Trapper

I was in my Bridge Crew when I met Kelly Marie Tran at the Unforgettable Prom in San Diego on 4/13.
 

 

I say 4

I could just imagine the amount of cold beers and trouble R Lee Ermey and Carols Hathcock are up to right now.

It is a good memory. Right after he gave the coin to my grandson some guy that saw what happened came up and asked Gunny if he could have a coin. "I don't hand these out to just anyone," he said, "you gotta EARN THEM!"

He will be missed. Rest in peace, gunny.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/04/15/full-metal-jacket-actor-r-lee-ermey-dies-at-age-74.html
 
Guys, I know he was not a star wars actor. But honestly, he was a real legend.  I just wanted to put this out there as I myself consider him a reason I joined the U.S. army. I know, army not marine corps. But I am so may generations in on all branches. To hear someone so influential to do many has passed is sad.  I leave you with this.
 
“Rest easy, sleep well my Brothers. Know the line has held, your job is done. Rest easy, sleep well. Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held. Peace, peace, and farewell….
 
 
Thank you gunny, rest peaceful.
Ssgt. trepanier

That was an amazing article. I truly enjoyed it.

As I promised, I show you my article about Empire. It will be printed in May in "Nowa Fantastyka", Polish magazine about sci-fi and fantasy (I will show you photos when I receive my copy of the magazine) and thats why some information could be obvious for us. Everyone of you helped me in this answering on my question, so enjoy. 
 
Especially I thanks @trencher - he translated this text.
 
The imperial point of view
 
In Star Wars, the embodiment of the forces of evil is the Empire, and its symbol - fear-raising Darth Vader. However, when we look deeper, we will see that the Empire, to which even Ronald Reagan referred, is not as completely black as rebels paint them.
 
Long long time ago...
 
Episodes I-III show not only the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the birth of Darth Vader, but also political machinations, as a result of which the Republic was replaced by the First Galactic Empire. This would not have been possible without the corruption and bureaucracy that penetrated the republican Senate from the inside, making it impossible to make quick and efficient decisions. The proclamation of the new system took place in 19 BBY (before the battle of Yavin, as in the stellar world, a chronology is defined), when Chancellor Sheev Palpatine proclaimed himself an Emperor with the end of the Clone Wars.
 
The classic trilogy (episodes IV-VI) presents the final years of the Empire's existence and the fight of the Rebels with - as if not seen - a legal political system. It is actually a faint fragment of the stellar history, only a few years from almost twenty when the Emperor ruled. We get to know many events not through films, but through other sources - TV series, comics or novels. All this creates the so-called canon - a collection of stories that complement, explain and develop particular threads.
 
After the Disney label canceled the existing Extended Universe in 2014, closing it as an alternative story and describing it as Legend, new stories began to emerge. In this new canon, cinema films and the Star Wars emitted in the years 2008-2014: Clone Wars (121 episodes), as well as an animated film of the same title. Since then, the sequential brothers have joined the canonical filmmakers, the Rebels series (broadcast on television since 2014) and spin-offs (Rogue 1, Solo). How does the Empire present itself in this new universe? Very patchy.
 
Evil painted on the face
 
In the series Rebels, imperial officers are portrayed as a model example of incompetence and stupidity. Their very appearance deterred and shows that people in the army are arrogant, stupid and do not sin with their beauty. Fierce expressions of admirals Kassius Konstantine or Brom Titus say everything - the children to whom the series is directed, they immediately know who they are dealing with and learn that the evil is painted on the face (it looks a bit like propaganda illustrations from the Second World War world). If, however, a handsome man is found, he will soon find that he hesitates about the rightness of the chosen side and as a result he will turn to the enemy side. A model example is agent Alexandr Kallus, who served in the Imperial Security Office, who pretending to be a devoted imperial cause, in fact gave information to the rebels. When Grand Admiral Thrawn discovers his betrayal, Kallus easily (how else) runs away and for good adheres to the Alliance.
 
