Navy, Army, ISB and the Secret Language of Uniform Squares
You can spot them from twenty paces on Coruscant’s main drag or right smack in the Death Star’s endless halls: those sharp uniforms, the boots polished to an Imperial shine, and—ah yes—the enigmatic arrangements of colorful squares gracing every officer’s chest. What do they mean? Why does Thrawn get a glitzy gold edge, but stormtrooper captains just swing a row of reds? Set your code cylinders to maximum alert, because we’re about to unravel the wild, wonderful world of Imperial ranks and titles.
Let’s dive into the Empire’s hierarchy, one mysterious blue and red square at a time.
The Squares That Tell All: Why Plaques Matter
First off, those little squares are not there just to jazz up standard-issue gray. They’re called “rank insignia plaques” and yes, Lucasfilm calls them that. Think of them as a military LinkedIn endorsement but way flashier and much higher stakes. One glance and you know who’s got the power to approve your mission or demote you to garbage compactor duty.
Now, the basics:
- Blue squares? That’s Navy, baby.
- Red squares? Army all the way.
- Gold or yellow? That means some next-level political juice—a whiff of Grand Moff, maybe a taste of Grand Admiral.
- And of course, you’ll see the plaques sitting proudly on the left breast, just above those ever-present code cylinders. (Yes, those silver sticks have meaning too, but more on that later.)
This color-coding system made a triumphant comeback in 2024, after years where even Story Group seemed to shrug in confusion. Now, thanks to fresh interviews in Star Wars Insider and the Imperial Handbook: Deluxe Edition, we finally have clarity. No more guessing based on vague Death Star background shots.
Cheat Sheet: The Quick Visual Decoder
Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s how you spot a rank faster than Han dodges questions from Leia:
- One row, two blue – Navy Lieutenant (picture those neat getups on Andor’s bridge officers).
- One row, three blue – Navy Commander (think Andor’s slightly cranky Captain Tigo).
- Two rows: blue over red – Commodore or higher Navy brass.
- Same but flipped, red over blue – Army rank equivalent.
- Three blue, three red, three yellow in a row – Only Grand Moffs dare. Tarkin’s the prototype; others just try to copy.
- All red, no blue – Stormtrooper Corps, front-line officers, no nonsense.
- Six blue, six red (double rows) – Navy Admiral. Thrawn wears this style but swaps most reds for gold because he’s extra.
That’s your routine Empire office politics, squared.
Winding Your Way Through Imperial Branches
But let’s get nerdy. Or, let’s say… “informed.” The Empire, ever obsessed with order, loves splitting its ranks by service branch:
Imperial Navy (Blue Is Boss)
- Ensigns start with 2 blue squares, no frills.
- Lieutenants add a red beneath, but not always—cruiser assignments and whatnot.
- Navy Commanders strut three blues.
- Captains sit high with 3 blue over 3 red, same as Commodores, but Commodores get more code cylinders.
- Admirals? Try 6 blue over 6 red (yes, it looks intimidating). Add gold edge for “High Admiral” status, mostly ceremonial but sure to impress at officer mixers.
- Grand Admirals top the charts at 6 blue over 6 gold, with the legendary stark white uniform. Thrawn wears this like a warning flare—don’t miss it in Ahsoka.
Imperial Army (Red Rules Supreme)
- Lieutenants rock 2 red and 1 blue.
- Captains notch things up to 3 reds, 1 blue.
- Colonels look sharp with 3 red over 3 blue.
- Generals accelerate from 4 red over 4 blue (Brigadier), up to 6 over 6 for Grand General. Hemlock flexes this in The Bad Batch—pay attention to the gold shoulder boards, by the way.
- Pro tip: The Army’s roster is tough to track sometimes, because planetary garrisons like to get creative with their squares.
Imperial Security Bureau (ISB: Where Rules Get Bent)
Now, ISB officers play by their own subtle rules. Unlike their Navy and Army buddies, ISB uniforms come in power-white, and the plaques tend to parade blue tiles with a vengeance.
- ISB Lieutenants: three blue and that’s that.
- ISB Majors: five blue and nothing else.
- ISB Colonels: two rows, three blue over three red (matches Army styling but keeps its own flavor).
- The ISB Council Chair rocks a rare combo: six blue, three red, and a gold bar wafting at the bottom, though some sources say it might just be for concept art hype. (We’re still hunting an official on-screen sighting.)
