This is precisely the sort of subject that is discussed on this author's website, the
Domus Publica.
The
Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition, claims that Imperial ships are organized into lines, squadrons, systems forces, fleets, and the Sector Group; this broadly follows the actual use of the United States Navy's administrative organization into squadrons, groups, numbered fleets, and fleets. The term "Sector Fleet" is frequently used as though it were synonymous with "Sector Group," which introduces some ambiguity into the question; do you mean an actual fleet, or the sum total of Naval assets within an individual Sector? The former requires a greater degree of specificity, as the sourcebook gives details for superiority fleets, assault fleets, bombard fleets, deepdock fleets, and support fleets.
The quoted strength of a Sector Group is given as "at least 2,400 ships, 24 of which are Star Destroyers, and another 1,600 combat starships."
Generally speaking, the chain of command for any given Sailor in the Imperial Navy would run from the Sailor to his or her immediate work station supervisor, to the leading petty officer, to the leading chief petty officer, to the division officer, to the head of department, to the executive officer, to the commanding officer, to the line commander, to the squadron commodore, to the force commander, to the fleet commander, to the Sector Group commander in chief, to the Sectorial supreme commander (i.e., the responsible Moff).
Of course, some authors seem to have no idea what a petty officer is, and certainly not what a staff is. In point of fact, some authors seem to think that enlisted personnel either do not exist, or otherwise that they rather enjoy having a commander who is at one and the same time tyrannical, capricious, murderous, arrogant, and pompous.
The Imperial Sector is governed by the Sector Governor, who is responsible for "administering the sector-wide bureaucracy, which must answer both to the local Moff and the Imperial bureaucracy," according to the
Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition. Although Sector Governors are frequently seen to be Moffs, it is important to note that the one is not synonymous with the other; there are Sector Governors who are not Moffs, and Moffs who are not Sector Governors. The
Rebellion Era Sourcebook states that Sector Governors are elected, whereas Moffs are appointed by the Galactic Emperor's privy council of advisors, and therefore are not subject to electoral check.
Grand Moff is a higher degree within the college of Moffs, with greater rank and presumably additional rights, privileges, and immunities. The title of Grand Moff is often associated with the Government of a Region or an Oversector, two separate Echelons Above Sector; it is possible that the title of "Governor General," which is occasionally seen in such sources as the
Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition or
Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds, may be the Regional elective counterpart to the Grand Moff Governor, just as the Sector Governor is to the Moff Governor.
Grand admirals are especial officers handpicked and appointed personally by the Galactic Emperor himself. They are rather like Emperor Napoléon's aides de camp, being intended to provide an extra and direct level of control over the armed forces, as they can be dispatched to any assignment anywhere in the Galactic Empire, and are ultimately accountable to no one except the Galactic Emperor or his personal representative. Grand admirals are usually seen commanding task forces (Grand Admiral Josef Grunger, Grand Admiral Miltin Takel), overseeing special projects (Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, Grand Admiral Martio Batch), or overseeing matters of especial importance (Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik, Grand Admiral Thrawn). They do not have any gubernatorial function of any kind, as evidenced by Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus's decision to exchange his flag for a Grand Moff's chair in order to govern the Core.
The subject of the Imperial Sector and its relationship with the Region and the Oversector is discussed in the article "
Rattling the Saber."
The organization of the Imperial State is the subject of the article "
All the Emperor's Men," and is a rather lengthy subject, indeed. Suffice it to say that only the Space Ministry, the Ministry of Intergalactic Transit, the Correctional Facilities Ministry, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Land Management are known by name. Only one actual Cabinet Minister, the Lady Chawkroft, Imperial Minister of Corrections, is known by both name and office.
The Imperial Armed Forces have not been treated in any real detail. There have been a handful of references to Army Command, Navy Command, Central Command, the High Command, the Imperial General Staff, and the Navy Department, but no details have been given. For a time, there was even a rather asinine debate over whether the Imperial State even had such a thing as a high command (but then, there have been quite a number of rather asinine debates as regards the Empire and some of its practices – one should never underestimate the power of stupidity when found in numbers, especially when encouraged by self-serving authors and their pet characters).
