As always at CloneIntel, only Lucas-era on-screen material is canon, as well as disney-era on-screen material which does not conflict with
Lucas canon. Legendary universe material, disney-era guides, video games, books, and comic books are not canon. Any information
from them is used only to fill informational holes, and only if said information serves to clarify and reinforce the Lucas canon.

Ranks and Rank Insignia
Considering the attention to detail which Lucas and the other primary creators displayed in the making of the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and
The Clone Wars series, it is incredibly frustrating that something so essential to continuity as rank structure and insignia has been so poorly established.
It is all the more frustrating that rank structure and insignia are as easy to hammer down in production as they are important to the creation of a fictional
universe. Lack of continuity in this area is expected and understandable during the early creation of a science fiction franchise, when it is uncertain if
the product will have any sequels, or if it will be popular enough for anyone to care about such secondary details. Incongruities, costume errors, and
contradictory information in early and formative material can be easily ignored and moved past once the universe has begun to expand, assuming those in
charge realize the importance of ironing this out before going too far forward. There are few long-running science fiction, military, or drama franchises which
have done so poorly with something so simple. To understand rank structure and insignia, we must first understand the production history, before moving on
to sorting out and making sense of what has actually been established on screen, which as a rule of continuity must trump subsequent material.

The Original Trilogy
The first Star Wars, now also called Episode IV, showed us that rank structure in the SW universe integrates aspects of various Earth militaries.
Ranks were given in speech by characters, in the character list in the credits, and in supplementary material that would be released surrounding the film.
Rank insignia in the opening film were done correctly, despite a few errors in the credits and one inconsistency, due in part to having no previous films to
contradict, but also because those creating the costumes seemed to understand how rank insignia work, and at least attempted to create a system to it that
could conceivably make sense to characters in the universe. While not all ranks were shown or mentioned, more than enough were identified to easily work
out what the other ranks would be, and what their insignia would look like. Imperial ranks and insignia are the most prevalent and important by far, since
a wide range have been seen, and the Empire is a massive organization with standardized uniforms that by necessity must be highly stratified. Rebel rank
insignia are less often seen and their uniforms are more irregular, thus the continuity and logic of the Imperial system is the most important.

The Empire Strikes Back introduced a consistent but seemingly new rank insignia system, a bit reductionist, but certainly coherent. The fact that officers with
the same rank wore different insignia from the first movie has led some of Lucasfilm's "experts" to suggest incorrectly that these rank systems are incompatible,
and therefore they suggest that everything was established in Episode V, and the excellent system put forth in Episode IV should simply be ignored. Others
have suggested that the Empire streamlined or changed its rank structure after the events of the first film, which was a fine theory, but one not which is
supported by other canon material which clearly demonstrate the Empire used both the bar insignia and the block insignia long before Episode IV and
long after. In reality, there is no inconsistency between the ranks and rank insignia in Episode V and Episode IV.

Instead of providing clarity by reinforcing one or both of the earlier films, Return of the Jedi forever complicated the matter, with Rebel insignia largely
absent or enigmatic, having no relation to those of the first two films, and the Imperial insignia completely wrong by any metric, widely claimed to be
a massive costuming error, although other explanations have been offered. Episode IV and Episode V should be considered the most primary and
authoritative voice on rank structure and insignia of all canon, and all subsequent material considered secondary.
The Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars
The rank insignia for the Republic were mostly not seen in the prequel movies, with the exception of a few clone Commanders. No system for the ranks and
their insignia were created as it was deemed unnecessary, but their appearance was meant to be reminiscent of Imperial ranks from Episode IV, and
Rebel uniforms seen in Episode V. The Clone Wars series expanded the clone trooper insignia, as well as the Republic Navy and Army ranks and insignia,
which were likewise intended to represent a natural precursor to the Imperial rank insignia. Unfortunately, despite Lucas, and to a lesser extent Dave Filoni,
usually paying attention to this kind of detail, it's clear that no overarching system was developed. While the insignia shown are largely consistent, and mostly
do seem they could be part of a logical system, there were several mistakes, confusing additions, and a great deal of carelessness. Since most upcoming SW
material is likely to take place in the Imperial era or after, these issues can be ignored as they are unlikely to impact most future shows.
Rebels and Rogue One
The creation of Star Wars Rebels was a perfect opportunity to start establishing Imperial rank structure and insignia behind the scenes. Instead, a superficial
concern for this aspect of continuity similar to that shown in The Clone Wars series was adopted, which would unfortunately become the standard going
forward. Despite the fact that the creators clearly lacked a total comprehension of the rank insignia and organizational structure of the Empire, their efforts in
this series were largely successful. Despite their heavy reliance on the simplified double-row 'block' plaques of Episode V, most of what was done was accurate
and doesn't conflict with the true canon of the original films. Rogue One did by far the best job of attempting to understand and maintain rank continuity, as it
is often the exception when comes to disney SW. The filmmakers created a reference of what was established in the original films and developed their new
characters insignia accordingly. They then extrapolated out what other ranks would look like. They correctly ascertained that the first color in a 'bar' type Imperial
insignia indicates what branch of the military the officer is in, and while they did an admirable job, there were a number of problems with what they came up with.
There are several instances where their chart contradicts itself, and though they correctly identify how intermediate ranks are made by augmenting the color of
tiles at the end, the system they have come up with would contradict visible evidence from canon in some cases. The most significant problems created by this chart
are that naval Commanders are made subordinate to Captains, which is true in many Earth navies but not in the SW universe, and the unnamed officer from
Episode IV later identified as Yularen. This officer wore the insignia of a Major General in the Imperial Army, but was first named and identified by a playing
card game from 1995 as 'Colonel Yularen'. This was an instance of the expanded universe trying to be helpful by acting as supplementary material, but doing so
in a way that doesn't make any sense within what was seen on screen. As such, the Rogue One creators took non-canon information and treated it as fact,
leading the rest of their work to compound the inconsistency into outright error. As a result, the chart gives an incorrect insignia for Colonel Erso. Fortunately,
the correct insignia for Colonels, with 5 tiles instead of 6 was used on his costume in the film. 'Colonel' Yularen has since been retconned as an ISB officer,
allowing a way to convolutedly explain this discrepancy. Nevertheless, the persistent notion that his insignia represents that of a Colonel, which it absolutely
does not, has been the single most significant roadblock to attempts by creators and fans to chart the entire Imperial insignia system.

While their understanding isn't perfect, leading to a series of errors in the credits or supplementary material, their desire to maintain continuity, and efforts
to do so, show their respect for the primary source material of the SW universe. The result of their work was excellent overall, and did contribute to making
sense of rank structure and insignia. Other than Yularen, most of their rank chart could be considered consistent with canon, however there are unnecessary
irregularities which render the system cumbersome and sometimes contradictory. Subsequent disney material has already displayed the limitations of this
system, and unfortunately they have already begun to compound of their errors due to their adherance to this chart.
Legendary Material, "Canon Reference Books", and Other Disney Material
As is often the case with expanded universe material, some of it helps to clarify issues of rank, while much of it adds confusion or complete error. Card games,
computer games, video games, and pre-disney guides tended to be the most helpful, and contributed to identifying the ranks of many non-speaking cast
members from the original films. Many fan guides and other attempts to identify the entirety of the Imperial and Rebel rank structures and insignia were well
done and served to help establish what is known. The biggest failure of legends material to sort out rank was a result of the differing numbers of code cylinders
seen on characters' uniforms. Code cylinders are the clipped-on metal cylinders seen worn by characters in the SW universe, and many guides and other
legends material incorrectly attempted to explain them as part of the rank insignia. Guides and other material created in the disney-era have attempted their
own reboot of the rank system, following the advice of their "experts" who dismiss the clear rank insignia system from the original SW film, which is the most
authoritative piece of all canon. Due to their reliance on Episode V 'block'-style rank insignia, they have correctly discerned that code cylinders are not
part of insignia, and most of their work has thus far been accurate. The time period of The Mandalorian takes place in the era after the Civil War, and
therefore it is conceivable that the remaining Empire is using some modified version of their older rank insignia. Unfortunately, with many new shows set in
the Imperial era on the way, it is unlikely the creators will employ an accurate cross section of ranks and rank insignia. The more material is produced,
the greater the continuity hole is likely to expand, and this once well-developed nuance of a smart and complex universe will be dumbed down. Likewise,
The Bad Batch, Andor, and other disney shows involving the Empire mostly use previously established ranks and insignia, but still contain occasional
errors, some understandably caused by compounding previous errors, but more often caused by still lacking concern for getting this important detail right.

