Imperial High Command

"Sir, Imperial Command has already contacted us. It's&hellip; it's Lord Vader, sir. He wishes to speak to you. Personally."

- An Imperial officer, to the admiral of the Harbinger

Imperial High Command, also known as Imperial Command, High Command, or simply as IHC, was a command division in the Galactic Empire. The Sith Lord Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn were members of Imperial High Command. It had at least one subdivision, which developed new strategies and tactics as part of the Empire's five-year plans for the Outer Rim Territories. It was led by a Supreme Commander who reported directly to Emperor Palpatine, who created the goals for the Imperial Military, and was briefed daily by the Joint Chiefs, despite that Imperial High Command was structured beneath the Joint Chiefs.

History
"Look sharp, This factory is being honored by a surprise visit from Imperial High Command."

- Agent Alexsandr Kallus, to a group of workers in the Imperial Armory Complex on Lothal

The Imperial High Command was a command division of the Galactic Empire. During his time at the Academy for Young Imperials, while pretending to be a model cadet, Zare Leonis secretly provided information about Imperial Command to the Spectres. According to Minister Maketh Tua of Lothal, Imperial Command was not able to take action against Rebel-sympathizers who had powerful friends in the Imperial Senate.

In 2 BBY, Imperial High Command dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to the Imperial Armory Complex on Lothal to investigate a high rate of faulty vehicles. Thrawn determined that a rebel cell had been sabotaging the vehicles and executed the laborer and resistance agent Morad Sumar during a demonstration on a 614-AvA speeder bike. Following the presumed destruction of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Harbinger by the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader personally contacted the Star Destroyer's admiral.

Behind the scenes
Imperial High Command was first mentioned in the reference book Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide. While its place within the greater command structure of the Galactic Empire has not been fully established in canon, it was said in Star Wars 22: The Last Flight of the Harbinger, Part II that Darth Vader was a member of Imperial Command. The High Command was also briefly mentioned by the Imperial officer Plumestriker in the non-canon 2016 Disney XD television series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures episode "Showdown on Hoth".