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From: Baidins@UDel-Huey.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Empire Troops
Message-ID: <3376@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Wed, 21-Aug-85 14:49:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.3376
Posted: Wed Aug 21 14:49:09 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 14:06:43 EDT
Sender: daemon@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: Baidins@UDel-Huey.ARPA

    Concerning the Empire hasn't anyone noticed that the Empire's
space fleet and army are filled with incompetents right up the chain
of command, including the Emperor, but not Vader and that the ground
troops are ill-equipped.

    First, the ground troops are worthless. True they have blasters and
armor that todays armies would kill to get, but notice:

      1. No organization better than an armed mob. In the Ewok attack
         the Imperials go charging off into the woods in no order and
         get ambushed one by one.
      2. No hand to hand combat training. In one scene an Imperial gets
         a spear in the back in a vulnerable joint.  If they were
         taught to fight back to back and given reasonable weapons for
         hand to hand like light sabers (they would not even need any
         real proficiency at them) , any Ewok who closes to close range
         is dead.
      3. No hand grenades. Imperial troopers in pit getting slowly stoned
         to death. One hand grenade and the Ewoks would be dead.
      4. Extremely badly thought out fighting vehicles.  Vulnerable to
         mere logs and extremely unstable on rough terrain.  A better
         vehicle would something like the rebel craft used to fight
         walkers in Empire Strikes Back, but larger and more heavily
         armed and armored.
      5. In general no use of high explosives and fragmentation, which
         the troopers in their armor could live through while their lesser
         armored enemies would die.
      6. The officers are not armored which means killing them is easy
         and causes disorganization of Imperial troops.

    Second, general incompetence and lack of initiative at all levels.
In the last movie, the officer goes off into the woods without insuring
the rebels cannot do anymore damage by either ensuring a sufficient 
guard or killing his prisoners(remember no Geneva convention). The designers
of the Death Stars left a small Achilles' heel a clear sign 
of incompetent design.  In Star Wars, letting an 'empty' pod escape
without immediate inspection or destruction is also ridiculous.  Finally,
the Emperor, himself, who must have gotten lax or an incredible case of
hubris, brings the rebel fleet into his grasp only to let it get away.
A better solution would have been the immediate destruction of the raiding
party (remember he gave the rebel spies the real access codes for the shuttle).
Destroying both Luke and Vader at a distance( like blowing the shuttle they
come up on), and giving his fleet leave to blow away the rebels with the
support of the Death Star.

   The rebels are extremely lucky to have such an incompetent army as
opponents, otherwise they would never have won.