Rank Structure in the Star Wars Universe
Military ranks in the SW galaxy are based on military ranks from Earth history. While the specific ranks used by various organizations differ, the rank structure
is always some modification of the same common rank structure. The rank of Commander is superior to that of Captain, as is not the case in any branch of
the U.S. military, but is certainly common in other nations in history, and in many science fiction series of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The term 'commander' is also
used as a common term for any officer in any position of command, as well as in a more official way as more of a title or job description than as a rank. More
often than not, officers referred to as 'Commander' are simply in command of something, large or small, and are not being addressed by their technical rank.
This is a feature of many non-English Earth languages, as well as a feature of many science fiction universes. Not every group or state in the SW universe uses
all possible ranks, or utilizes the same rank structure, but generally speaking, all derive from a ranking tradition that loosely follows this chart.

While most attempts by SW fans to make sense of the specific ranking systems get much of the rank structure correct, the dismissive way that rank insignia
have been treated by the creators has led to a wide variety of theories, many of which are quite wrong. That is no shame, as even the people making
Rogue One didn't figure it out exactly right, what matters is that they cared enough to try and sort it out. Understanding what has been established
requires breaking down what has been seen and established, figuring out the basics, identifying where the creators themselves got it wrong or didn't care,
and finally using reason to fill in the blanks. Remember, the creators usually took a simplistic or half-assed approach to this, so the reality is that it is less
complicated than it seems. When sorting out the incongruities keep in mind that almost everyone is a 'Commander' regardless of rank, that titles and
ranks are not usually the same thing, and that most of what Pablo Hidalgo has said about ranks and insignia is incorrect and can be easily disproven.

Imperial Rank Insignia
The Imperial military uses two types of insignia, single-row 'bars' and double-row 'blocks'. Imperial insignia bars indicate military branch and rank.
Branch can be identified by the color of the first tile from the left as seen from the viewer's perspective. Blue indicates the navy, red indicates
the army, and gold indicates the operations branch, responsible for engineering, technology, research, and special projects. Seniority is based
on the number of tiles, from 1 to 6, with intermediate ranks augmented by tiles using the color of a different branch. Insignia that have been
seen so far, shown here, are enough to figure out the missing pieces of the single-row bar insignia worn by staff officers. Note: Two of the images
shown here depict members of the ISB, whose rank system is slightly different, as discussed below. These individuals are not part of any military
branch, however since these insignia have been seen used, they are shown here to indicate their equivalent meaning within the military.

The bar insignia are used alongside the double-row block insignia worn by the general staff, unit and ship commanders, and others. Block insignia
indicate command status and assumed rank by appointment, but don't indicate which military branch. Command appointments are necessary for
an integrated military force of galactic scale. Operations often include personnel from different branches, or are led by an appointed officer
regardless of their specific rank. The top row is red, and the bottom row is blue, indicating unified command authority. Officers of the military
government have the top row blue, and the bottom row red, indicating their superior position in the chain of command. Seniority is based on
the number of combined red-blue tiles across, from 1 to 6. The highest ranking insignia (sector command & high command) are augmented
with gold tiles, and their specific arrangement indicates if their position is a military rank, or a rank of the military government. Block insignia
that are 5 or less tiles across function as alternatives to bar insignia. Block insignia which are 6 tiles across are general staff ranks which have
no bar insignia equivalents. Those seen thus far are Grand Moff, Moff, Grand Admiral, Fleet Admiral, and Director. It can also be assumed that
there are at least two other 6 tile across plaques which are known but have not yet been seen in canon, those of Grand General and Marshal.

Take for example the 3 tile across block insignia, worn by officers with a variety of ranks and from a variety of branches. This insignia indicates executive
status for an officer commanding a subdivision of Imperial forces, which may or may not include personnel from different military branches. It also indicates
that the officer carries the authority of the subdivision, which in the case of the 3 tile across block insignia, would be a Squadron or a Battalion.
The officers that may be given the 3 tile across block insignia may hold the actual rank of Colonel, Lt. Colonel, Major, Staff Captain, or Captain in the Army
and Operations branches, or the equivalent ranks of Commander, Lt. Commander, Fleet Captain, Line Captain, or Captain in the Navy branch. These insignia
therefore primarily indicate subdivision, and only approximate rank by conferring the same authority granted to any officer in command of a military
subdivision of that size. This wide variety of ranks and their corresponding insignia, are absolutely necessary for the Imperial military to function.
A military for a single planet, like Earth for instance, requires at least ten commissioned officer ranks, at least several non-commissioned officer ranks, and
a military unit structure necessary for continent-wide theaters of war. The Empire has a few more levels of organization and rank above that of a planetary
military, since it is a galactic-level force, requiring Sector Armies and Fleets, and thus their system must have more complexity, and ranks, not less. Disney-era
Lucasfilm has thus far attempted to dumb down these block insignia to stand for a single rank, ignoring all of the evidence to the contrary and the logic of
military structure in the galaxy developed in Lucas-era supplementary material. Ranks are not simply titles listing one's place in a hierarchy, they are military
terms which indicate of the size of the unit under an officer's command. Brigadier General, for example, is a rank given to an officer with the authority to
command a Brigade. All unseen insignia can be determined for every branch by aligning this rank structure with the insignia which have been seen thus far.

The Navy is the most well represented branch from what has been seen on-screen thus far, allowing an understanding of how subdivisions, rank structure,
and insignia work in a unified system, where insignia progression is linear and based off of on-screen evidence, and subdivisions are commanded by officers
of the appropriate rank. It is unknown if Ensign is an actual rank or if the squad commander insignia is ever actually worn by officers in practice.

The Imperial Army has also been well represented, although there are far more holes than the Navy thus far, especially in the higher ranks. What has been seen,
when compared to the Navy, allows for an understanding the overall structure of the Imperial military. Using the Navy as a template gives us the Army insignia
that are as of yet unseen. The Operations branch, which is the corps of engineers and technical crew for the Army and Navy, and conducts military R&D, is less
often seen on screen thus far. Operations uses the same rank structure and titles as the Army, but uses gold as their primary insignia color, augmented by red.

This same structure and insignia system as seen in the Navy, Army, and Operations, are also used by the Naval Infantry and Starfighter Corps. These two branches
use blue Naval insignia, but use ranks which are based on the titles of Army officers, similar to most naval infantry (marines) and air forces in Earth history. As is
the case with the clone fighter pilots and troops on navy ships of the Republic, it is at best unclear exactly what branch any one group falls under, if they are
independent or not, or if they are separate branches from each other. The Starfighter Corps seen on screen seems to operate some of its own independent
facilities, as well as operating subordinate to the Navy and Army. The branches seem indistinct, but some of their ranks, positions, and unit names are distinct.
They must therefore be considered semi-autonomous, and separate branches. Both branches are noted for their black uniforms, however the black uniforms
aren't necessarily indicative of these branches, as personnel from every branch has been seen to wear them. Black seems to primarily indicate security forces,
such as Naval Infantry, Starfighter Corps, or Intelligence officers of the Army and Navy. White uniforms are also worn by personnel from different branches.

The final component to Imperial rank insignia is the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), which is a state military police with officers who carry political authority.
Added to canon around the time of Rogue One, it has subsequently been used to retcon officers from the original film. The ISB acts as a federal police force
and intelligence agency, and is a paramilitary organization which uses a modified version of the military rank structure. ISB ranks and insignia correspond to
equivalent military ranks in terms of authority, however like many police forces their top-level personnel are Colonels rather than Generals. ISB rank insignia
are based on both blue and red hierarchies, which may indicate different departments, although this is not yet certain. The majority of personnel seen have
used blue based insignia, which would appear to be the standard if not for the prominence of Yularen, who as discussed was never intended to be an ISB
officer when created, and whose insignia is actually meant to indicate a Major General in the Imperial Army. Since they have continued to use this red-based
'Colonel' insignia for Yularen, it must be assumed they use both color chains. The ISB also has role based titles, including Agents, Inspector-Generals, Supervisors,
Attendants, and Officers. The existence of Inspectors can be assumed from this, and as an intelligence agency, it likely also has a Director-General or similar
rank above this. Supplementary material has created the rank of Central Commander at the high command level, but this has not yet been seen on screen.
There would likely be Deputy Commanders at the sector level. The insignia on Agent Kallus' collar seems to be the only unique ISB insignia that has been seen,
which seems to increase along with his rise in rank. Since he is still addressed as Agent, it can be assumed that ISB positions are separate from rank. This is
further shown by Bozeden Jeems, an ISB Inspector-General, having a rank equivalent to Kallus when Kallus was an ISB Agent. It is also clear that the full range
of military insignia are in use by the ISB, as Kallus' insignia would ordinarily indicate Naval Intelligence, and Jeems' the regular Imperial Army.


Having sorted out the inconsistencies, we are left with simple unified picture of Imperial ranks, organization, and insignia. The first chart below shows how
this used to look based on the material that existed in the 20th century, with info from the early 21st century used only to augment. The identification of
the ranks align with those seen in supplementary material produced in the 80s and 90s. This chart also includes top-level ranks that had never seen but which
were discussed in reference material. At this point we had never seen any military government insignia other than Moff and Grand Moff, nor had we seen
any high command or sector level commander from the military other than Grand Admiral. It can be assumed from the Fleet Admiral and Director level
insignia that upper-level plaques are all the same regardless of the military branch. We have never seen a High General, but it or a rank of a different name
equivalent to a Fleet Admiral or Director must exist. The term High General comes from the 1994 legendary publication Imperial Sourcebook, which mentions
it is subordinate to a rank of Surface Marshal. The same book gives the rank of High Admiral as superior in rank to a Fleet Admiral. The Darth Vader comics
have since shown the rank of Grand General with the same insignia as a Grand Admiral. Presumably most of these officers would be chiefs of staff operating
at Imperial military High Command, and who are less likely to be seen in the field. None of these sector or high command level ranks were confirmed in canon
other than Moff and Grand Moff. The second chart shows what disney-era Lucasfilm has decided fits into their new "canon", including their retcons of rank
insignia from the original Lucas trilogy, and as well as those established by Rogue One, Solo, Rebels, and Andor arranged within a complete rank
system. Assuming that future projects continue to stick to simple and established ranks and insignia, and continue to adhere to the Rogue One rank chart,
it is likely that future work will continue to create a growing web of continuity errors. Issues include the modification of the Navy rank structure introduced by
the Rogue One rank chart, where they attempt to retcon Captain as a superior rank to Commander, in contrast to all other material in the SW universe.
Their system also eliminated all intelligence insignia, replacing it with a second Operations branch for the Navy, which confusingly uses the Army's red-based
insignia. There are other minor conceptual changes, however their biggest issue has been their introduction of insignia without consideration for its effect on
the entire system, which shows they don't know what they are doing, or don't care, or both. The entire purpose of a military command structure is to facilitate
an orderly hierarchical system, while this haphazard insignia system creates significant incongruities which ultimately cannot be reconciled.

The current canon Imperial ranks and rank insignia chart takes the established system from the Original Trilogy and subsequent tradition, integrates the updated
information introduced by Episode III, and accepts disney SW modifications that don't cause a breakdown of the system or contradict previously established facts
and their implications. The pre-disney order of Naval ranks is preserved, and all attempts to retcon Lucas-era material are ignored, as are all incongruities
introduced by the Rogue One rank chart. Top-level military ranks from legendary material are preserved unless they become contradictions to canon in
the future. Some details are still not fully established, mostly in the area of possible naming conventions for certain specific ranks, however the range of possible
deviation is limited. What is shown here is the simplest reasonable deduction that fits what has been established on screen and works as a complete system.


Any future material within disney canon would do well to avoid repeating past mistakes and stick to this simple and fully developed system. Recent supplementary
material has suggested heavily that disney SW wants to establish a division between Army Operations and Navy Operations officers. Logically, their insignia should
use the gold tiles of Operations, augmented by blue Navy tiles instead of the red Army tiles already seen on Operations officers in canon material. Disney SW creators
attempted to occasionally introduce Navy Operations using insignia which reverse the Army Operations insignia, using red tiles augmented by gold. That innovation
does not follow the established meaning of the primary colors in both Imperial and Rebel rank insignia, where blue indicates the Navy, red indicates the Army, and
gold indicates Operations. This is what the Imperial rank and rank insignia system would look like if Operations were divided into an Army branch and a Navy branch.


"Commanders"
As discussed, the term commander is the common colloquial term for anyone in command of something. This is not just the terminology of the SW
universe, it is used in the scripts and production material to designate any officer in authority. This is shown with General Bast being listed in the credits
as Commander #1, and while not named or ranked in the film, it is not intended to identify his rank, but rather his function. Other characters referred
to as "Commander" such as Moff Jerjerrod and General Tagge are clearly shown in the credits to have ranks much higher than the rank of Commander.
Due to the informal use of the term 'commander' for officers of widely varying ranks, supplementary material often misidentifies the rank of officers
like Praji, Igar, and Skerris, due to their being called "Commander". Commander is their role, not their rank, in fact only a handful of actual rank
Commanders are seen, while 'commander' is the most widely used Imperial designation in terms of conversation spoken in canon.



Continuity Errors
Return of the Jedi should be essentially considered to be one big continuity error in terms of Imperial rank insignia. This is widely believed to be due to
a costuming error on the set which led to every officer being given the same insignia, and others no insignia at all. Other explanations have been offered,
but despite resistance from those who really want to try and make sense out of all the nonsense, there is really no option but to ignore the mistake and
move on. The fact that it is in error is clearly shown in the case of Admiral Piett, who appears in Episode V with two different correct insignia due
to being promoted during the film. Coupled with the fact that Moff Jerjerrod should have an insignia similar to Moff Tarkin from Episode IV,
and the huge range of officers wearing the same plaque, it's very clear this was either the result of the costuming error it is claimed to be, or was
the result of a lack of attention to the details established in prior films, which seems unlikely as the production of these films was very detail oriented.


All other continuity errors or issues seen thus far with Imperial insignia have come from disney SW, usually due to a superficial or haphazard approach to
rank insignia being taken, similar to The Clone Wars, or due to following the Rogue One rank chart. These series principally rely on safe, firmly established
insignia, but occasionally introduce new insignia that show they haven't considered how this will affect the system as a whole, or don't really understand
how rank structure in a military works. They also have clearly not paid enough attention to the details in the highest level of canon, the Lucas trilogies.
This is most clearly demonstrated in Rebels by Brom Titus, an excellent recurring character who is also a recurring continuity error. When we first
meet him, he is in command of a top-secret star destroyer leading an operation designed to capture Rebel forces. He is referred to as 'Admiral' in
that episode. When he is seen again, he has been significantly reduced in rank and is in command of a repo station. In his final appearance, he says
'I am Commander Brom Titus' and is giving orders on the bridge of a light cruiser, standing next to an officer of significantly higher rank by any
understanding of the Imperial insignia. Disney-Lucasfilm intended that Titus be a member of 'Navy Operations', a previously nonexistent branch of
the Imperial military created by dividing the Operations branch into an Army and a Navy component. The rank insignia chain they have chosen to use
for these 'Navy Operations' officers was traditionally assumed to be that of Army Intelligence, and does not follow the established base colors used in
all Imperial and Rebel rank insignia, as explained in detail later in this article. Even if Titus were in 'Navy Operations', his being called "Admiral" would
still be a continuity error, since his insignia would indicate the naval rank of Commodore, which is the lowest-ranked admiralty rank in a navy, but one
which is always addressed as 'Commodore' and never as 'Admiral'. Since Titus cannot be an Admiral, there is no evidence in actual canon that Titus or
any other officer in disney SW is part of a separate 'Navy Operations' branch. Titus can be better explained as an Intelligence officer, and according to
his red-based insignia he is in Army Intelligence. There is no conflict with an Army officer being in command of a ship or of fleet assets, as this is seen
constantly in SW, for example the Jedi Generals, General Grievous, General Dodonna, and General Tagge. This provides an explanation for his role in
his final appearance which does not cause a second continuity error. Titus must be in charge of various intelligence operations in his appearances,
first an operation to capture rebels, then overseeing the destruction of strategic fighters, and finally some intelligence project related to the Jalindi
hyperspace relay station. The Fleet Commander standing next to him would be therefore the actual commander of the ship, but the mission under
the command of Titus. If Titus were in Navy Operations, there would be no way to explain his giving orders to a significantly higher-ranked officer of
the regular Navy. This explanation solves all issues except his being previously called Admiral, which is a continuity error no matter how it is framed.

The case of the Fleet Commander standing next to Brom Titus is further evidence that Rebels shouldn't always be treated as accurate in terms of
insignia. This officer is an animation template reused repeatedly over the last two seasons of the series, to save money on animation. Officer 'Sideburns'
always wears a 4-tile block insignia, and yet in his first appearance is inappropriately taking orders from a Captain wearing the correct 3-tile block.
This officer may have been killed in that episode, but regardless cannot be Commander Woldar, Thrawn's executive officer, who has the same template
and rank insignia. In this instance, it is correct, as that is an appropriate rank for such an officer, and since his superior is of a higher rank. 'Sideburns'
returns in Season 4, once again not in command, while the ridiculously low-ranked Brom Titus gives orders. They are on a ship which is destroyed
along with an Imperial facility which is commanded by a second 'Sideburns', and although both of these officers are almost certainly killed, 'Sideburns'
amazingly is seen in part 2 of the story, the very next episode, in command of an Imperial cruiser secretly carrying a giant kyber crystal for the top secret
Death Star project. At least now he is in command, and given the importance and sensitivity of the assignment, might actually be wearing an appropriate
rank insignia. Even if one of officers from part 1 somehow survived, there would not have been time, or any logical reason, for them to now be in charge
of the cruiser. Having died three times in that two-episode storyline, 'Sideburns' makes his final unique appearance near the end of the series as an officer
working directly for Moff Pryce who she calls "Lieutenant", which is a definite continuity error. 'Sideburns' is either one incredibly prolific and invulnerable
officer with a passion for taking orders from lower-ranked officers, or the show creators simply figured no one cares or will notice, and took the same
attitude when it came to insignia. The endless reuse of the same template by producers of some episodes is a poor reflection on their attention to detail,
but the way the animators seem to just give the characters some colored tiles for an insignia and decide it's fine shows that the producers don't care
enough to maintain simple points of continuity. The most ridiculous aspect of it is that these characters are usually unnamed, and exist only to give
dialogue with the main characters of the episode. That they would give one an insignia worn by Imperial Generals and Admiralty, when a Captain
with less tiles is standing right next to them giving them orders, can only possibly be the result of not caring, or just not having any understanding
of what ranks are and how they work in a military. The failure of this series to maintain consistancy with itself in terms of rank insignia is impressive.

