Overview

To un-initiated individuals, the Empire may seem to be a bewildering array of crossed authorities... But to the trained eye of an Imperial officer, it is seen in its true light of an intricate system: one composed of many diverse and colourful parts, but based on the same fundamental principles throughout.

This chapter serves to describe the basic philosophy & design behind the structure of The Galactic Empire...

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Organisational Structure

...Graphical represenation of The Galactic Empire organizational structure...

The Galactic Empire is composed of many varied sections, in which officers serve in countless capacities. These "sections" are not islands unto themselves, but rather, represent groups of officers that serve and share the resources of the single, unified Galactic Empire organisation.

As a member of the GE ... regardless of whether a Navy officer, a diplomat, a Stormtrooper or otherwise ... you are &ndash at the most fundamental level &ndash an Imperial officer, striving alongside others for the common cause of restoring law & order to a chaotic galaxy.

However, only the title of Emperor is said to exist solely within The Galactic Empire itself... All Imperial officers serve the Empire from within one of its subordinate sections. The largest such sections are Divisions and Institutions. (Further defined in About Divisions and Institutions, respectively).

Officers serving within a given section of the Empire report to their own commanding officer(s), and/or the section's commanding body. In turn, the overall commanders of all "major sections" of The Galactic Empire report to the Supreme Commander, and collectively form its High Command.

The Supreme Commander is at the top of the Imperial hierarchy. Were His Majesty The Emperor still alive, he would be the sole proxy to His Majesty, who is considered to reside on a plane above the structure of the Empire...

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Order of Precedence

Dictates within the Empire &ndash be they spoken orders or written policies &ndash come from a variety of sources. Understanding their order of precedence is important to understanding The Galactic Empire's structure, as it determines which dictates are lawful in any given situation.

The four recognised sources of official dictates, listed by precedence in descending order, are as follows:

1. Dictates of the Supreme Commander
2. Dictates of Imperial Law
3. Dictates of formal manuals/documents
4. Dictates of superior officers

Simply put, higher–listed authorities supersede lower–listed authorities... For example, an order from one's superior is invalid if it commands a violation against Imperial Law. In the same vein, policies of Imperial Law would override any conflicting policies found in official GE manuals.
In subscription to the Imperial model, the dictates of the Supreme Commander override all other sources, as it is the prerogative of Supreme Command to create, approve changes to, and modify overall Imperial policy at the highest levels.

A fifth source also exists as a special case: the dictates of the Emperor's Court are second only to those of the Supreme Commander and Imperial Law when presiding over a court–martial.

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Components of Authority

There are two chief components that contribute to an Imperial officer's overall authority: ranks and positions... A different type of authority is provided by each.

Ranks

The entire purpose of ranks within The Galactic Empire is to determine an officer's seniority; both within their section of the Empire, and within the GE as a whole. Ranks therefore govern officer conduct, in that senior officers must always be regarded with respect appropriate to their elevated rank &ndash regardless of whether that superior is one's own commander, or serving in an entirely different section of the Empire.

Ranks are usually directly related to positions: almost always increasing or decreasing as a direct result of accepting or resigning positions of higher responsibility.

Further information on the ranks of the Empire is contained within the Ranks & Address chapter of this manual.

Positions & Titles

Although ranks alone determine an officer's seniority, the Empire would soon turn into a chaotic flow of conflicting orders if any senior officer could issue any order to any junior officer. For this reason, it is command positions & titles &ndash not ranks &ndash which give officers jurisdiction over various matters & areas within the Empire.

For example, the title of Imperial Academy Commandant gives its holder jurisdiction over all Imperial Academy matters. Jurisdiction is, simply, the authority to make a final decision on a certain matter. An officer's jurisdiction can only be overridden by their direct superior(s), not just any senior officer in the Empire.

As another example, an Army General cannot normally dictate to a Navy Captain how he is to run his vessel... Although the General outranks the Captain, the ship is within the jurisdiction of the Navy. The Captain need still regard the General with the same respect as his own naval superiors, but may state that he is "not disposed to execute the order".

By default, the highest ranking officer on deck assumes command of any general situation where no single officer present has clear jurisdiction.

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Martial Law

One of the most noticeable cornerstones of GE structure is that Supreme Command lies with a naval Fleet Admiral, who has been charged with the duty of acting as the Empire's political leader in addition to commanding its military forces.

It is well known that in the pre–Endor Galactic Empire, high civil authorities such as Moffs held direct military jurisdiction over the officers of the Empire's armed forces... Solely free of the political structure were the roaming Grand Admirals: a rank created senior to the Moffs' through the Emperor's foreseeing that the ultimate, future security of the Empire would rest with its best military minds.

Five years post–Endor, despite the collapse of the Empire's official policy–making machines and there being little consensus between Imperial fragments on fundamental issues, the emergence of Grand Admiral Thrawn willingly reuninted them behind a single leader: one that demonstrated unprecedented potential to reclaim the New Order's galactic rule. The un–orthodox &ndash yet unquestionable &ndash reign of Thrawn laid the military–centric groundwork that was to become policy for the next Imperial generation.

On the posession of simple seniority, this finally and officially secured jurisdiction over all Imperial resources to Grand Admiral Daemon as the new Supreme Commander for the Empire. The Grand Admiral declared a state of Martial Law, allowing the Imperial Military to supersede normal civil authority.

In turn, the Grand Admiral passed the torch to Fleet Admiral Polanski, who in turn has given the leadership of the Empire to Fleet Admiral Tiberius Fel, who has assumed the authority in accordance with Imperial Law, with every intention of continuing Grand Admiral Daemon's mission...

Moreover, the standing Declaration &ndash made amidst a war–torn galaxy and feuding Imperial remnants &ndash has fully reversed the official civil/military balance within the modern Empire, and continues to shape & re–shape the principles upon which its structure is based...

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