperial officers you might run to during your time in the Imperial military.

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[jackspinner]

Every time I hear about Thrawn I like him more. He’s just such a cool character

[casbot]

And there's the worse type, the _bloodthirsty officer._ They will gun down moisture farmers while questioning them about some droids they just bought, instead of offering them compensation and a reward for information.

If you sent a good Imperial instead, not only would the droids be in Imperial custody, but the moisture farmers nephew would be willing to sign up for Imperial training because the reward money and replacement droids supplied by the Empire would mean he could leave the farm.

*New Recruit:* Ah-ah-ah Lord Vader…umm, what do you want with me?
*Vader:* You blood test revealed a very high midiclorin count, what is you name.
*Recruit:* L-Luke Skywalker sir.
*Vader:* The fuck? [You're allowed one "fuck" in a PG film]
You're from Tatooine, that bastard Kenobi hid you in plain sight.
*Recruit Luke Skywalker:* Ben Kenobi?

[andrewlim]

Great video but keep in mind that Colonel Yularen was in the ISB, the Empire’s equivalent of the FBI and KGB rolled into one.

[tsarfox]

I'd love to serve under Thrawn. I'd be fine with a good imperial or an old navy who isn't Tarkin.

[echo]

Excuse me but did you just say the empire wasn't perfect. Looks like someones planet is about to be eliminated

[randomcoyote]

Ideally you'd want to have the Genius as the overall commander, the Good Imperials as the higher staff and company leadership, and fill in the cracks with Low Key types at company level and below.
"TK496, you've been a Corporal in this unit for 20 years. Don't you want a transfer to another division and get a promotion?"
"Nope."

[blaze]

Welcome back to Death Star comedy bar! "Ever notice that Imperial Troopers stand like this, and Shock Troopers stand like that?"

Entire room in wraps with laughter

[kailenmitchell]

Rick are you a clone of Alan, made by dolphins to take over the world.

[MonkeyJedi]

As an E-4 I had to run interference for a glory hound lieutenant for a couple of years. He was all about his image and doing things to be noticed, no matter how much more work or wrecked equipment (and vehicles!) he got wrecked in the process. And to top it off, he couldn't keep track of things like his helmet, his weapon, his pens, his radio code book, the keys to things, or what we were supposed to be doing on the training schedule. I am so glad I never had to enter combat near that guy.

[falling_vega]

Petition to replace Alan with this new “Rick” guy

[cia]

The one you should have mentioned in "good imperials", is definitely Moff Jerjerrod. He was very humane, and morally orientated

[CommissarTommy]

I would be mates with Piett, seems like a decent fella

[ThePalaeontologist]

I always wondered why Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) had Admiral Versio call Admiral Piett a ''fool''. On the face of it, the immediate reaction is to point out that Piett sincerely did very little if anything ''wrong'' at Endor. He followed his orders to the letter. He stayed in position and although the Rebels did swarm the Executor in an all out attack deliberately intended to overwhelm the flagship of the Imperial fleet at Endor, there is no indication that Piett was given leave to fight proactively and coordinate his fleet.

Upon closer consideration, however, one could see the point that Piett had become all too talented at surviving the political machinations and spats of the dog eat dog Imperial officer hierarchy, but had not necessarily the wit or talent to be a particularly successful officer in battles. It is hard to highlight Piett's major tactical or strategic talents. However, I do appreciate how he even got to earn Vader's trust to any extent. Then again, perhaps Vader knew he was only superficially talented and wanted him to fail. It's hard to tell with Vader (as they keep adding to his story all the time, especially in comics; changing goal posts comes to mind)

At a glance I'd say that Admiral Versio was a bit harsh, but perhaps not entirely wrong from a certain point of view (**Obi Wan voice**)
Maybe it was just bad word choice in the game cinematic but I honestly think with the expressiveness of how they had Admiral Versio react to the loss of the Executor, he did genuinely have a preexisting problem with Piett, and this dismayed Versio enough to make him react the way he did. I mean, losing the Executor was really heartbreaking for so much of the Imperial Navy (not just the fleet at Endor) It was devastating.
Many of the finest naval officers in the entire Galactic Empire, handpicked for their talents and professionalism (as well as ruthlessness) were on board her when she was obliterated. Of course, when the DSII itself was lost, this loss was compounded even more horrifically for the Empire.

Personally I really like the character of Admiral Versio, though I did not like how they made his character lose faith in the Empire once and for all during the Battle of Jakku. He went down with his ISD Eviscerator at Jakku, but the tentacles of politically correct agendas crept in (like it did with a lot of that game's story mission, which basically lied to people saying it was about being an Imperial loyalist properly, not just becoming an Imperial traitor in literally a few missions after the start - by the time they get to Vardos it turns on a penny and changes completely into an SJW pandering waste of time just to get the player to Jakku etc)
I'd have preferred Admiral Versio to rebuff and dismiss his daughter for being a rebel traitor, but to express an acceptance that the Empire had indeed lost.

That would have been sufficiently moving to demonstrate he was still a realistic thinker and not a blind fanatic to the Empire. Suddenly agreeing with Iden that the Empire had a profound weakness, seemed too forced and out of the blue. Up until then he'd been adamantly loyal to the Empire. Going down with his ship was a fair touch, but it leaves you wondering what the point of that really is. I get why he'd want to die with the Empire, too institutionalised to let it go fully, but why else might he have preferred to die on Jakku?