Rebels also introduces Moff Pryce, whose insignia is a clear continuity error. Moff is a fancy title for the Military Governor of a sector, which
encompasses many starsystems. Starsystems within a sector other than the sector capital planet are led by Governors, Viceroys, or subordinate
ranks of the military government. The large regions of the galaxy that encompass many sectors are governed by Grand Moffs, such as Grand Moff
Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim. The insignia for a regular Moff is not the same, even though both are a type of "Governor." This is the same
show that brought Thrawn into canon, a Grand Admiral wearing a different insignia than the highest Admiral rank seen so far. This insignia
was imported directly from legends, so its appearance is not really consistent with the rest of the system, but nevertheless doesn't cause
a continuity issue. Moff Pryce's insignia was probably made the same as Moff Tarkin because the creators had no idea what the Moff insignia
would look like, and probably assumed the safe thing was just to decide they would make them all the same, like other command assignment
plaques. This does not make sense, as one rank is higher than the other, but is also a violation of canon, as the Moff insignia is seen in Episode III.
At the very end of Episode III, Tarkin is seen on the bridge of a star destroyer with the Emperor and Vader overlooking the Death Star's
construction. In the shot, Tarkin can be seen wearing the insignia of a Moff, the same as his Grand Moff in Episode IV but with five
columns instead of six, with one less blue tile on the top row, and one less gold tile on the bottom row. Two other officers are seen with
insignia that were meant to represent the transitional phase between the Republic insignia and the Imperial insignia seen in the fully
developed Empire. Lucas' The Clone Wars series established that Tarkin was a Captain, and later an Admiral, in the Republic Navy,
so this represents another promotion for him. Supplementary material clearly identifies this appearance as 'Governor Tarkin'.


In The Bad Batch, not only is the transitional phase of insignia thrown out, when Tarkin is promoted to Moff he wears the same insignia as
a Grand Moff, in keeping with their incorrect Moff insignia from Rebels. As such, one must choose to accept the retconned insignia from
these series, and dismiss the scene in Episode III as an ignorable detail, or accept that both of these series have been wrong. This is why
continuity in a connected universe must be paid close attention to, as any material which contradicts the Lucas films should be
disregarded as non-canon. In this instance, this can be written off as a minor detail, however it is wrong, and should be corrected
rather than continued to be used. The Bad Batch has also failed to maintain consistency with itself. Admiral Tarkin was promoted to
Moff by the third episode, and his insignia was adjusted accordingly, but has mysteriously reverted to a Fleet Admiral's insignia for
his last appearance of Season 1. This same incorrect insignia is again seen in Season 2. This error was noticed, and by Season 3 they had
returned to their incorrect Moff insignia which violates canon but is at least consistent. It's really easy to get details like this correct, and
sad that it's so difficult for SW creators to handle their own material. Even their own comics sometimes use the correct Moff insignia.

Andor also fails to pay enough attention to maintain continuity with itself. Much like Rogue One, this series actually did a good job with
rank insignia despite not totally knowing what it was doing, however Captain Vanis Tigo's first appearances in the series include a rank insignia
continuity error. He is addressed as "Captain" in 'The Axe Forgets' (S1E5), and yet he has three blue tiles for his insignia. As a Captain in
the Naval Infantry, or 'stormtrooper corps', he should have four blue tiles, which he is correctly wearing in 'Narkina 5' (S1E8) and subsequent
appearances. This is either a costume error which would have required a reshoot to fix, or it was yet another failure of attention to detail.

Season 2 of The Bad Batch clearly indicates the problem with not identifying continuity errors, since reusing incorrect insignia or creating new
insignia based on incorrect ones compounds the error. Governor Grotton was introduced as part of the Empire's newly installed military government.
The insignia they used for him is the block insignia of a Lieutenant in the regular military, with red tiles on top and blue tiles on bottom. Military
government insignia have red tiles at the bottom, and blue on top, and thus this is obviously incorrect. The reason they chose this completely incorrect
insignia is almost certainly an attempt to maintain continuity with Moff Jerjerrod's incorrect insignia from Return of the Jedi, which was the result of
a constuming error or oversight by which the majority of Imperial officers wear the wrong insignia. This is not the correct insignia for a Governor.

The issues with the insignia for the military government are a sad reflection on The Bad Batch's creators, but the mistakes were mostly understandable,
at least until the two-episode final storyline of Season 2. It appears that this series will follow in the footsteps of other Filoni projects like Rebels
and The Clone Wars, where errors will be compounded and the show will periodically introduce nonsense despite usually getting things right.
In 'The Summit' (S2E15), Moff Tarkin is once again wearing a Fleet Admiral's insignia, repeating the error seen in his hologram in the previous episode
and the finale of Season 1. He calls General Krennic "Commander" in one of the few instances in SW where that title probably doesn't make sense and
is probably meant as an indication of his actual rank. He is wearing the same insignia he is seen wearing in the prologue to Rogue One, which indicates
he is a General in the Imperial Army. Based on his promotion later to Director, as well as supplementary material and logical deduction, Krennic is part
of Army Intelligence, although the insignia for a General is the same for Intelligence and the regular Army. One of the officers serving under Tarkin is
Lieutenant Maylur, introduced in this episode and wearing the correct insignia for a Lieutenant in the Army. Unfortunately, he is seen to be giving orders
to a technician who is wearing the insignia of an Army Captain, which makes no sense whatsoever. Its obvious much of the time that the show creators
really aren't aware how bad at this they are, but one would think they were at least capable of counting the number of tiles on an insignia to figure out
which character had a higher rank. Why is it that sometimes they seem to be close to getting insignia correct, and then obvious errors are introduced?

The Bad Batch follows the Lucasfilm tradition of introducing confusing nonsense regarding rank insignia with the reuse of 'Imperial technicians' who
wear the insignia of a Captain in the Imperial Army. These are probably supposed to be 'Navy Operations' officers according to disney-Lucasfilm's invention
of that branch, who wear red-based insignia even though blue is the color of the Navy and gold is the color of Operations. Nevertheless, it makes no sense
that all of these officers are Captains, and that they are repeatedly seen taking orders from Lieutenants. It is clear that there is little point in trying to make
sense of disney-Lucasfilm's revisionist rank insignia, but it is difficult to understand why they totally ignore the insignia established by Episode III, which
is the highest source of canon as Lucas material and one of the 6 actual SW films. That film showed us Tarkin wearing the correct Moff insignia in the same
time period as The Bad Batch is set, yet they use the one he wears as a Grand Moff, 19 years later. They also ignore the appearance of Navy Captain
Oicunn as a background character at the end of that film, which established that the insignia with 4 blue tiles is one of the Captain ranks in the Imperial
Navy. This error comes from their adherence to the Rogue One rank chart, whose creators failed to take into account the ranks established by Episode III
and ignored the fact that Commander is a superior rank to Captain in all other SW militaries, even in a Navy. Disney material has been using the Commander
insignia to stand for Captain for years, but usually the officer is in charge of a ship, and is therefore technically also a Captain by position rather than rank.
The Bad Batch Season 3 has attempted to canonize their error by stating in dialogue that the five-tile, blue-based insignia with two tiles augmented
red is the insignia on a "Captain's uniform." This is obviously wrong and violates Lucas canon, which cannot be retconned, however it raises the question
as to what disney-Lucasfilm thinks the intermediate Navy command ranks are, including the four and five blue tile insignia already seen on screen.

The officer named Almudin, who appeared in a deleted scene from Solo, would have been a continuity error if that scene had not been removed from
the film. Deleted scenes are semi-canonical material, or at least apocryphal, so while this is not technically a continuity error in canon, it is evidence of
the problems created by adherence to the Rogue One rank chart. Han addresses him with uncertainty and calls him a Moff, to which he responds that
he is a "Commodore." His rank insignia indicates that he is one rank lower than Vice Admiral Motti from Episode IV, which means that his rank
should be Rear Admiral. Either the dialogue is wrong, and he is a Rear Admiral, or the insignia is wrong, and he is Commodore.


