These pages concentrate on the military insignia and uniforms of the various armed forces that have assumed fame or notoriety in the major wars of Anakin Skywalker's lifetime. No armed faction can fight a war without efficient chains of command to distribute authority and recognise competence within its forces. Sometimes the indicators of rank are conveyed in invisible electronic protocols that are invisible to non-members: including the control signal protocols of battle droid officers, and similar identification systems in stormtrooper helmet visors and comlinks. In other instances where public interaction is expected, there are visible external insignia: the stripes of Naboo troops, the rank plaques of Imperial officers or the coloured pauldrons of stormtroopers engaged in police operations.
Military insignia provide us with important clues to off-camera circumstances. If we know the rank of an officer then we can guess the scope of his command, and infer the number of troops or other resources that he must have nearby. Circumstantially, the ranks of military personnel are a good sign of the priority accorded to their duties. If the highest ranking officer in the Naboo royal guards is only a captain, then we immediately know that the Queen of Naboo is directly protected by no more than a company of palace guards.
This page is a facade gathering together several pre-existing pages describing the insignia and military organisation of some of the most visible factions, including Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and the planetary forces of Naboo. This list will eventually be extended to cover other armed groups.
This page was constructed and is maintained by
Curtis Saxton.
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