Two possible explanations might be:
1. That he was unwilling to become a prisoner of the New Republic, considering he clearly knew about the Contingency Plan of Gallius Rax and the Emperor in Operation Cinder, and about the extrication of some Imperial survivors and assets into the Unknown Regions to reform as a new power. In other words; he knew too much. Therefore, electing to die with his ship, he could keep his pride and still deny the New Republic information (even if he saw the Empire as weak and no longer functional by this point, as the game clearly hits you over the head with)
This way, he could still be in two minds with a foot on each side of the door, so to speak, on his views about the Empire. That said, he did seem pretty sure the Empire was finished before he died.

2. That he became disillusioned by the Empire in it's death-throws particularly during Operation Cinder - I mean, the dude inflicted a meteorological catastrophe on his own homeworld such was his loyalty to the Empire. It would weigh heavy on the heart, particularly as his own daughter was so (rightly) angered by the betrayal to the loyal imperial citizens of Vardos.
Again, it is clear the biased game was trying to draw those comparisons to the collapse of the Third Reich as hard as it could (during the final days of the Third Reich, Hitler did indeed order the Nazis to destroy all German infrastructure - if the Germans couldn't have it, no-one would; so the comparison does have a basis in reality, however, this is Star Wars, and I think Palpatine would be a bit more pragmatic than that; besides, the Third Reich was already in ruins before those orders were given)

Still, it just does not make enough sense to me. I do know about Palpatine's Contingency Plan and I get the point behind it, but a lot of it is debatable - I get why a Sith Lord would spitefully hate the Empire he caused to come into being, if it "failed to protect him" in their view; but regardless of that, wouldn't the Sith still hate the Rebels/Republic more anyway? From my point of view, Palpatine would be like, ''fine, rebel scum, you can reconquer the galaxy if I'm gone - but you'll have to take every f***ing planet by force and suffer the higher death-tolls for your trouble!". He'd deliberately want the Rebels to bleed as much as possible. This is why I don't believe he'd want to accelerate the Empire's own collapse by purging totally loyal Imperial worlds.
Palpatine was a sadistic megalomaniac who loved killing things. It makes a lot more sense he'd target his posthumous fury at the rebels, not his own side. I get the comparisons to WWII history etc but you know...I think Palpatine would go the other way on this strategic choice. Rather than punish his own side for his own mistakes (just making him more of a cartoon caricature being super evil for no reason), he'd be *pragmatically evil* in the sense that he'd want to make absolutely sure that the rebels suffered as much as physically and mentally possible, before any chance of final victory.

He'd know the Empire would probably lose without him and Vader, but that at least the New Republic was left in a much weaker state for his contingency relocation into the Unknown Regions, to later come back with more effectiveness against a more depopulated New Republic. In the cold light of military strategy, Palpatine would want to *bleed the galaxy dry* before giving it over to the rebels/New Republic.
It's why I can't help but wonder if Piett, Versio and other Imperial Admirals, might have turned the tide had Palpatine let them operate properly. Piett was overshadowed and limited by Vader, Versio was tied to subordinate command to more powerful Imperials than himself though was considered a fine Admiral and he clearly held the line for the Empire at Bespin in the Anoat Sector, post-Endor (at least, temporarily, until they were inevitably forced to retreat)

Palpatine would probably be more than happy for the best Admirals in the Empire to run riot on the New Republic and give them as much hell as possible. What we got in SWBFII was more or less Admiral Versio screening and protecting Operation Cinder as long as possible and losing his life like most of the rest of the Imperial remnants seem to have at Jakku.

P.S - I am not overly fond of the Battle of Jakku. It has it's charms but generally it strikes me as a Deus Ex Machina to just get the Empire together like a bunch of skittles and bowl them down in one strike. I don't like it (making it worse was how that was kind of the point; Gallius Rax never intended for the Imperial loyalists under his command to survive at Jakku, intending to destroy the entire planet instead killing everyone on both sides involved in the battle save for a few authorised Imperials escaping into the Unknown Regions - this would not end the New Republic as a threat, just severely damage it, though)
I'm generally unimpressed with how badly the Empire got dumped on since 2015. It was clearly the aim of Disney to paint the New Republic as the brave comrades fighting the patriarchy. I mean, for f***'s sake, SWBFII (up to Jakku) largely covers a philosophical difference between father and daughter - with his own daughter trying to bring him down. Think about it. Not even remotely subliminal.

[pyeitme]

How about an officer that has all 6 types of personality?

[danielpirela]

The empire did nothing wrong. The only mistake was the Tarkin Doctrine and their officers

[simontmn]

Piett was always my favourite. I loved how he made it 2 films!

[ravenanimations]

I think Staz should be a seventh category, the Troopers Best Friend. He’s there with you, beside you, risking his life, so he’ll get noticed for the love his Troops have for them.

[spiderxand]

The only Imperial Officer that has earned my respect is Admiral Piett.

[Warhammered]

The Imperial officer corps got Rick Rolled.

[thorshammer]

Vitiate's Sith Empire vs Revan's Sith Empire (Expanded Universe canon).