Unfortunately, the Rebels show that the Empire is not enough that it is stupid, it can be defeated by a group of beings simply believing in a just cause and in addition usually acting without any plan. Stormtroopers fail in the tunnel, encircling enemies and having them on the fork, death stormtroopers (members of the elite unit) box as often as ordinary soldiers, and in almost every episode destroy valuable imperial equipment - an important broadcasting station, destroyer or prototype TIE fighter. It is surprising that the Empire has survived almost twenty years.
 
English accent and German uniforms
 
The old trilogy shows the Empire as a masculine world. There is no woman in it (unless he hides under the helmet of a stormtrooper or TIE pilot), and men are classic officers, whom we associate with films about World War II - refined, stiff and very often talking with a British accent (which rather stems from the involvement of actors from Great Britain than the intended action). This is not the case in the first spin-off - Rogue 1, and judging from the trailer for Solo, it will be similar.
 
The Empire depicted in films is ubiquitous and dangerous. Tarkin's uncompromising decision to use the combat station and destroy the Alderaan planet is an example of imperial policy - government through fear. In turn, the battles at Scarif or Hoth show the military might and resources of the evil side. Of course, the moral imperative requires victory for the positive heroes, which is why the imperial counts "bloopers" - do not appreciate the determination of the opponent (Tarkin, Thrawn), too close destroyers (Admiral Gorin in the Battle of Scarif), too quickly come out of hyperspace (Admiral Ozzel) or they disregard the local fauna (Ewoks). However, it can not be denied that the Empire depicted in films can be a source of horror, not just the presence of Darth Vader or the Emperor.
 
In classic episodes there are no everyday scenes depicting ordinary life in the Empire. In New Hope, virtually all imperialists serve on the Death Star, in the Empire counterattack or Return of the Jedi, we see them again only in purely business and military situations. However, the change in the approach is announced by spin-offs. In the aforementioned Rogue 1 we can see what the imperial occupation looks like - officers are walking through Jedha City streets, as well as patrolling and checking the stormtrooper's documents. A day like every day, interrupted by terrorist attacks by Sawa Gerrera. The hope for a similar presentation of everyday life is given by Solo, in the trailer where the recruitment scene for the army is shown. And let there be more similar tastes.
 
Novels of the new canon
 
The new fictional canon focuses mainly on the events presented in the films, showing them from different points of view. Unlike the Enlarged Universe, the chronology is not excessively extended, but rather compressed into the period of decline of the Republic or Empire, often showing the young years of characters known from films (Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, Tarkin and Catalyst by James Luceno) or the series (New Dawn of John Jackson Miller, Thrawn by Timothy Zahn). There are books referring to computer games (Battlefront II. Inferno Squad by Christie Golden), but there are also novels not directly related to films (Lost Stars by Claudia Gray) or showing the last days of the Empire and the time after its fall (Chuck Wendig Trilogy).
 
The time line slightly increases after the fall of the Empire and dates back to the times depicted in the new episodes, the Force Awakening and the Last Jedi, but these titles do not cover the subject of current considerations.
 
The new imperial canon
 
One can risk the thesis that the new canon is very imperial. Most of the novels take place around the economic consequences of the construction of the Death Star. These threads are quite important for the plot axes - after all, building a powerful battle station lasted several years, it required a lot of raw materials and financial outlays.
 
The Empire presented in the books is a political system in which only uncompromising individuals are found, endowed with a great deal of cunning. But although they often follow their own ambitions, they also try to create something better on their own worlds. Some planets have adopted a change in the political system with joy, seeing the benefits that flow from it (eg Vardos, from which Iden Versio comes from, the main character in the novel Inferno Squad and the Battlefront II game). What's more, the Empire is seen as bringing order to the chaos of the Clone Wars and corruption of the Republic - the scene from the novel Inferno Squad is featured, in which the girl runs in a crisis situation towards the stormtrooper, because for her it is a symbol of security. For many, the Empire is a guarantee of peace - only the rule of a strong hand is able to control the recent chaos.
 