Misidentified by Credits
General Tagge's name is misspelled in the credits, and Motti's rank is given as General. Tagge began filming as an Admiral, and early scenes had
Motti as a General. When the scene was changed to adapt to other changes in the script, Motti was made an Admiral, and Tagge a General, but
the dialogue still reflects the older scenes at one point when Motti says to Tagge, "dangerous to your starfleet, Commander". This is not
a continuity error, as every ranking officer can be called a commander in the SW universe, and we have seen many examples of Generals in
command of navy or fleet assets. Nevertheless, none of this was intentional at the time. Motti's full name was later revealed by George Lucas,
and subsequent material has cleared up the ranks of both Motti and Tagge.

Rogue One also contained credits errors, the first of which is Cassido, who the credits identify as a Lieutenant. According to their own
rank chart, they should have called him Captain, but his true rank should be Commander. He is certainly not a Lieutenant. Rogue One
should be applauded for its attempt to solidify the known rank system, but should not be taken as authoritative in the face of contradictory
information, even from within the film itself. If it's not in the dialogue, it's not canon, and that includes the credits when they cause discord.

This same insignia is also seen on Shaef Corssin, the other Rogue One credits issue, in this instance one even the creators recognize.
Corssin was incorrectly listed as a General in the credits. The creators had intended for him to be a Captain, according to their rank chart.
He should be in fact a Commander, as that is a superior rank in the SW universe and corresponds to the insignia he is wearing.


Confusing or Poorly Explained
It is clear that Darth Vader is powerful, he reports directly to the Emperor and most officers of any rank demonstrate complete subordinance
to him. Despite his obvious fear-based authority, his exact position is unclear at best. Legendary universe and supplementary material have
established him as a leading member of Military High Command. His apparent subordinance to Moff Tarkin may be simple deference to
their relationship which goes back to the days of the Republic, and the fact that Tarkin also reports directly to the Emperor. In other scenes,
Vader seems to speak and act as an equal of Tarkin, or at least insubordinate to him. His exact position in the chain of command may be
unclear, but the usual assumption is that he takes no orders that don't come directly from the Emperor, and no one he ever gives orders to
questions him about it. What is also unclear is whether most officers consider him to be a Lord in a legal sense like the position of Emperor,
or are they aware that he is a Sith Lord the way the Separatist Council was of Count Dooku? Both ideas fit into canon, so officers calling him
"Lord" tells us nothing. Since general awareness of the Sith would certainly lead to a number of continuity issues, it seems therefore possible
that Vader was ordained as an Imperial Lord, perhaps the only one, to facilitate his authority. Whether this is the case or not remains unclear,
but certainly the prevailing notion is that Lord Vader was considered second only to the Emperor.
Main Article: Awareness of the Jedi and the Sith

As explained above, the unnamed character from Episode IV now known as Yularen was retconned as a Colonel by non-canon material,
which was then made canon despite being wrong. This can be explained by the retcon that Yularen is actually a member of the ISB, and thus
by association so is the unnamed officer walking beside him on the Death Star. This saves his rank of "Colonel" from being a definite continuity
error, however the other "ISB" officer next to Yularen is wearing a blue-based insignia, and Yularen a red-based one. This is not inexplicable,
however it made it hard for the creators to determine what colors to make ISB ranks, and whatever they came up with after making these
choices would naturally require a confusing or complex explanation. Disney-Lucasfilm has continued to compound its confusion, introducing
Agent Kallus with blue-based insignia, and a background character from Rogue One, Jeems, with a red-based insignia. The series Andor has
attempted to establish blue-based insignia as the primary ISB color, however Yularen himself appears in that show, indicating that the creators
have essentially decided not to worry about his apparent incongruity. Agent Kallus' promotion over the course of Rebels also introduced
a pointless and confusing feature, as his first insignia's blue base was augmented by one red tile as well as one grey tile, the meaning of which
has not been discussed, however when he is promoted his insignia is now augmented by gold. The unexplored nature of ISB departments and
their relationship to these insignia allows the creators to introduce them without having to have decided in advance what they mean. This is
poor craftsmanship, however since it is internal to the ISB it does not effect the larger Imperial rank system. The adoption in Andor of blue
as the standard base color for ISB ranks reinforces Kallus' insignia and provides for the possibility of greater consistency in the future.


As mentioned above in regard to continuity issues involving Brom Titus, disney-Lucasfilm supplementary material indicates that the red-based
insignia augmented with gold, traditionally associated with Army Intelligence, indicates 'Navy Operations' and therefore by extension the regular
Operations branch would be 'Army Operations.' This would be an unnecessary and confusing complication to the system, which undermines
the uniformity and usefulness of the color-based branches, while potentially eliminating the unique insignia chains for Army and Navy Intelligence.
If there is a unique insignia chain for Navy Operations, it should be gold-based with blue augments. It should be obvious even to the confused
continuity 'experts' at Lucasfilm that insignia used by a Navy Operations branch should use a combination of blue and gold, since blue is the base
color of SW naval forces and gold is the base color of SW operations divisions. If gold with red augments equals 'Army Operations' then logically
gold with blue augments would equal 'Navy Operations'. If one wishes to dogmatically accept disney-Lucasfilm's proclamations and retcons as
gospel, Brom Titus and Orson Krennic are actually Navy Operations officers, despite their insignia indicating an association with the Army. However,
they are thus far the only two named characters to fall under this category and none of their activities or statements prove their association with
Navy Operations. They can both be regarded as Army Intelligence officers based on the evidence of their red-based Army insignia and their activities
in disney canon material, which make as much sense, or more, if they are part of Intelligence. Hopefully, disney-Lucasfilm will not attempt to clarify
this on-screen, so their troublesome innovation can continue to be ignored. As shown in the image below, if this retcon is taken as fact, this disrupts
the logical, color-based pattern leaving two mystery branches which utilize blue and gold combinations. If they are later used for Intelligence, or some
other new branch they come up with, it would create a confused system where the color associations for the branches are essentially meaningless.


Rebels may rely too heavily on double row command insignia, but the show also shows their utility. Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster
Grint are in charge of training cadets at the local Imperial Academy on Lothal, as well as handling police concerns around Capital City.
Aresko seems to be Grint's superior officer, as their titles would suggest. This is the nature of command insignia, they are used for
specific command postings, and officers of several different ranks would be given the same command insignia, such as Aresko and Grint.
Aresko should logically be a Major, as Commandant is a military rank equivalent to Major, given to an officer of that rank in charge of
a military academy. Grint must be at least a Captain, and as Aresko's subordinate is almost certainly a Captain. Command postings are
such that the position takes seniority over specific rank, but as they both have the same 'block' command plaques, it is not visibly evident
that Aresko is his superior. Another officer introduced is Baron Valen Rudor, who like Grint and Aresko has a title that adds valuable
complexity, but tells us nothing of his actual rank. It's unlikely that a "vaunted Imperial ace" wouldn't have achieved a rank of Captain,
and based on other SW universe aces, is likely at least a Major. Supplementary material has explained that Flight Baron is an earned title
in recognition of ace status, as in Earth history. This seems to have been the creators' intent, and is accepted unless something in canon
comes along to clarify or contradict this.

As with earlier Filoni projects, The Mandalorian has shown the same reductionist system that relies on 'block' insignia. Thus far everything
seems to be in order, and since this takes place almost 10 years after the last we have seen of the Empire, these Imperial remnants may be
using some modified version of the older rank system. As such, there are no continuity errors, and they have some freedom to introduce
new insignia, but their choice of insignia for Moff Gideon is certainly odd. It's hard to imagine how the two rows of four he wears could be
arranged in any way that makes sense in terms of the other ranks we have seen, and this very well may be yet another example of the lack
of attention to this basic detail we have seen in Filoni projects. If they have a chart this insignia fits into, that would be surprising.


Often Misidentified by Supplementary Material
Khurgee is often identified incorrectly as a Captain, even though he clearly wears the same insignia as General Romodi. This tendency has not
been corrected by material created by the disney-era 'experts'. Praji is often identified as a Commander because he is referred to as "Commander"
by Vader in the film, and as discussed at length, anyone in command is a commander in the SW universe. His insignia and uniform are that of
a Brigadier General in the Naval Infantry, which has the same insignia as a Navy Commodore, but under no understanding of the rank insignia
and structure would his actual rank be Commander. Igar is also referred to as "Commander" by Vader, which like Praji this must be a reference
to his position rather than his rank. Based on the size of the Army force he is commanding, "an entire legion", he should be at least a Colonel,
but should not be a General of any kind, as we have seen that Generals wear double-row 'block' plaques which have 4 tiles across.

