Imperial Guards

The Imperial Guard are a small unit of ultra elite troopers, trained from a young age and put through the most dangerous and difficult training available to the Empire, and spend a lifetime in service of the Empire, serving as guards for the Highest ranking Imperial officers. They are seen many times, stationed by the door to the Emperor's observing tower of the second death star, and traveling with the Emperor on his transport shuttle. They are also seen in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, most noticably stationed outside the Emperor's quarters on Coruscant, at which point they attempt to kill Yoda to no avail.

The most noticably features of an Imperial guard are a bright red suit, a small black viewing piece, extending partially across the front of the helmet, and a large bright red staff with a small vibroblade inside it. They are essentially motionless as they stand guard in their positions, only moving when their duty calls for it.

Only the very best and toughest trainees make it, with others either weeded out along the way or killed in duels with each other. The end of Imperial Guard training features a mother of all duels where to trainees fight to the death on a platform suspended over a field of large spikes. Many trainees do not pass this area, with the result obvious.