Old friends and ambitious people out of nowhereB
 
By defining the old universe as an alternative story, a certain gate was left to itself. Every now and then they are chosen from more interesting threads or characters and are implanted in the new canon. The part changes diametrically (the way the Death Star plans were made became a canvas of a separate film, Rogue 1, but the old story was changed completely), the part retains virtually no major changes (Thrawn's character).
 
One of the most important old / new characters is the above-mentioned Grand Admiral Thrawn. A brilliant strategist, a connoisseur of art who believes that thanks to her knowledge he will defeat the enemy - it is impossible to hide that the fans missed him the most. The Thrawn trilogy of Timothy Zahn enjoyed (and still enjoys) a great esteem in the environment, and the acquisition of the Polish edition is nearly miraculous and involves a considerable financial expense. The Blue Admiral was reactivated for the needs of the Rebels series, but in a great way he also returned in Zahn's new novel, in which not only we can get to know his career in the Imperial Fleet, but also see how the service looks from the inside.
 
Another imperial, Wulff Yularen, the head of the Imperial Security Office, first appeared in New Hope for ... a few seconds. The character was developed in the Clone Wars to show it again in the Rebels series in white uniform. In Thrawn's novel, his role has been more developed, as well as the significance and influence of IBB itself (which is also characteristic of the new canon).
 
Wilhuff Tarkin, the great moff, gained even more importance than before. The Emperor rules with an iron hand, but with the help of his advisors, alone in the shadow, and the creator of the imperial doctrine plays the first violin. Tarkin appears not only in the context of building a combat station, but also in many other relevant situations, scrolling on the pages of subsequent novels.
 
The new imperial is above all people who find themselves in the system. They often come from insignificant worlds, and in the Empire they see a chance for their career and are able to use it. A great example is Ahrinda Pryce, who from the daughter of the owners of the mine on Lothal reaches the position of governor of this planet. This scheme includes Director Orson Krennic, the main coordinator of work on the construction of the Death Star, an architect and engineer who is able to manipulate people and uses those talents to work on the project.
 
But ambition is just one of the qualities appreciated in the Empire. Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, the heroine of the Wendig cycle The end and beginning, truly believes in the order and order that the Emperor's government brings to the Galaxy and tries to merge the remains of the fleet after his death. In turn, Iden Versio, the daughter of the head of IBB and propaganda artist, is brought up in the belief that current governments are the only right way to maintain peace (only the threat of extermination of her family world makes her turn away from her former comrades). Also, do not forget about Ciena Ree (Lost Stars), for whom the oath of the Empire binds her even in the face of its inevitable end.
 
It is also not difficult to notice that women are appearing more and more often in the ranks of the Empire. It's not that they were not there before - not many, but they did appear, though their competence left much to be desired. Currently, women not only serve in the army or Fleet, but also hold high positions, which they owe their skills.
 
What about the Empire?
 
From the moment when forty years ago Star Wars appeared for the first time, the infatuation of the Empire continues. This is also reflected in the costume organizations - the largest of them, Legion 501, associates over 12,000. active members around the world.
 
What is the result of this fascination with the oppressive, paranoid and authoritarian system of government? Many fans point primarily to the beauty of uniforms, armor and military equipment. With an imperial order, the rebels look like a bunch of random beings gathered in one place. In addition, the Empire has huge destroyers, characteristic TIE fighters, AT-AT majestic rolling machines and finally - the Death Star. Popularity can be compared to that enjoyed by German uniforms and military equipment from World War II (imperial uniforms were modeled on German ones). It is not without reason that the white armor of the stormtrooper is one of the most recognizable and most successful stellar costumes, just after the characteristic armor of Darth Vader.
 