Dunstig Pterro was never addressed by name or rank in Rogue One. They certainly intended for him to be a Captain, as the rank chart
generated for the movie lists his insignia as Captain in the Naval Infantry. He wears the same uniform and insignia as three different officers
from Episode IV, all identified as Lieutenants by decades of supplementary material. This association was proven incorrect by Episode III,
where the four tile bar insignia was identified in supplements as indicating the rank of Captain. Disney SW material has pushed forward with
the identification of four tiles of the same color as the rank of Captain. Childsen, Jir, and Treidum are now understandably misidentified by
most reference material, given the decades of legends and supplements which regarded them as Lieutenants.

Disney-Lucasfilm's flipping the order of Commander and Captain in Imperial Navy ranks is not usually a continuity error on screen, however it does often
translate into incorrect identifications in supplementary material. Corssin from Rogue One and Munbrin from Solo were not named or ranked in the films,
but each movie was intending to use the rank chart developed for Rogue One. As a result, both officers were intended by the creators to be Captains, but
since their Commander insignia appear in the film while their ranks are never spoken, that intention should be ignored. As discussed above, Corssin was
unintentionally misidentified in the credits as a General. These misidentifications in the credits have understandably led to common misidentification by
supplementary material. Elk from Andor and Pearce from The Bad Batch continue this trend, as they are identified in supplementary material and in
the credits as a Captain. Like Corssin, they are in fact also Captains, as any officer in command of a starship is a Captain, however all of these officers' actual
rank is Commander, according to their rank insignia plaque. In SW, Commander is always a superior rank to Captain, the opposite of many Earth navies.
In Season 3 of The Bad Batch, this insignia is identified in dialogue as that of a Captain, in what is clearly an attempt to make this error canon.


Rebel Alliance Rank Insignia
The rank system and insignia of the Rebel Alliance are far less complicated than that of the Empire, and yet their lack of uniformity in on-screen
implementation causes nearly as much confusion and error in continuity. The Alliance uses a semi-uniform rank structure where all branches
use the same rank titles, with the exception of the equivalent ranks of Admiral and General. The primary insignia for commissioned officers
in an insignia square, with 1 to 5 dots arranged in a domino-like configuration. Fleet officers wear insignia with blue dots, and Army officers
wear insignia with red dots. Operations officers seem to also wear insignia with red dots. Intelligence officers wear green dots, but officers
identified as Intelligence of the rank of General and Colonel wear insignia with red dots. The high command wears an insignia with 4 red dots
with a blue dot in center, representing their status as joint chiefs. These square insignia are seen in Episode IV and Episode V, as well as
Rogue One, Rebels, and probably future episodes of Andor, and are the only truly coherent system of Rebel insignia established to date.


In addition to the 'domino'-style insignia squares are the field uniform sleeve patches, which are 'tic-tac-toe'-style. These patches were first seen
in Episode V, and again in Rogue One. Sleeve patches are worn by commissioned officers, usually along with their insignia square. Sleeve
patches are the only insignia thus far seen for enlisted officers and personnel, who don't have equivalent insignia squares. Sleeve patches indicate
rank and specific branch of service, using red squares which are augmented by different color squares depending on branch, as well as squares
filled with iconography. Blue and grey are used for combat personnel, and gold and white for Operations personnel. The field uniforms worn at
Echo Base in Episode V also have an additional insignia-like plaque worn on their breast that are mounted on something that may be a device.

Luke is the only example we have seen of an officer wearing a square insignia, a sleeve patch insignia, and the mysterious third insignia-like
possible device. The idea that these are meant to indicate rank is probably incorrect, whether the creators intended them to be rank insignia
or not. While Leia's exact position is ill-defined, she is clearly a leading authority at Echo Base, and yet she has the same arrangement of
squares as a Captain. This would seem to suggest these insignia have more to do with department than rank. This would seem to be confirmed
by Luke wearing a different arrangement of colors when piloting a fighter from when he is on patrol. Ultimately, the real question is why they
would need a third form of insignia. Leia as well as other officers wear only this insignia and neither of the other insignia. Leia being political
and not military that makes sense, but the lack of other insignia on some officers has led to the assumption that they must be rank indicators.
While this is not necessarily true, it's not impossible that they do indicate rank. If we ignore Leia and Captain Solo, who are not necessarily
commissioned officers, it is possible that these insignia indicate rank and department, however if that is true, it seems odd that Leia would
be given the same insignia as a Captain, as she is seen to be superior, or at least equal, in authority to General Rieekan. As they are only seen
at Echo Base, this has not yet become a continuity issue. Whether these are unique to Echo Base or Alliance wide is unclear.


As discussed above, Episode VI is essentially a continuity error in terms of Imperial insignia. The Rebel insignia are also suspect, with some
claiming the domino-style insignia were meant to be included, but were left off. Whether this is true or not, the Alliance has new uniforms,
and only a limited number of officers in dress uniform are seen. The rank insignia seem to be the ornamentation on the collar, and the color
of the collar seems to indicate which branch of the military the officer serves in. These uniforms were later revealed to be the continuation of
a uniform tradition worn by some early Rebel groups, as seen in Rebels. For the sake of continuity, future material set soon after Episode VI
should include the updated dress uniform or some modification based off of it, with or without the possibly missing domino-style insignia.

The mysterious device and/or insignia worn on the breast are once again present, different from Episode V, but similarly don't seem to indicate
rank unless part of a nonsensical system. These must be devices of some kind, unless they are some other ornamentation not related to rank.

This chart shows the Rebel rank structure including insignia we have seen and those which can be inferred. The Captain's sleeve patch has not been seen,
so what is shown is the most logical deduction which fits the established pattern. The issue of Intelligence insignia dots is discussed later in this article.


"Commanders"
The colloquial use of 'commander' as a term indicating role rather than rank can also be seen among the Rebels. General Willard is referred to
as commander by Leia, which is his position in military High Command, discussed below. When Ezra Bridger is made an officer, Commander
Sato tells him he will "lead the mission as Lieutenant Commander". Shortly after Zeb says to him, "congratulations, Lieutenant", showing that
'commander' was not meant to be taken as part of his rank title. A promotion from no rank to Lt. Commander would have been unlikely, and is
not a rank we have seen the Phoenix Cell or other Rebels use in their rank structure. As always in the SW universe, anyone in command of
something may be referred to as "Commander", and often is.


Continuity Errors
Captain Antilles is the commanding officer of Tantive IV, the Corellian corvette seen transporting Leia in the opening scene of Episode IV.
His insignia was the first ever seen in the SW Universe, but was quickly made a continuity error by other characters seen in the film, which
was later confirmed by other canon material. The blue 5 dot insignia is clearly the Fleet version of the red 5 dot insignia of the Army, which
is the rank of General. Coupled with the establishment of the two dot Captain insignia seen in other canon, it is clear that the blue 5 dot
insignia represents the rank of Admiral. In an attempt to explain this away, many have pointed out that Captain Antilles is a legal operative
of the Alderaan Royal House, and that his insignia represents the rank of Captain within the Alderaan security forces. It has also been
suggested that these insignia originated with Alderaanian forces, and were adopted and modified for use by the Alliance due to Alderaan
having been among the most significant contributors to the early Rebel Alliance. These are fine theories, but as this was simply a missed
detail, they are really just a cover. Admiral Hudsol, who was not named or ranked in the film, was clearly a leading member of the Alliance
military. The actors portraying Hudsol and Antilles shared the same costume jacket during filming.

Rex was a clone Captain during the Clone Wars, and once he began working with Phoenix Cell, he was referred to as Captain, either out
of respect for his experience, or in recognition of his earned rank from Republic service, essentially reactivating him to service.
As a military force assembled from irregular sources, what constitutes an official rank commission within the early Alliance is at best
unclear. Is Rex officially a Captain again? Essentially the same question can be asked about Captain Solo in Episode V, is he officially
part of the rank structure or called Captain out of respect for his position as captain of the Millennium Falcon? The fact that he is
a General in Episode VI does not prove this issue, since he was planning to leave at the time. That Rex is still treated as a Captain
is a fair assumption considering that he was recruited as a "leader" and is referred to as Captain. When the Spectres rejoin
the Lothal resistance, Rex goes with them, and is wearing what seems to be a Lieutenant's insignia. What their intention
was concerning this is unclear, but is a continuity issue that is unlikely to be ever be explained.


