Rebel Alliance Rank Badges

[Aureo Harvey]

Rebelcommand insigniaProduction informationTypeMilitary rank indicator plaquePhysical and technical specificationsStructureMetal or cloth badge embossed with colored pipsUsage and historyAffiliationAlliance to Restore the RepublicAlliance of Free PlanetsNew Republic[Source]Rebel command insignia,[1] also known as Rebel Rank Insignia[2] and simply command insignia,[3] were badges of military rank used by officers of the Rebel Alliance military and the later New Republic military. The badges utilized by the Alliance members at the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Hoth consisted of a series of colored pips that were raised from the surface of a square chrome plaque. These badges were usually worn over the right breast of the service uniform. Starfighter pilots were sometimes seen wearing metal or cloth badges of similar design on their shoulders instead.

Parallel to these most distinctive Alliance rank insignias were a totally different style of chest and collar insignia. These insignia were grey, metallic and technical in appearance, and were seen worn by some Army and Special Forces officers.

The Alliance was in its early years spread across the galaxy and consisted of more or less independent cells. This meant that uniforms, equipment and rank insignias were hard to standardize. Much of the equipment used by the Alliance was donated or by other means acquired from various civil and military organizations. The planet of Alderaan and the Royal House of Alderaan were notable contributors to the rebellion. Many Alliance officers and troopers could be seen wearing the distinct uniforms and rank insignias of Alderaanian forces, even though they were not commanded or lead by Alderaan.

After the Destruction of Alderaan, or perhaps because of it, many units of the Alliance and later the New Republic seemed to favor Alderaanian style rank plaques. Seen across the galaxy and across units, some differences in design and color were present. Even the number of colored pips symbolizing a specific rank could vary from unit to unit. There were many consistencies though. Army and Starfighter officers mostly wore red or golden pips in their insignia, while fleet officers mostly wore blue pips. The general and admiral rank was also mostly shown by 5 pips. The commander rank was mostly shown with 3 pips. A captain could wear insignia with the number of pips ranging from 2 to 5. It must be taken take into account that the Alliance, like many other militaries, had a wide range of ranks and functions that could be addressed, regardless of the true rank, as admiral/general, commander or captain.

The MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies also implemented an item collection called 'Alliance Officer Rank Collection'. This system appears to be consistent with the one given by Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.[4] It consisted of the following items: Alliance Lieutenant Rank, Alliance Captain Rank, Alliance Major Rank, Alliance Commander Rank, Alliance Colonel Rank and Alliance General Rank.

In the first-person PC shooter game Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, an officer who is addressed as "commander", wears an insignia with 9 red pips. The game is set in the year 10 ABY, which is well into the time age of the New Republic. It is unknown if this "commander" held a high military rank similar to sector commander, or if he was just address to as an officer commanding his forces.

As in real life, there's a difference between an Army rank of "Captain" (an officer between Major and Lieutenant rank), and Navy rank of Captain, who is a commander of (star)ship of ANY actual military rank or seniority - e.g Solo was a Captain in ANH (of Millenium Falcon), as was Needa (of Imperial class Star Destroyer).

Airen Cracken was a Colonel from EU info (details shown here, but seems to be confiemed by Kenner toy), and was in a deleted scene on a Falcon during battle of Endor in ROTJ. BUT, he was uncredited according to IMDB, and I can't find any script or novelization confirmation of him or his rank. And Leland Chee seems to think he was a General in the first place! (see below for blog link)

Admiral Ackbar commands entire Rebel Navy/Fleet. That is quite an appropriate rank for someone in his position. He's also the pre-eminent strategist and tactitian in the Rebellion, and probably their most talented naval officer at that time.

As for "not very difficult", we only have 1 named and known admiral in original trilogy (Ackbar), and 4 named and known Generals (aside from Solo and Clarissian, we have Crix Madine and ESB's General Rieekan) and presumably some unnamed generals serving as Ackbar's staff (novelization mentions their existence but not names or even count)

One thing to note with the movies - particular by RotJ - the rebels have been fighting a while, and their forces have grown to a considerable fleet and army. The use of brevet type appointments wouldn't be unusual - similar to the Second World War, were many officers were rapidly elevated in rank, and then restored to their pre-war ranks as the army demobilised.