An equally important aspect seems to be the fascination with evil, the desire to temporarily find yourself on the other side of the barricade, the realization of the fantasy of "being a villain" - usually the negative heroes have more complex characters and more interesting past. Significant (and still valid) is somewhere deeply convinced that the authoritarian system is a remedy for bigger problems (sooner or later every modern state will appear before the crisis of democracy, as Erich Fromm mentions in Escaping from Freedom), and ordinary citizens will give the opportunity to choose an illusory sense of peace and surrender to a stronger power.
 
What will the Empire be like in Solo? Sparse promotional materials show that the creators will probably follow the path delineated by Rogue 1 and show several scenes from everyday life under the Emperor's rule. The books show that the course is designed to present the Empire as a more gray than a black political system. Because life is not black and white, even in Star Wars.
 

I think it would be interesting to see alien officers. 

That is a great back story.

Once again I agree with you . I don't think any one should be upset with what you said. Sure there can be exceptions after all we are talking about back stories to flesh out a character one would like to portray. A young person could be an up and coming officer in the empire through acts of valor or simply family connections. But nobody mentioned the other way . The poor middle aged offcer who is still a lieutenant  whose back story is he / she is such a screw up in their career. That they are one step away from being forced choked from Vader. Lol

Something to consider with choosing a rank is age.  If you are younger, lieutenant is a youthful rank. Middle aged is commander /mid ranks. Older is general, admiral ect.  This is based off of experience in the army.  You star at the bottom and work your way up.  It's like seeing a 25 year old general or admiral in a movie. It looks weird.   Does that make sense?   And I'm not knocking anyone for wanting to be any rank specifically. Just life experience.

That's part of being "in character".  I have an entire head-canon for the nameless officer I portray;  I wear a Captain badge, because I was given captainship of a Victory-Class Star Destroyer.  Sounds nifty, right?  Except the Victory-class ships are the old war tech, and being placed on one is usually seen as the career-ender for any upward mobility.  It makes sense to me that the Empire might stick an experienced female officer somewhere like that so as to appease her without having to deal with her.  Of course, knowing this, my character lets this all go to her head and thinks she's going to be the next Peitt.

Okay, nerdiness aside, be whatever rank you want.  The goal is to have fun and put smiles on faces

Another great informative article  .

Nobility has been part of the galaxy since long before the founding of the Old Republic, but there were no galactic nobility before the Emperor took control at the end of the clone wars.  Shortly thereafter the Emperor started to name nobility to supporters across the empire to create a system of Peerage.
 
The ascension of Chancellor Palpatine was not without precedent in the galaxy.  His own homeworld of Naboo was ruled by a series of Queens and Kings elected by the populace with a degree of authority stronger than a president or prime minister answerable to a legislature.  Palpatine HAD been elected to office and with no children, did not appear to be creating a hereditary monarchy.  The success of the Clone Wars brought in vast territories that had once been beyond the Empire’s reach.  The largest of these was the Outer Rim Terrirories, Hutt space, another region reorganized into what became the Corporate Sector Authority and effectively the Unknown Regions beyond the Western Reaches.  

With no direct representation in the Imperial Senate these regions were often under military rule or increasingly under control of appointed nobles and sometimes corporate charters.
 
There are at least three grades of nobility that have been found in the 40 years of Star Wars stories.
The first we saw was “Baron” with the appearance of Baron Tagge of the house of Tagge, a noble family that included General from the Death Star.  The head of the family Ormon Tagge controlled a vast industrial conglomerate that brought him a seat at the table governing the galaxy.  He proposed to organize the underpopulated region of space into the “Corporate Sector Authority” for proper exploitation by commercial interested.  The CSA had its own security services separate from the empire and the intruding eyes of the Imperial Senate.  As long as the correct taxes were paid into the imperial treasury, Tagge and his family had an independent fiefdom of their own. 
 
Baron Tagge jockeyed for the number two position to the emperor arguing that it should be him over Vader.  This lead to a confrontation where Vader challenged Tagge to a duel and blinded him with his lightsaber.  Tagge would spend the rest of his life practicing with a jedi lightsaber he acquired trying to become good enough to challenge Vader again and beat him.  Upon his death, a younger Tagge in the imperial military gained the title.
 