Misidentified by Credits
Bren Derlin can be seen wearing the insignia of an Army Commander, and is identified in the credits as Major Derlin. As he is not named
or ranked out loud in the film, this should be interpreted as an error in the credits. In this case it does seem they had intended for him
to be a Major, and his insignia was incorrectly pinned on upside-down. A number of sources which reference the Rebel insignia actually
describe Major Derlin's insignia as correct, stating he wears 2 red dots over 1 red dot, and yet there seems to be a shortage of
demonstrative pictures. It could be that his insignia was correctly oriented in a different scene than the one shown here, and that
would certainly prove the error and his rank of Major, but if it exists, it is not readily apparent. It may also appear in some on-set
footage or photographs. Clone Intelligence is still investigating...


Confusing or Poorly Explained
What exactly is Leia's position in the Alliance? As a Senator, she is obviously a political leader and not part of the military command structure.
She was the political leader over the 'group of rebels led by Luke Skywalker' who established their base on Hoth, as described in the opening
crawl of Episode V. Her relationship to the other leadership is not shown, as the other Alliance leaders are at other bases or with the fleet.
The rank of Barion Raner is also poorly explained, despite the typically excellent supplementary material created by the makers of Rogue One.
Raner is described as the executive officer of Blue Squadron, as in second-in-command to General Merrick, but no rank is given. For him to
hold this position and be an enlisted officer would be odd, but also shouldn't be the case, as we have seen another Blue Squadron pilot with
the rank of Lieutenant. He must be at least a Captain, and based on the executive officers of other squadrons, could be as highly ranked as
Major. Why they didn't bother to give him a rank is confusing.

The issue of Rebel Intelligence insignia is certainly confusing. Captain Andor in Rogue One is the first officer directly referenced as being
a member of Rebel Intelligence. He is also the first officer we have seen with what appears to be green dots on his rank insignia. Another
officer with a Commander insignia is seen running around on Yavin IV, who also appears to have a green insignia. Kallus in Rebels is
also seen wearing a Captain's insignia, and is identified in supplements as a part of Intelligence. His insignia seems to be a light shade of
blue, possibly light green, very indistinct. Captain Oquone in Rogue One is in command of a ship and is clearly an officer in the Fleet.
His insignia is blue, not the stark blue seen in the original trilogy, but a light blue that adds an element of uncertainty to Kallus'. It can
be assumed these two or three green insignia are meant to indicate Intelligence, but then General Draven and Colonel Delto are
identified as Intelligence officers. They wear red colored Army insignia, so it would seem that Commander is the highest Intelligence
rank with its own unique color. None of this is need be a continuity error, but it is confusing and ill-defined.


Often Misidentified by Supplementary Material
As discussed above, Willard is referred to as "Commander" by Leia, which has led to many assuming incorrectly that this is his rank, and
consequently also Lajaie, who wears the same insignia. Willard is identified in the credits as 'General Willard', which is his actual rank.
Supplementary material created in the 80s and 90s identified him as General Willard, Commander-in-Chief. As Lajaie wears the same
insignia, and is seen with Admiral Hudsol, General Dodonna, and Leia, in the command center at Massassi Base, it is logical to assume
that he also carries this rank and position. Willard and others may also be in the room but off camera. As their insignia bear the colors
of both main branches of the Alliance forces, there may be other joint chiefs not present at the base, or not shown, and may include
an Admiral or Admirals. It's also possible that members of the High Command and other leadership were evacuated to prevent
a total loss. Supplementary and non-canon material created in the last couple of decades have chosen to minimize and ignore these
officers, in part due to the reductionist tendency of fans who seek to reduce everything in a large and complex universe to the most
famous and popular characters. Many are adamant that General Dodonna must be the supreme commander of the Alliance, simply
because he is seen to be in command at Massassi Base, which at the time of Episode IV, served as Alliance Headquarters.
Other canon has since identified Dodonna as the commander of the Massassi Group, and as base commander, he would naturally be
in charge of the operation to defend it, but that doesn't make him the head of everything. Hopefully, future canon or supplementary
material will revive and expand upon these Alliance Commanders, or others in the High Command.

Bob Hudsol was not named or ranked in Episode IV, and as discussed above, is wearing the same insignia as Captain Antilles, which
was an incongruity at the time that became a continuity error after later canon. He was later named in supplementary material, but
is usually identified as a Commander. This is incorrect, as we have seen the blue insignia of a Commander in the Fleet, and it has only
three dots. Hudsol's insignia is the Fleet equivalent of an Army General, and therefore should be Admiral. This has been confirmed by
other canon, but supplements have yet to correct this Hudsol mistake due to the momentum of material using the incorrect rank.

Ledick Firest was not named or ranked in Episode V, and was not identified in legends or supplements until 1988. He was initially called
only Rebel 'field commander', and then subsequently established as a Colonel and given a backstory. This non-canon ascription of the rank
of Colonel must be incorrect, as his sleeve insignia patch indicates that he is a Major according to the pattern established by known patches.

As explained in the image below, Navander and another Rebel officer from Episode V later named Chiffonage, are unidentified
by the film, and were given names and ranks by supplementary material. One is called Lieutenant, and the other Commander, yet
both wear the same assignment sleeve insignia patch, which as explained above, do seem to indicate rank. Supplementary material
has correctly identified that the gold squares on their patches indicate the Operations subdivision, which is also evident from their
activities on screen. Since they should be the same rank, they could both be Lieutenants, but their patch appears to be the same as
an Army Commander patch, only with a gold square instead of a blue one, and lowered one spot in position. This same color and
position difference can be seen in the Trooper and Technician patches, so it seems evident that these patches indicate that both
officers are Commanders in the Operations branch of the Alliance Army.


Republic Rank Insignia
The rank system and insignia of the Republic were meant to represent a precursor to those of the Galactic Empire, with references
to Rebel Alliance insignia as well. Republic insignia bars indicate rank, and military branch. Seniority is based on the number of tiles,
from 3 to 5, although 2 tile insignia, and possibly 6 tile insignia may also exist, but have never been seen. Intermediate ranks are
augmented by tiles using the color of the other branch. Red is the base color of the Navy, and blue is the base color of the Clone
Army, meant to indicate a precursor to the blue rank insignia worn by the Imperial naval infantry corps, which the Clone Army
will become after the war. It is unclear which color is the basis of non-Clone Army officers, as only one insignia has yet been seen,
and could be an augmentation of either color, but does not fit in at all with the Clone Army insignia.


Ranks we have seen so far, shown here, are enough to figure out what the missing pieces might be, but there are too many possibilities
to determine the simplest model without further information. It is unlikely that creators of The Clone Wars ever worked out
an overarching system, so there is no intent to discern. Basically, they made sure high ranking officers had more tiles, and once
established something, they reused it, although the continuity errors make it clear that they weren't paying much attention to this detail
for portions of the series. Specific episodes attempted to handle these insignia well, particularly later in the series, most notably
the episode 'Orders' (S6E4), which includes a scene where Fives meets a clone he does not know who is clearly a Clone Army officer
in dress uniform, and looks directly at his rank insignia, then calls him 'Corporal', clearly establishing that these bars are rank insignia.


"Commanders"
The colloquial use of the term 'commander' is most troublesome in the Republic era, as Commander is a Clone Army rank which regularly
figures in dialogue. There are other officers whose rank is assumed to be Commander because that is what they are called on screen. It is
difficult to sort out those who are rank Commanders from those who are Captains with the status of commander, since most clones
don't wear insignia on their armor. As such, an individual clone's rank distinction is mostly assumed to correspond to supplementary
material, except for instances of the same officer being called both "Captain" and "Commander" in the same episode.

This is further complicated by clone Commanders sometimes having four dots painted on their armor in the color of their unit to represent
their insignia stylistically, and yet in other material it is used by clone Captains. Since each rank has four square tiles, and the painted
dots correspond to the armor color rather than the color of the tiles, both insignia appear the same when painted on. These dots are
meant to be reminiscent of the dot insignia used by the Rebel Alliance, and are also seen on the sleeve of a clone Navy Captain of a medical
frigate in The Clone Wars S1E3, here colored red as that is the base color of the Republic Navy, but with two dots and a square.


Continuity Errors
The confused efforts of The Clone Wars regarding rank insignia continuity is most obvious concerning the Navy Captain insignia.
Captain Zak wears this insignia in the first episode of the series, a successful establishment of a canon insignia for a rank, and a good
start to build off. A few episodes later, Obi-Wan calls an officer "Commander" who wearing the same insignia, and who is commanding
a couple of other officers wearing the same insignia. Subsequently, other officers in command of ships wearing this insignia are called
"Captain", reinforcing this rank, but are also called "Commander", sometimes in the same episode, suggesting this could be yet another
example of their rank being Captain and thus they are also a 'Commander' by position. It could also be the other way around, as by
naval tradition, any officer of any rank that is in command of a ship is properly referred to as Captain. However, these insignia were
simply made for the first Navy clone templates, and then thoughtlessly reused for most Navy clones, and sometimes inappropriately
for Army clones. Eventually, they are even seen on clones working in prisons and other ridiculous settings, because the creators didn't
pay attention or didn't care. Based on how widely they are used, it would have made the most sense if these were Navy Lieutenant
insignia, however Captain makes sense for most of these clones, as it is not a particularly high rank in SW navies. This insignia cannot
be Commander, as that is too high of a rank for all of these clones to have, and the Commander insignia is presumed to be seen later.


