Ranks

Officer Cadet

Officer cadets have no rank cylinders because they are in training and are not assigned to any post. They do not need security access.

Ensign

This is the lowest officer aboard a Navy vessel. A midshipman or ensign is a young officer who has just finished his academy studies and is taking experience on an active warship. Status as a working officer would require the possession of at least one rank cylinder. Distinguishing an ensign from the superior rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant requires the possession of more than one cylinder.

In some contexts, the term "midshipman" may also refer to an officer trainee in an academy, but such a person is never called an "ensign". The insignia of ensigns and the cadet type of midshipmen are traditionally the same.

Acting Sub Lieutenant

A naval acting sub-lieutenant is equal in status to an army second lieutenant. Superior to a midshipman, but still quite junior in naval officer ranks. Verbally addressed as simply "Sub-Lieutenant" without use of the "Acting" prefix. Sometimes known as a "Junior Lieutenant".

Lieutenant

A naval Lieutenant is not of sufficient rank to command a capital ship but may supervise a section of a ship's operations. The rank of Lieutenant is distinguished from the lower level of Sub-Lieutenant by the number of rank cylinders. The higher rank has fewer cylinders, as with the insignia of captains and commanders.

Lieutenant Commander

The naval rank of Lieutenant Commander is equivalent to the army rank of Major. The insignia for a lieutenant commander or army major is higher than a naval lieutenant and lower than a commander. When expressed in the standard form, the naval Lieutenant insignia is the highest possible rank with only two red squares. Therefore the standard-form Lieutenant Commander insignia must have three reds. To distinguish it from the higher rank levels of naval commander and captain, the number of rank cylinders must exceed two.

Commander

A commander may command major sections of a capital starship's operation, without being sufficiently senior to command the entire vessel. A commander may be given command of a warship of modest size, or a fixed facility like a naval depot or space station. The immediate subordinates and closest aides of a ship's captain will be of Commander rank.

Captain

There are two types of Navy captain: a ship's captain and a captain of the line. As the title suggests, a ship's captain has command of an entire warship, though some officers of equal rank serve as aides to admirals or dignitaries like Lord Darth Vader. In general though, a staff position holds less prestige than command of a vessel, no matter how small or antiquated the ship may be.

The insignia of a captain is distinguished from that of a commander by the number of code cylinders. A captain has one rank cylinder, whilst a commander has two.

Line Captain

This rank is marginally senior to that of an ordinary ship's Captain. A Line Captain (or "captain of the line") commands a naval line. A line is the smallest Navy element consisting of more than one ship. The number of ships in a line is roughly dependent on the size and firepower of the ships. A line of light warships will generally have more ships than a line of heavy warships.

Commodore

The higher rank of Rear Admiral (equivalent to an army Major General) is known to have one cylinder, therefore a commodore must have two or more cylinders. A commodore is in equal in status to an army brigadier.

A Commodore commands a squadron, which consists of several lines. Without direct orders from a Moff or higher authority, a squadron is usually the largest naval force to be stationed in a single system.

Rear-Admiral

Rear-Admiral is equivalent in rank to a Major General in the Imperial Army. This rank is not assigned a particular level of naval force in the Order of Battle (at least according to the incomplete and imperfectly-reliable intelligence gathered by rebel spies). Under normal circumstances an officer in this intermediate rank will effectively act as a commodore, but with seniority over actual commodores

Vice-Admiral

This is another intermediate rank, like that of Rear Admiral.

Admiral

An Admiral commands a systems force and may also be referred to as a systems admiral. A systems force is responsible for maintaining control and security over a region which contains dozens of inhabited star systems.

Fleet Admiral

A fleet admiral commands a Fleet and usually answers to no authority other than the appropriate Moff, Grand Moff or Grand Admiral. A fleet may see combat anywhere within a sector. The fleets of a particular Sector Group therefore have overlapping domains. This is the lowest level of command at which transfers between sectors can be made.

High Admiral

High Admiral is the being who commands a Sector Group, the sum total of all naval forces available within a particular sector of the galaxy. In most sectors the Moff holds this title. Occasionally the High Admiral may be a separate individual, for a variety of possible miscellaneous reasons. Presumably the multiple Sector Groups under the command of a Grand Moff may each have a High Admiral.

Grand Admiral

There were twelve (or thirteen?) Grand Admirals at any time (though the total might be greater if we consider attrition and replacement). Each is directly appointed by the Emperor and directly responsible to him. There is no higher authority within the Imperial navy, and only a proxy from the Emperor, like Lord Vader, can command the Grand Admirals. Grand Admirals do not have any political territory; their sphere of duty is the Empire as a whole. It is reasonable to assume that most Grand Admirals are associated with High Command on Coruscant, or else patrol the whole galaxy as Lord Vader does. Grand Admiral Thrawn, the thirteenth person appointed to this rank, spends many years completing secret missions for the Emperor in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. Grand Admiral Thrawn never wore code cylinders in any illustration seen to date. It has been suggested that several Grand Admirals perished aboard the second Death Star.