The Empire gets colorful rank badges, but the Rebel Alliance has their own militaristic flair in The Empire Strikes Back. They sport somewhat similar badges, with just slightly different hues. Thingiverse user Jerware came up with a 3D model of the badge and made it available on Thingiverse:

The Rebel Alliance (known formally in-universe as the Alliance to Restore the Republic) is an organization that features in the fictional world of the Star Wars franchise. The Alliance is portrayed as a stateless coalition of rebel dissidents and defectors who oppose the Galactic Empire and its authoritarian rule. Its stated goal is to restore the liberal governance of the previous Galactic Republic, which had been dissolved after its leader Palpatine seized absolute power and declared himself emperor. It is the main protagonistic faction of the original Star Wars trilogy.

In the Star Wars universe, the Rebel insurgency conducts covert operations on Imperial garrison worlds, utilizing a stateless strategy in conjunction with wolfpack-guerrilla warfare against the Imperial fleet throughout the galaxy. Capital ships are portrayed as having no place in the Rebellion, as they are described as expensive to build, maintain, and to keep fully crewed. The Rebellion is portrayed as far too limited in both manpower and resources to justify putting so much of both into a giant target. The Galactic Empire, on the other hand, is portrayed as capable of always fielding greater numbers and greater firepower. Being able to hit high-valued targets and get out is therefore depicted as being much more important to the Empire. While the Empire labels all dissenters and rebels as extremists and terrorists in Imperial propaganda, the Alliance is depicted and portrayed in various Star Wars media as a group of resilient freedom fighters, based on tolerance, self-empowerment, and hope for a better future using insurgency weapons and tactics.

Note: All dates in this article are in the BBY/ABY format. This is a fictional in-universe dating system centred on the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV: A New Hope in which the first Death Star is destroyed. BBY is Before the Battle of Yavin; ABY is After the Battle of Yavin.[1]

The earliest possible origins of the Alliance to Restore the Republic are told during the events of Revenge of the Sith. In deleted scene 2 called "A Stirring in the Senate", a group of six Senators including Padm Amidala, Mon Mothma and Bail Organa meet in the latter's office to discuss ways to counter the already unjustified extraordinary powers of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine "subverting the Constitution" as the Clone Wars were waning, with Mothma stating their goal was "preserving democracy within the Republic". Amidala was initially skeptical of Palpatine's evil intentions because he had supported her during the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo (The Phantom Menace, 32 BBY), but Organa and Mon Mothma announced the formation of an anti-Palpatine 'organization'; the six Senators agreed to a pact of silence. In deleted scene 3 titled "Seeds of Rebellion" (in Amidala's apartment with two new Senators joining the group), it is explained that the Delegation of 2000 disgruntled Senators will present a petition to the Chancellor. Amidala was more willing to oppose Palpatine now, but wanted to involve the Jedi, at least Anakin Skywalker. However, aside from one Senator agreeing, the others doubted whether the Jedi Council would be loyal to the Republic or the Chancellor, and opted to wait.[note 1][6] Amidala died in premature childbirth not long after her last-ditch attempt to prevent Anakin's fall. In The Imperial Handbook, Grand Moff Tarkin related that most members of the Delegation of 2000 were arrested; Mothma and Organa retained their Senatorship by remaining outwardly obedient to Palpatine, while secretly leading the unification of disparate bands of insurgents into what they termed the Rebel Alliance.[4]

The Disney series Rebels depicts the development of the rebellion against the Galactic Empire beginning five years before A New Hope (5 BBY) and fourteen years after the fall of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order in Revenge of the Sith (19 BBY).[7] The show focuses on a motley group of rebels (all of whom have been affected by the Empire in one form or another) that banded together aboard a freighter starship called Ghost.[7] They called themselves the Spectres and were led by Hera Syndulla.[8] By the end of the first season, it is revealed that there were various clandestine cell systems that were resisting the Empire, such as Jun Sato's Phoenix Squadron.[8] Senator Bail Organa (along with his wife, queen Breha Organa) of Alderaan and former Jedi Ahsoka Tano both play a pivotal role in coordinating these splinter cells into a legitimate threat capable of challenging Imperial rule.[8] Funded primarily by the Royal House of Alderaan, the alliance began to allocate resources towards a united front against Imperial rule.[8] The Spectres and Phoenix Squadron were later integrated into the Massassi Group based on Yavin 4, which by Rogue One (1 BBY) and A New Hope (0 BBY) was commanded by General Jan Dodonna.[8] One last important rebel cell that later became part of the Rebel Alliance was the Mon Calamari Exodus Fleet, commanded by Admiral Raddus and Admiral Ackbar, formed out of civilian spacecraft during the Imperial occupation of Mon Cala in 18 BBY (1 year into the Empire, 18 years prior to the Battle of Yavin).[8][9]

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