The Moff in charge of Cato Nemodia was also a Baron who had started as an imperial officer. 
 
Probably the most famous Baron was Soontir Fel of the 181st squadron, who gained the title after a military victory.
Pilots seemed to be the most popular recipients of the title based on their own accomplishments. 
 
Baron Valen Rudor was an imperial pilot on Lothal that received the title. 
 
The title would come with a baton of office and an estate.  Baron Fel’s estate would come from his home planet on Corellia.  Baron Rudor would receive an estate on Lothal.  Many times this estate would come from the confiscated property of citizens arrested and executed for treason.  Rudor would gain Old Jho’s Pit Stop establishment.
 
A second noble title was given exclusively to pilots the title of Tam.  The title of Tam was given to two pilots in the Star Wars universe Anikan Skywalker and Imperial Pilot Merrik Steele in the video game Tie Fighter.  Creating it as a title was a “retcon” by Pablo Hildago who found the mention of Skywalker in the old newspaper Star Wars serials from the 1970s.  The title for Maarik Stele came in the official companion guides for the game.  And a new title was born.
 
The third and final title is “Lord”.  Lord is usually used for a higher rank than Barons, but no title of Duke or Count is heard in the saga.  Darth Vader is not the only Lord in the Empire.  Lord Tion is an imperial Commodore that first appeared in the Radio drama of A New Hope in 1980.  He is the imperial commander of the subjugation of Raltier and was a suitor for the affections of Princess Senator Leia Organa. 
 
 
The title of a noble supersedes rank.  While an officer can be an admiral, captain, moff, or even a Lieutenant, they are addressed as Baron or even  “My lord”… even by superior officers, unless they are address by a noble of higher rank… which at this time is only the Emperor.
 
 
The purpose of nobility is to support the monarch and the structure that ensures continuity under that form of government.  The Empire passing at only 23 years old did not have the time to create enough peerage to continue this or maybe it was never intended to continue beyond the life of the Emperor as we see from the details of Operation Cinder.  Low level titles were given not so much to run the galaxy but to ensure loyalty and gratitude to the regime. 
 

Grey uniforms... they have always been there, though they have meant different things and came different sources.  I am not about to say what is (because the shifting sands of what IS always changes), but will show how we got to this point and what happened along the way.
 
  The first grey officer we saw was in the movie A New Hope.  He wore a 451 style tunic, but with black breeches and a black hat like the ISB.
 
The same actor in the same uniform meets with Tarkin prior to the destruction of Alderaan.  
 
The first merchandised figure was the "Death Squad Commander" which was quickly renamed the "Star Destroyer Commander".  While this guy never showed up in the movies, he found himself in licensed material down through the years.  He is a special unit that can be built in the video game "Empire at War".
 
They also appeared in the comic adaptation of "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" as Vader's personal bodyguards.
 
The first description of who the grey uniformed officers were was found in the "Imperial Sourcebook" published by West End Games in 1988.  They were listed as the imperial Army.
 
The West End Games Death Star Technical Manual published in 1991 showed what Army soldiers looked like.  If you have seen the recent photos of the Mud Troopers in the upcoming Solo film, you will notice the similarities to the Trooper in Field Armor.  These were the books given out by Lucasfilm to guide new Star Wars authors like Timothy Zahn.
 
As the 1990s went on, grey uniformed officers showed up in the comics and in video games.
 
the early 2000's saw an Imperial Army general leading several officers in green while he was in grey.
 
General Zeiring ironically showed the promotion scale used today in the movies.  He promotes Lt. Sunbur to Captain, then commander... 
 
2008 saw the release of The Clone Wars with Clone officers in grey.  Human officers wore the green.
 
they reappeared in the Battlefront II game.
 