When Wolffe was first shown the same insignia was used, even though he was addressed as "Commander", which as mentioned was
continued throughout Season 1 and beyond, which at the time was less of an issue as the episode took place on ships, and he seemed
to be part of the Navy. It was later revealed that he is the executive officer of Master Plo's 104th Battalion, a Grand Army unit, and
thus his naval rank insignia is inappropriate, regardless of whether it is the correct Navy insignia or not. As an Army officer, his dress
uniform should have an appropriate insignia. This error is further compounded by Ponds, who is seen as an Army Commander
before being seen in his dress uniform while on board a Republic destroyer, where he is also shown with an incorrect insignia. It could
be explained by suggesting that while on board a ship a clone officer carries a different position in the command structure and wears
an insignia that reflects that. This seems incorrect, as clone Army Lieutenants are often seen working on board ships, and many other
examples of Army and Navy officers working together in space or on planets throughout SW. The whole idea of rank structure and
insignia is to facilitate the chain of command in an integrated military where different branches must work together.

The introduction of Captain Silver clearly shows they had little concept of how ranks and insignia work. They seem to have attempted
to diversify the insignia shown, so they reversed the order of the tiles on his insignia. This would have been great, except that he is
wearing the same insignia as a crew member in the same shot, and while it is possible they are both Captains, that insignia has already
been well-established. It could be that they are both Lieutenants, and he is simply the 'Captain' of the ship, however this insignia is
established later in the series as that of a Clone Corporal in the Army. It would be unlikely for two branches to reuse one insignia from
another branch but not others, and to have that same insignia represent ranks that are so disparate as Captain and Corporal. This
would also be the only example in SW of two branches sharing one insignia but not all of the others. It is simply a continuity error.

The Citadel storyline near the end of Season 3 of The Clone Wars was the perfect opportunity to clear up the Navy Captain insignia
issue, with the introduction of Captain Tarkin, a non-clone naval officer. Unfortunately, Tarkin is incorrectly animated wearing
the same insignia as all Republic Admirals, the same rank he would have been promoted to by later in the series. This has to be
the result of not caring, or not paying attention, as there is no way to make sense of these two ranks having the same insignia.

In the final episodes of the series, and several officers with 3 red squares are seen in command positions on a Navy destroyer, one of
which seems to be the ship's commander, and those with the Captain and Lieutenant insignia on the ship are subordinate to them.
Since Commander is a superior rank in SW, and the only other higher rank they could hold which is below Admiral would be
Commodore, this insignia must represent Commander. There is no known example of a clone being promoted to a general staff rank in
either branch of the Republic military, and there would be far too many Commodores on this ship to make any sense. In this series,
it has been definitively shown that a clone in dress uniform's rank can be instantly ascertained by looking at their insignia bar. This new
insignia bar is not a continuity error, rather it is a helpful addition that salvages the system, but that was probably not done intentionally.

The separate but ultimately interconnected issue of the Army Captain insignia was never adressed until the final episodes of
Season 7, but unfortunately what they presented is a continuity error. Captain Vaughn is wearing the insignia of a Commander,
which first appeared in 'A Necessary Bond' (S5E9), where it was introduced in an attempt to show that Cody was promoted in
grade as Commander between then and Episode III, or was itself an error. Whether or not the creators were being deliberate
with this insignia in the earlier seasons, the creators of Season 7 just kept using the same insignia, which was suspect in
the first storyline of the season, but by the end of the series was still in use, despite it now being basically concurrent with
the events of Episode III. It could still be explained that Cody was promoted in the couple of days before he is seen wearing
his Marshal-grade Commander insignia, but that is yet again an example of a highly unlikely explanation having to be invented
to explain why the creators are so poor at rank insignia continuity. Vaughn was given this insignia with no concern for its meaning.

Cody wears the same insignia as he wore prior to Episode III in The Bad Batch, another project by The Clone Wars producer Dave
Filoni. This compounds the issue and undermines the notion that Cody was promoted off-screen between his last appearance
in The Clone Wars and Episode III, thus suggesting that Cody's insignia in The Clone Wars may have simply been another
continuity error. Regardless of that possibility, Cody's rank insignia in The Bad Batch is a definite continuity error.


Confusing or Poorly Explained
The disregard for how any one insignia would fit into the rank structure is most clear in the introduction of Colonel Gascon.
He is identified as part of the Grand Army, which the Clone Army is a part. He boasts in the show of his "inevitable promotion
to B1 Brigadier". This shows that within the Grand Army, officers other than Jedi can be promoted to be Generals, or at least
Brigadier General. Considering the size of Grand Army and the theater of war, it would make sense for the Army to have a large
and complex staff. What is confusing is that his 3 square insignia doesn't fit into the insignia seen used by the Clones of
the Grand Army. Why the Republic has a separate insignia system for Army officers who aren't clones is odd, especially since
the Republic had only a paramilitary force before the creation of the Grand Army based around the clones. It's likely they just
gave him some colored tiles and decided it would be fine, and since he is small it was only possible to give him three tiles
without making them hard to see. As the Jedi Generals and Jedi Commanders in the Army don't wear rank insignia, there
is no basis to compare this to other non-clone officers of the Grand Army. Appo is also confusing and poorly explained.
He first appeared in Episode III, and supplementary material identifies him as the Commander of Anakin's 501st Legion. In
the Umbara storyline of Season 4 of The Clone Wars, set a bit over a year earlier, he is directly referred to as "Sergeant Appo".
This introduces a continuity issue, which need not be considered an error, but doesn't make a lot of sense. Most reference
material claims he was directly promoted to Commander, skipping two ranks. While giving an experienced enlisted-level officer
a battlefield commission is a practice in wartime, it would have made more sense for him to have been made a Lieutenant, and
then a Captain, before such a promotion. If he was promoted to Captain first, why would Rex or another Battalion Captain from
the 501st Legion not have been made Commander by virtue of experience and seniority, rather than promoting Appo to a higher
rank? If they had simply made him a Captain in The Clone Wars episodes, it wouldn't require some convoluted explanation.


Resistance and First Order Rank Insignia
Ranks and insignia in the non-Lucas "sequel trilogy" are like everything else in those films, a mindless and poorly-executed replay
of the original trilogy. One thing that was done well in these films was attention to rank and insignia, which is a poor substitute
for great movies, but does serve to reinforce the rank structure of the SW universe, and help in clarifying the understanding of
the Republic, Imperial, and Rebel ranks and insignia which came before. The Resistance rank insignia, which are stylized versions
of the Rebel 'domino' style insignia, settle some debated issues about Rebel rank and insignia. It reinforces that blue navy insignia
used two dots for Captain and five dots for Admiral in the Rebel Alliance, and reinforces the notion that the Rebels used nearly
all the same titles for ranks regardless of branch. They also successfully identified that Commanders are a superior rank to Captain
in the SW universe, and traditionally lower than a Colonel but higher than a Major.

The rank insignia of the First Order are often harder to notice or identify, but are at least inventive and were worked out in advance.
The First Order uses a combination of uniform color and black cuff titles worn on the left sleeve. These cuff titles are based on similar
bands worn in Nazi Germany which feature the names of historical figures considered to be heroic exemplars of the ideals of their
organization, with those of the First Order written in Aurebesh letters. Top-level officers wear charcoal grey uniforms, Battalion-level
command officers wear teal uniforms, Section-level command officers wear light grey uniforms, and enlisted officers (NCOs) wear
black uniforms. The creators have again correctly identified the place of the rank of Commander, further evidence that attempts
to make Captain a superior rank in the Imperial system are contrary to all other examples in the SW universe.


Continuity Errors
After going to the trouble of getting rank structure figured out in advance, the creators introduced Captain Phasma, a main character
with a rank that seems totally inconsistent with her position and authority. When she is first seen in The Force Awakens she seems
to be in command of an appropriately-sized force for her rank. Later in the same film, she seems to be a leading authority at Starkiller
Base. When seen again in The Last Jedi she is portrayed as a leading officer despite being on the massive capital ship of the First Order
with a enormous crew and troop compliment. Captain is a relatively low rank for her to continue to feature so prominently, but what
truly makes her rank a significant continuity error is her appearances in Resistance. First she is seen giving orders to Major Vonreg,
who should be her superior, and then more inappropriately seems to be the commanding officer of Commander Pyre. It has been
suggested that her title is ceremonial, and that she is understood to be Captain-General. This type of convoluted explanation is mere
after the fact justification. Why didn't they make her Colonel Phasma from the start if they wanted her to be high ranking?


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