 |  |
Rebel command insignia,[1] also known as Rebel Rank Insignia[2] and simply command insignia,[3] were badges of military rank used by officers of the Rebel Alliance military and the later New Republic military. The badges utilized by the Alliance members at the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Hoth consisted of a series of colored pips that were raised from the surface of a square chrome plaque. These badges were usually worn over the right breast of the service uniform. Starfighter pilots were sometimes seen wearing metal or cloth badges of similar design on their shoulders instead.
Parallel to these most distinctive Alliance rank insignias were a totally different style of chest and collar insignia. These insignia were grey, metallic and technical in appearance, and were seen worn by some Army and Special Forces officers.
History[]
The Alliance was in its early years spread across the galaxy and consisted of more or less independent cells. This meant that uniforms, equipment and rank insignias were hard to standardize. Much of the equipment used by the Alliance was donated or by other means acquired from various civil and military organizations. The planet of Alderaan and the Royal House of Alderaan were notable contributors to the rebellion. Many Alliance officers and troopers could be seen wearing the distinct uniforms and rank insignias of Alderaanian forces, even though they were not commanded or lead by Alderaan.
After the Destruction of Alderaan, or perhaps because of it, many units of the Alliance and later the New Republic seemed to favor Alderaanian style rank plaques. Seen across the galaxy and across units, some differences in design and color were present. Even the number of colored pips symbolizing a specific rank could vary from unit to unit. There were many consistencies though. Army and Starfighter officers mostly wore red or golden pips in their insignia, while fleet officers mostly wore blue pips. The general and admiral rank was also mostly shown by 5 pips. The commander rank was mostly shown with 3 pips. A captain could wear insignia with the number of pips ranging from 2 to 5. It must be taken into account that the Alliance, like many other militaries, had a wide range of ranks and functions that could be addressed, regardless of the true rank, as admiral/general, commander or captain.
 General Dodonna |
 General Rieekan |
 Evram Lajaie |
 Major Derlin |
 Echo Base controller - Major |
 General Willard |
 Bob Hudsol |
 Captain Antilles |
 Commander Skywalker |
Shoulder rank plates[]
Shoulder rank plateswere a form of rank insignia that was worn on at least one shoulder of a military uniform. The Rebel Starfighter Corps. officer's uniform utilized shoulder rank plates on the left shoulder of a given uniform. It had two versions, one being used pre-Battle of Hoth, and one for after the Battle of Hoth.[4][5]
The first version of shoulder plates had six rankings, which were identified by the amount of bumps on the plate as well as their placement. Flight Cadets had a blank silver plate, while flight officers had a large gold bump in the center. Likewise, the rank of lieutenant had two gold bumps going up to down. The rank of captain likewise had three gold bumps formed in an upside down triangular shape. The rank of commander had four gold bumps, with each being in the center and all corners except for the upper right corner. Finally, the rank of general and admiral shared the same plate, which was composed of five gold bumps forming an X-shape.[4][5]
The second version was redesigned to have a more patch-like appearance as well as colored borders, and having the gold bumps replaced with dark red bumps of varying sizes, and also had an additional three ranks to before. In particular, a new starter rank was implemented in the form of recruit, which had a silver border. Flight cadet, likewise, had a maroon border, while flight officer had a yellow border. Another new rank, Lieutenant Junior Grade, had a small bump slightly to the right side. Lieutenant largely adopted the same pattern as the previous version of flight officer, with Captain similarly adopting the same pattern as the prior version of Lieutenant. The new rank of Lieutenant Commander had a similar design for the prior version of captain, although the bottom bump is smaller than the two top bumps. The rank of Commander's design was redesigned to have a upward triangle pattern to its bumps. The ranks of General and Admiral retained the same pattern as before.[4][5]
 General/Admiral |
 General/Admiral |
 Commander |
 Commander |
 Captain |
 Lieutenant Commander |
 Lieutenant |
 Captain |
 Flight officer |
 Lieutenant |
 Flight Cadet |
 Lieutenant Junior Grade |
 Flight officer | |
 Flight Cadet | |
 Recruit |
Alternate set of Rebel insignia:
Sleeve patches[]
Many of the Rebel soldiers stationed at Echo Base on Hoth wore cloth grid patterned patches on their right shoulders. These patches were colored differently from person to person, but the majority of the infantry troops as well as the indoor technicians wore the same patches. The book “Star Wars Costumes”, pages 76 and 86-89, list the grid as “rebel insignia patches”. The first column defined Division, the second Brigade, and the third Regiment. Mostly it was personnel of lower rank who wore this kind of insignia. But as exceptions to the rule there were a few officers, even Commander Luke Skywalker, who wore them. Skywalker was the only officer who wore both the standard officer's insignia in conjunction with the cloth sleeve patch.
 A common Rebel trooper |
 Colonel Ledick Firest |
 Rebel soldier |
 A common Rebel technician |
 A soldier in the command center |
 Lieutenant Navander |
Behind the scenes[]
An unidentified commander with 9 pips.
The primary G-canon (George Lucas Canon) sources for the "domino" style of Rebel insignia are Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
The primary C-canon (Expanded Universe/Continuity Canon) sources that have shed light on the Rebel insignia system are the computer games Star Wars: X-Wing, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance and the role-playing game sourcebook The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.
The MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies also implemented an item collection called 'Alliance Officer Rank Collection'. This system appears to be consistent with the one given by Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.[6] It consisted of the following items: Alliance Lieutenant Rank, Alliance Captain Rank, Alliance Major Rank, Alliance Commander Rank, Alliance Colonel Rank and Alliance General Rank.
In the first-person PC shooter game Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, an officer who is addressed as "commander", wears an insignia with 9 red pips. The game is set in the year 10 ABY, which is well into the time age of the New Republic. It is unknown if this "commander" held a high military rank similar to sector commander, or if he was just address to as an officer commanding his forces.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: X-Wing
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (First appearance)
- Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Sources[]
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
- Wanted by Cracken
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition
- Flashpoint! Brak Sector
- Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
