Academy of Carida

The Academy of Carida was a private, and later state-supported, comprehensive military institution. It formed a triumvarite of elite military institutions along with the academies of Raithal and Corulag. The institution was known by a variety of variations such as Caridan Military Academy and Carida Academy.

History
Founded by Senatorial mandate around 220 BBY as a centralized training ground for planetary defense forces that maintained order across the Republic, the Academy also laid claim to training the Republic Army BBY during the penultimate military conflict of the Galactic Republic. Known then as the Republic Defense Academy, its influence waned in tandem with the Republic's faltering military capability and shift towards increased reliance on the Jedi Order. When the Separatist crisis threatened to divide the Republic, the Academy's administrators and its Caridan governors supported the Military Creation Act, hoping to regain the prestige it once held. The role of the Academy during the Clone Wars is unknown, but presumably it trained non-clone warriors to supplement the flash-trained Clone troopers and elite Clone Commanders

As Palpatine's Empire assumed the functions of the fallen Republic, a large scale military build-up brought the Academy under state control. Renamed the Imperial Military Academy, the Academy became best known as the central training facility for the Emperor's fearsome stormtroopers. As the Imperial war machine accelerated, the compound was expanded to include several other training programs for various branches of the Imperial military. The reputation of Carida became so strong that it became synonymous with military education and was known by many as simply "the Imperial Academy", despite the existence of several major and hundreds of minor state-operated Imperial academies. By the peak of the Empire, it was uncommon for any officer or specialized soldier to have not spent at least one semester at the Academy.

The Academy was destroyed in 11 ABY when Kyp Durron launched the Sun Crusher's resonance torpedoes into the heart of the Caridan system's primary star. The resulting shockwave incinerated all planetary life, with the follow up cracking the planetary shell. Within the two-hour warning period Durron provided, some senior staff was evacuated, but it is reasonable to assume that the majority of the information and personnel of the Academy perished.

Organization
The central focus of the Academy was its training of stormtroopers. While other branches and sister facilities were tied into the stormtrooper training program, every trainee that passed through the gates of the Academy participated in the basic training and field exercises of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps before moving on to their more specialized training. Live fire field exercises provided practical experience as well as the means to test new weapons in combat situations. In fact, every major military equipment firms built facilities on Carida to allow for easier testing and development. For more information on the stormtrooper training program, see Imperial Stromtrooper Corps.

Facilities included:
 * Imperial Military Training Base
 * Carida Star Academy, responsible for the training of new Imperial Starfleet officers and pilots
 * Imperial Navy Command Officer's School, a senior facilities for training prospective ship Captains in advanced naval combat and military command
 * Imperial Engineering Academy
 * Cliffside, a stormtrooper officer's academy
 * Storm Commando School

Campus
Centered at Spinara Plateau and surrounded by dagger-like mountains, the Academy was composed of several impressive buildings that acted as living and dining space, training areas, as well as administrative and Caridan government offices. At the center of the campus is a large citadel with architecture designed to echo the ancient buildings of Coruscant and Raithal, despite its relative youth. Enormous turrets and minarets dot the upper walls of the citadel; the southernmost turret houses the Academy's private HoloNet transceiver.

The campus itself contains facilities for both basic and advanced training. Numerous outbuildings, drill fields, rifle ranges, and storage and training facilities surround the main quadrangles. Decommissioned Imperial walkers are placed along major prommenades as imposing reminders of the Emperor's might.