Imperial Special Forces

This article is about the Galactic Empire's special forces. You may be looking for the Sith Empire's Imperial Special Forces.

The Imperial Special Tactical Forces was an elite designation of the Imperial Military. Imperial Special Forces had multiple units that fought against the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Special forces members often used berserker rifles.

Description

Independent from the regular Imperial Army, the Stormtrooper Corps was an elite soldier division which developed its own special forces contingent of storm commandos. The Imperial Commando Special Unit were additionally part of Darth Vader's personal 501st Legion of stormtroopers.

The Imperial Army nevertheless had multiple special forces units formed of Imperial Army troopers and land assault troopers, such as the Imperial Hammers Elite Armor Unit, which was designated the 112th Repulsorlift Armor Regiment and commonly known as the "Hell's Hammers." High Colonel Zel Johans's tank unit continued its distinguished service largely using repulsortanks of the Imperial-class despite the rising popularity of All Terrain Armored Transport developed by the Imperial Department of Military Research.^[2] Members of the Imperial Army's Lightning Battalion were special forces personnel who wore nonstandard blue uniforms during their campaign to wipe out the Icarii people.

Most officers of the army's Ghost Battalion special forces were graduates of the Academy of Carida, though First Lieutenant Brazack of the battalion's Second Platoon B Company was an enlisted soldier who earned a field promotion. When High Inquisitor Jerec and his Imperial Star Destroyer, the Vengeance, subjugated Sulon, Captain Thrawn commanded the Vengeance while Major Noda led Imperial Army forces, with First Lieutenant Brazack leading the Special Ops Group.^[1] The Imperial Officer Corps also selected Imperial commandos from among its members.

The Imperial Starfleet had its own naval special forces branch formed of SpecNav troopers, including the Venom Guard who were requested by Moff Sakai to help counter the rebel Reekeene's Roughnecks. Moreover, Imperial Navy commandos dressed in modified stormtrooper armor and served as elite sentinels aboard Star Destroyers. The naval Starfighter Corps had various elite pilot units, such as the Scimitar assault wing and Darth Vader's Black Eight Squadron.

Emperor Palpatine's ideological agency, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR), had its own loyal CompForce embedded throghout the Imperial Military. The Imperial Security Bureau further deployed highly trained tactical units of ISB combat agents joined by ISB stormtroopers who were selected via COMPNOR, ambiguously working outside the Imperial Military's authority. Darth Vader personally used the services of the Noghri Death Commandos, who later served Grand Admiral Thrawn following the Empire's collapse until their revolution with the help of Leia Organa.

History

After receiving direct orders from the Emperor himself, Imperial Special Forces established a head hunter squadron on Corellia with the aim of destroying a secret Rebel Alliance base nearby Talus which culminated in the Battle of Talus.

Before coming an Emperor's Hand, Shira Brie served with Special Forces.

Colonel Davod Jon was in command of a special forces unit prior to the Battle of Endor.^[3]

Darth Vader promised that he would save the Noghri people's poisoned homeworld, and their warriors served the Dark Lord as Noghri Death Commandos in the Empire. Vader later handed Grand Admiral Thrawn command of the Death Commandos, who served as part of Thrawn's forces following the Empire's collapse. After Princess Leia Organa of the New Republic helped the Noghri realize that the Empire had been keeping their homeworld poisoned, the Noghri commandos turned against Thrawn and a number of Noghri defended Princess Organa and her family through the times of the New Republic and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.