Imperial briefing officer

An Imperial briefing officer, also known as a Flight Officer, was an officer responsible for assigning Imperial TIE pilots to their missions, providing tactical analysis of the pilot's role both pre- and post-flight, as well as explaining the various hazards and ship movements they should expect - or should have expected.

In this role he commented on the flight plans that were displayed to the pilots, and was eager to answer personally any questions concerning mission objectives, conditions, warnings and so forth. During missions, he would relay information to the pilots on changes of plan, enemy movements, and suggest targets to inspect, disable or destroy, fulfilling much the same direct co-ordination role as the clone advisers had for clone commandos of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Behind the scenes
The officer is never given a name or character. He is perhaps a game mechanic in order to advance the gameplay. To date, the officer has no historical significance or canonical identity as an individual character in the Star Wars saga.

The officer seems to be a generic "Imperial officer" archetype; his appearance is a typical abstraction in the style of officers known from The Empire Strikes Back, tall, thin, grim, and with a clearly enunciated British accent. He looks like a cross between Lorth Needa, Firmus Piett, and Xamuel Lennox.

In the TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM, he is voiced by Guy Siner. Siner may have been chosen for his proven ability to give an essentially villainous stereotype a humane, and even at times humorous rapport with the player, as he had previously played Lieutenant Hubert Gruber in the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!

His rank badge displays four red squares over four blue squares, with a single code cylinder. This insignia appears identical to that of Major General Maximilian Veers in The Empire Strikes Back, but in canon representations of Imperial rank insignia, the only difference between the insignia of a General and the rank badge of a lower-ranking Major is the width of the badge, with the Major's insignia being packed on a narrower plaque. Some Admirals, perhaps specifically Rear Admirals, may also use the same insignia as Generals.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter