Imperial Admiralty

The Imperial Admiralty, also sometimes called the Admiralty Staff or the Admiralty Office, and unofficially known as the Naval Command, was the department of the that was responsible for fleet deployments as well as policy, operational, and long term strategic planning. It was one of the senior command agencies in the, ultimately answering to the central. The formal chief of the Admiralty, who held the title and rank of Lord High Admiral, served as the professional head of the Imperial Fleet under the authority of the and his.

History
The agency was founded in 19 BBY as a replacement for the Republic Admiralty Board, which essentially performed the same role in the as its successor would for the Empire—being responsible for operational and strategic planning, along with coordinating activities with the government and the. Before the the body mainly served in an advisory role to the  as a war council, with its functions being largely symbolic and ceremonial. However it was expanded greatly at the outbreak of the war against the by Supreme Chancellor. The Admiralty Board then took a much more direct role in managing the and received broader authority over its operations, while still continuing to advise the head of state on naval affairs. In 21 BBY, it received the new official name of Admiralty War Staff, although most continued to refer to it as the Admiralty Board or just "the Admiralty". Rykus Castellan, appointed as the chief of the Admiralty in 21 BBY, remained in that position for the final years of its existence.

With the creation of the Empire, it was officially renamed to Imperial Admiralty, and the newly promoted Lord High Admiral Castellan was given the task of "Imperializing" the former Republic Navy as well as putting down and various other insurgencies. Those were the Admiralty's main functions in the early years of its existence. In 17 BBY, by which point most of the Separatist insurrections were put down, it functioned as the Navy's administrative management and oversaw the expansion of the Fleet. Those were its main functions, though it occasionally organized responses to particularly significant rebellions and uprisings, up until the emergence of the and its reformation into the  in 2 BBY. At that point the Imperial Admiralty returned to a war footing.

Organization and structure
Upon its establishment in 19 BBY, the Imperial Admiralty consisted of the following departments which were assigned different areas of responsibility:
 * Operations – Operational and strategic planning.
 * Intelligence – Fleet intelligence gathering and analysis.
 * Engineering – Maintenance and research for ships and other technology.
 * Supply – Support and rear-line functions.
 * Mobilization – Recruitment and training.
 * Administrative – Legal and economic matters.
 * Security – and  affairs.
 * Special – Special operations.

Each department was usually led by an admiral or vice admiral, who answered directly to either the Lord High Admiral, the Chief of the Admiralty, or his deputy, the Vice Chief of the Admiralty. The vice chief usually held the rank of fleet admiral and served as the second-in-command or assistant. The Lord High Admiral was technically subordinated to the Chief of the High Command Office, but in practice usually answered directly to the Emperor or, the Supreme Commander of Imperial Forces.

In 2 BBY, at the beginning of the, some reforms were made to the internal organization of the Admiralty, which then came to consist of the following staff departments:
 * Naval Warfare – Planning of operations and distribution of naval forces.
 * Naval Command – Supply, intelligence, training, ground defense, and other support roles.
 * Naval Weapons – Research and testing of various kinds of weapons, including new ships.
 * General Navy – Legal, economic, financial and other administrative matters.
 * Construction – Worked with the government and shipyards to oversee warship construction.

The top structure remained basically the same, except the Vice Chief's official title was changed to Second Lord of the Admiralty.

Finally, in 3 ABY the Admiralty underwent its third and final major restructuring around the time of the to streamline the departments even further.
 * Naval High Command – In charge of strategy and tactics, overseeing operational command of the Navy, and planning. Answered directly to the Emperor and Darth Vader.
 * Naval Cabinet – Primarily tasked with personnel matters, such as the promotions to senior officer ranks and positions. Also oversaw training and recruitment.
 * Naval Office – Performed the functions of a ministry, essentially managing legal, economic, logistical, and other administrative tasks. Also served to advise the Imperial government on naval affairs.

The chiefs of the three departments were given different titles. The head of the high command became the Fleet Commander, the head of the Naval Cabinet became the Adjutant General, and the Naval Office head became the Naval Secretary. All three remained subordinated to the Lord High Admiral and his deputy, the Second Lord.