Unidentified Imperial commander (Blockade of Kashyyyk)

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah&mdash;we don't want to have to hurt anyone. That's not what we're here for. But when my men get angry&hellip; I can't always control them."

- The commander, to Mallatobuck

A Human male Commander in the Galactic Empire's military forces helped enforce martial law on the planet Kashyyyk during an Imperial blockade of the world on the holiday of Life Day in 1.5 ABY. Leading a team of two stormtroopers and a technician, the Commander entered the homes of the planet's native Wookiees and searched for ties to the Rebel Alliance. The Imperials arrived at the residence of the Alliance hero Chewbacca, who was away from home, and bullied Chewbacca's family while awaiting his return yet remaining ignorant of his identity. After kicking the trader Saun Dann out of the house and overseeing a search of the residence, the Commander departed when Chewbacca's son Lumpawarrump covertly used a mini-transmitter to broadcast a "return to base" signal to his comlink. Suspecting that their missing Wookiee was a Rebel, the Commander left the stormtrooper B4711 behind to await Chewbacca's return.

Biography
"Investigate the upper area. Check for any Rebel material. Anything to connect this household with the Alliance."

- The Commander, ordering a search of Chewbacca's home

A Human male with brown hair and brown eyes served as a commander in the Galactic Empire's military during the Empire's civil war with the Rebel Alliance. During the Wookiee holiday of Life Day midway through the year 1 ABY, the Commander was dispatched to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk during an Imperial blockade of the planet. Martial law was declared due to suspected Rebel activity on Kashyyyk, and the Commander led two stormtroopers and a technician from home to home in search of ties to the Alliance. Their hunt brought them to a treetop dwelling in the city of Rwookrrorro that belonged to the family of Chewbacca, a prominent member of the Alliance.

The Imperials barged into the home and found three Wookiees: Chewbacca's wife Mallatobuck, his father-in-law Attichitcuk, and his son Lumpawarrump. The Human trader Saun Dann was also present. As the residents cowered, the technician reported that another adult male Wookiee lived in the home; although unaware that Chewbacca was the Wookiee in question, the Commander demanded to know where he was. Dann offered his services as a translator between the Imperials' Basic and the Wookiees' Shyriiwook, but the Commander was only interested in seeing his identification. As he plugged Dann's identification card into a reader, he ordered his men to search the dwelling for any signs of Rebel activity. When the trader's card checked out, the Commander dismissed him from the home, and a nervous Dann&mdash;who was also secretly a member of the Alliance&mdash;covertly turned off a holographic photograph of Chewbacca while claiming to be finishing up his work. When the Commander again told him to leave, the trader displayed reluctance but finally departed due to the added impetus of the stormtroopers' blaster rifles pointed at his chest.

The impatient Commander bid his men to finish their search, but when one of the troopers knocked Lumpawarrump and Attichitcuk out of his way and then pointed his rifle at a furious Mallatobuck, the Commander stepped between them in an effort to prevent unnecessary violence. He ordered Mallatobuck to keep her son quiet, which she did by letting him watch a cartoon about his father's adventures in the Rebellion. When the video caused Lumpawarrump to scream, the Commander investigated, but the young Wookiee quickly changed the screen of his video book to instead display a game. Meanwhile, the technician and one of the troopers tore apart Lumpawarrump's room in their search, and the Commander afterward sent the young Wookiee to clean it up, hoping that it would keep him out of the Imperials' way.

All four Imperials directed their attention to the dwelling's wallscreen when a program began that announced itself as required viewing for all members of the Imperial forces. The program, entitled Life on Tatooine, was a live broadcast of a harrowing night in the life of Ackmena, the nightshift bartender of a cantina in the planet Tatooine's city of Mos Eisley. It was shown with the hope that viewers would be uplifted by a feeling of superiority over the cantina's lowly denizens. Following the program, the Commander's comlink transmitted a "return to base" order, which the Imperials failed to realize had actually been broadcasted by Lumpawarrump via a mini-transmitter. The Commander led his men out the door but left trooper B4711 behind to await the return of the missing Wookiee. When Chewbacca did return, he and his Human companion Han Solo sent B4711 tumbling from the treetops down to the forest floor, and Saun Dann reported to another Imperial officer that the stormtrooper had fled into the woods. The officer believed the lie, and the Wookiees were free to celebrate Life Day without Imperial interference.

Personality and traits
"Finish the search of this house. We have other areas to cover today. You! Take the upper area!"

- The Commander, addressing his men and then losing patience with one of the stormtroopers

The Imperial commander had brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin. He wore prominent sideburns, which were popular with Imperial officers at the time. During his time in Chewbacca's home, the Commander was short with Saun Dann and had little patience for the trader's attempts to interfere with the search for Rebel activity. He displayed a similar temperament to his own men and grew annoyed with their slow progress, adamant that there were other homes to be searched before the day's end. He frequently addressed his men with nothing more than a snap of his fingers.

Although the Commander prevented one of his stormtroopers from firing on Mallatobuck, he warned her not to test the trooper's patience, and subtly threatened her with harm unless she kept a reign on her son, whom the Commander found annoying. Despite being unaware that he was in the home of Chewbacca, the Commander suspected that the missing Wookiee was one of the Rebels for whom he was searching, and acted on his suspicion by leaving B4711 behind after departing from the residence.

Behind the scenes
"Factor in the song by Jefferson Starship, the holographic circus troupe, some ineffectual Imperial antagonists (including the Wilhelm-screaming stormtrooper, B4711), and it's no wonder the Star Wars Holiday Special is accused of having an identity crisis."

- Alex Newborn

The Imperial commander first appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 television feature that was spun off from the original 1977 Star Wars film. He was played by actor Jack Rader. Although addressed only as "officer" in the program, and referred to as "Guard officer" in the fourth draft of the Holiday Special script, he was later identified as a commander in 1995's The Essential Guide to Characters. An "Imperial commander" was included in the Holiday Special as early as its initial story treatment, which features the character at an Imperial base, adamant with his aides that the Starship Musica vessel&mdash;carrying several Rebels&mdash;not be allowed to reach the Wookiee planet in time for holiday celebrations. A guest star, written to be played by actress Raquel Welch, volunteers to sabotage the ship.

Following its only airing, the Holiday Special was almost universally panned. Star Wars author Alex Newborn has credited the Imperial characters as contributing factors to the program's poor finished product, calling them "ineffectual Imperial antagonists" in the midst of a 1970s variety show who helped lead to an overall lack of focus.

In the Holiday Special, the Commander wears three code cylinders in his military uniform and sports a single row of six squares in his rank insignia. According to 2012's The Essential Guide to Warfare, the Imperial Navy restricts the wearing of three code cylinders to Fleet Admirals and the use of six squares to captains, commanders, admirals and commodores. However, the guide's authors did not standardize rank insignia for the Imperial Army; additionally, no source has revealed the branch of the Imperial Military to which the Holiday Special Commander belongs. His uniform's tunic also parts down the middle, unlike the tunics worn by officers in the original Star Wars trilogy which part down the left or right side.

Appearances

 * The Star Wars Holiday Special