Political Maverick: Moffs and Grand Moffs
Let’s not forget the governors and overlords running entire sectors. Moffs? They like to customize. A typical Moff flaunts a Navy or Army admiral’s pattern—plus a sector code, sometimes wedged underneath or beside the main plaque. Nobody tells a Moff how to accessorize.
Grand Moffs? That’s the style icon route: one massive nine-square bar, three blue, three red, three yellow. Tarkin basically kicked off this fashion trend. Others, like Grand Moff Randd, followed suit in Rogue One. The Senate may be toast, but rank plaques? They never go out of style.
The Grand Vizier, though (shoutout to Mas Amedda), skips plaques altogether. Instead, he opts for that twinkly Kyber necklace. He doesn’t need squares. He has the Emperor’s ear.
Ready for More Plaque Action? The Hierarchy Beckons
Now we drift upward and outward:
- The Emperor sits alone, no plaques—nobody outranks Sheev, squares or no squares.
- Grand Vizier and the Ruling Council handle the bureaucracy. Still, they sit beneath Grand Moffs (sector rulers) when it comes to crushing insurrections.
- Grand Admirals and Grand Generals answer only to Grand Moffs—except when the Emperor flicks his wrist.
- Running down the line: Admirals, Generals, Colonels, down to Lieutenants and, of course, the rank-and-file.
This system isn’t just for show. A Grand Moff trumps a Grand Admiral in a heartbeat, despite similar honorifics. Politics rules the Imperial playground, so military bigwigs always play second fiddle to the real power brokers.
Modern Canon Woes: Legends Versus Now
Tangled up in old RPG books or twenty-year-old wiki charts? Don’t blame yourself. After the 2014 canon reset, lots of plaque patterns went into hyperspace. Only in the last few years, with Andor, The Bad Batch, and the new Essential Guide to Warfare, has Lucasfilm nailed things down.
Blue’s always Navy, red’s always Army, yellow/gold’s back in style at the top. Costume designers get the final say, and they now confirm (thanks, Shawna Trpcic’s 2025 commentary) that Thrawn’s gold edges are inspired by Chinese “Mandarin squares”—not the fruit, the Qing dynasty badges. Real-world trivia: OG costume legend John Mollo literally used Lego blocks to design Tarkin’s and Tagge’s plaques, a nugget finally confirmed in his diaries at the 2024 London exhibit.
What About Those Cylinders? Bonus Geekery
Cylinders clipped into those breast pockets aren’t just for show. According to the Imperial Handbook Deluxe Re-Issue, the number signals the officer’s specialty. Two cylinders per pocket usually means command roles (cap ships, sector coordination). Extra cylinders? Maybe comms or intelligence. The official Edge of the Empire 2E Rulebook (yes, we checked) breaks this down for the roleplay crowd hungry for canon accuracy.
Lightning Round: Fan Myths Blasted
- “Blue means engineer.” Nope—Navy, always.
- “Thrawn’s plaque is a mistake.” False. Rebels, Ahsoka, and new animation all match the latest guidebooks.
- “ISB ranks are random.” Wrong again! Check any boardroom in Andor or the new Imperial Sourcebook art.
Talk Show Can’t-Miss: Spotting Squares in Modern Star Wars
Andor Season 2—yes, you can actually freeze-frame the ISB’s colonel-level plaques. They’re meticulously designed. In The Bad Batch S3, Hemlock’s gold-trimmed squares show off the Army’s top shelf. Grand Moff Tarkin’s plaque in Rogue One? A precise bar of blue, red, and yellow to absolute perfection.
Insider tip: As of May 2025, the upcoming “Behind the Helmets” Disney+ feature promises a whole bonus short just about plaques. Wild, right? Watch for costume designer breakdowns, plus some spicy set gossip.
Saluting the Empire—No Square Left Behind
Now, the next time a friend asks “Wait, isn’t Thrawn’s plaque just a bundle of blue?”, you better believe you’ll have the answer. Those stripes and squares are the passwords to power, the shorthand for survival under Imperial rule. Spot them on Ahsoka’s officers, match them with your Andor Blu-ray collection, and strut your own knowledge at Star Wars trivia night.
Just remember: in the Empire, even fashion is a chain of command.
So next time you watch an Imperial patrol, don’t just eyeball the blasters—count those colored squares. It’s more fun than a Death Star firing solution and, hey, way less deadly. May your own uniform always have the right number of tiles. And if all else fails? Fake the salute, act busy, and hope Lord Vader isn’t watching.
