Imperial Army



Initially the Army accepted recruits from worlds across the Empire, though this policy was changed in wake of several high-profile defections to the Republic. Emphasis was then placed on recruiting from the Core Worlds, especially with regards to officer candidates, and those which bordered the Imperial Core. Frontier and primitive worlds were also targeted for recruitment drives, the latter especially for filling the ranks with expendable assault troops, although some care had to be taken to weed out Rebel sympathizers. Those worlds which had been subject to Imperial bombardment or assault within recent memory, and those with a strong liberal or independent tradition, were considered breeding grounds for the Republic and avoided altogether.[3]

Potential recruits would be screened at their local Imperial Recruitment Office, with Screening Officers conducting background checks including looking into the candidate's school reports and home life. While these officers were instructed to watch for any potential Rebel connections, including family members with Republic sympathies, suspected Republic infiltrators were encouraged to join and the Imperial Security Bureau informed immediately. Candidates who passed initial screening would then be sent to Training Centers for medical examinations and intelligence assessments.[3]

Where possible recruits would be placed in the branch of service of their choosing, as dissatisfaction with assignment was a major cause of morale problems. However the initial screening tests were used as a guide to help show where a recruit was better suited; for example those with less intelligence were often transferred to the infantry branch. While an entirely different organization those recruits who matched certain criteria were transferred to the Stormtrooper Corps.[3]

Basic training took place at one of thousands of drop camps situated across the Empire, each one focused on a different area of operation such as infantry, armor, communications, engineering, et cetera. Physical fitness, equipment maintenance, team-building drills and indoctrination were all part of training to become an Army trooper. Survival in a variety of environments, from deserts to swamps to arctic tundra, and under different planetary gravities was standard in most cases. Some drop camps specialized in training units to deal with a specific terrain and atmospheric types, though in these cases most recruits would be drawn from relevant exotic worlds.[3]

Officer training would take place at a number of different Imperial Army Officer Training Academies, although among these Raithal Academy was the most famous for producing the best officers. At Raithal recruits underwent a year of hard, grueling training of intense physical and military exercises. Emphasis was placed on an officer's ability to command men through the two-fold method of leadership - drawing upon their fear of disobeying orders, which was disciplined into them during training, and gaining their respect by example. Psychological examinations were rigorously performed to test the candidate's mettle while a week spent in the interrogation center simulated the type of treatment they could expect if they fell into enemy hands. Loyalty to the State and the correct balance between self-sacrifice and self-preservation also formed a critical part of officer training.[3]

OrganizationEdit

 * See Rank insignia of the Galactic Empire for the rank structure of the Imperial Army.Imperial.jpg

Combat, command and supportEdit
As with the rest of the Imperial Service, the Army made a strong distinction between “combat elements”, and “command elements” or “support elements”. Any commander, even a sergeant, was considered part of the "command element" and was not counted among the troopers, despite the fact that they were expected to take part in the fighting.[3] Since unit commanders were considered supernumeraries, the average size of an Imperial Army formation tends to have a larger headcount than an equivalent strength formation in the Grand Army of the Republic.

AugmentationEdit
The uniquely Imperial concept of 'augmentation' was intended to allow the rapid integration of reinforcement units into an existing force while minimizing the number of (relatively scarce) senior officers required. All units from platoon-level and up were expected to maintain a baseline strength which, as the Imperial military grew, could be upgraded to their full strength. Augmentation was part of the Army's Surface Operations Training Doctrine and represented an idealized version of how it was organized.[3]

On a small scale, augmentation could be compared to unit “attachments”, while on a larger scale it could be compared to an active cadre for reserve divisions. The full extent of augmentation could be impressive. For example, a baseline armored battlegroup had 10,090 troops out of 16,346 total, with 1,132 repulsorlift vehicles and 318 tanks. If every unit was augmented to its full capacity, a full-strength armored battlegroup would have 318,062 troops out of 324,318 total, with with 36,084 repulsorlift vehicles and 14,480 tanks.[3]

Augmentation proceeded according to that unit's official Order of Battle (OB), especially for units of company-size and larger; smaller units often got away with more flexibility in how they were augmented. For example a line company was augmented first by a heavy weapons platoon, followed by a second heavy weapons platoon, and then two line platoons. In rare instances an Army unit was augmented in ways other than dictated by the OB. The most common happened when an army commander organized survivors from a battle, creating haphazard units regardless of the OB. The second was when units were augmented with local auxiliaries. Finally a commander could order a special augmentation which he felt was critical to accomplishing his mission. If he succeeded his superiors would overlook this infraction, while failure meant he faced harsh justice. Indeed it was not unknown for an unorthodox commander to violate the SOTD and be executed, only for his methods to be evaluated and adopted after-the-fact.[3]

When a formation of company-size and larger was augmented, it's second-in-command was charged with commanding the extra units while the commanding officer maintained control of the baseline units. In practice a particularly strong-willed or above-average commander could and did assume direct control over the augmenting units. These violations were largely overlooked by superior officers.[3]

At the time of the Battle of Yavin the majority of Army units were at their baseline strength. Of the rest eight percent fell below it for reasons other than combat attrition while fifteen percent were above. The limiting factor in the Army's growth was not for lack of resources themselves but in the Imperial Navy: the Army simply could not expanded faster than the number of ships designed to carry it. When necessary new units were raised regardless of naval support but were then bound to that planet.[3]

StructureEdit
The structure of the Imperial Army was similar to the Grand Army of the Republic with some differences. The following table lists the size and composition of the various units used by the Imperial Army, although given the variety of unit types and possibility for augmentation the numbers listed are only nominal.