The first official return of the grey uniforms came with Governor Pryce of Lothal in the Rebels animated series.  The grey choice could be said to be something different than the Imperial Navy, but the real reason for the color of her uniform and the style and color of her hair is to mimic Colonel Doctor Spalko, the bad guy from the last Indiana Jones movie.  
 
Grey Uniforms started to appear in other areas.  Cadet Vanto in the Thrawn novel comic adaptation is shown in a grey uniform standing next to a green one.
 
The Imperial officers in Battlefront II are in army grey... and contrast with the green officers of the previous game.

I'll add to this over time.  The purpose was to show where all this stuff comes from. 

That was a great ,very informative  .

Moff is military and political title for a sector leader. It originates from the days of the Old Republic.  As the Republic would expand outward and incorporate new systems they woulc occasionally encounter warlords or kings that would control entire sectors.  These leaders were given the title of Moff to help them integrate into the Republic.  Eventually as time passed the leaders would die and the sectors would elect representatives to the galactic senate.  As the Old Republic settled into its established borders, the title fell out of use. 

Flash forward to the last year of the Clone War with the conflict appearing to have no end in sight.  Chancelor Palpatine started to appoint Moffs to work in parallel with their respective sector senators.  The Moff''s would oversee resources such as planets for the war effort, not just direct fleets and armies.  In areas where territory was conquered a moff was used rather than the previous senator that had proven traitorous to the Republic.  This was captured in the online Starwars.com Holonet news which gave a week by week account of the Clone Wars leading up to the release of Revenge of the Sith.  

 
 
 
The first time the rank for a Moff is seen is in Revenge of the Sith on Governor Tarkin.  In the Tarkin novel, there are 20 moffs established at the dawn of the Empire.  Tarkin convinces the Emperor to create a special oversector leader for a combination of other sectors.  This was done making him Grand Moff Tarkin.
 
Grand Moff Tarkin is the leader of the Outer Rim Territories made up mostly of conquered territory from the Clone Wars and Hutt territory acquired during the war.  Here far from prying eyes of the Core Worlds, work is undertaken on the imperial war machine including the Death Star.  
 
The rank of moff becomes the defacto sector leader after Palpatine abolishes the senate.  And the number of moffs by then equal or exceed the number of senators previously in the legislative body.  
 
Replacing the bureaucracy are other ranks in the imperial structure.  The rank depends on the importance of the world.   In many cases, a world has a simple governor.  Sometimes the moff picks a favorite world to rule from and adopts the title of "governor" to go with Moff.   Other times military officers are used to govern worlds.
 
 Captain Sturn is the governor of the occupied world of Kashyyyk.  Styling himself as a big game hunter, Sturn wore a sash made of wookiee fur.
 
 
Baron Tarko had the rank of Moff, but also the title of nobility where he governed on the world of Cato Nemodia, homeworld of the former Trade Federation.  He adopted the local fashion aesthetic into his uniform dress.
 
Governor Pryce had no record of military service before becoming appointed the leader of the world Lothal.  Her uniform was strictly that of imperial officer.
 
Captain Supervisor Grammel was the officer in charge of an imperial mining operation of Circarpous V.  Portly and more of a sadist in charge of the miners.
 
His rule was not long.  
 
Lon Isoto of Brental IV, who had the decency to at least wear his rank...
 
and not much else.

Even Queen Amidala's Captain Panaka became the moff for the Naboo sector serving his old friend the former Senator Palpatine.
 
How many moff's are there?  As many as there are senators.

Scum by any other name , shall still be blasted to atoms .

I wonder do they eat their rank before capture?

I wonder do they eat their rank before capture?

Although I must say, the Rebels do seem to have fewer respiratory problems...

It’s of no surprise of course that the “help the weak” notion of the rebellion is further exemplified by rank bars based on medicine to help the weak.
Pathetic!
Join the Empire! You will not be made to coddle the weak! Only the Strong and Intelligent will advance in our lord, The Emperor’s Navy.
 
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

That looks like it's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see more photos. 

That's awesome. I can't wait to see the story line he's going to write.