From: General Nasda, ISB
Subject: Imperial Recruitment
Following the defection of the Imperial Army infantry units of Wazta (see Imperial Communique #2734.19g), an unspecified number of Imperial Navy vessels and their crews have deserted. This spate of defections to the Rebellion must stop. We cannot continue to allow Rebel sympathizers to enter Imperial service for the sole purpose of undermining morale.
At the same time, unexpected losses suffered by Imperial forces engaged against Rebels in the Yavin system have highlighted the need to increase the rate of Imperial recruitment. You will personally ensure that your recruitment and training procedures are brought into line with the following directives.
Recruiting: Recruits for any section of the Imperial services must have a high level of loyalty to the Empire. In light of recent desertions, we can no longer rely on troops or officers whose loyalty is in any way questionable.
You will therefore cease to recruit on worlds which have been subject to Imperial bombardment or planetary assault in the last 10 standard years. Worlds which have a history of liberal or independent traditions are also to be avoided as these worlds are known to be breeding grounds for the Rebellion.
Recruiting drives shall be directed on worlds known to be loyal to our glorious Emperor. The worlds forming the Imperial Core still provide the best and most able recruits. These shall continue to form the majority of our officer pool, their beliefs in genetic superiority making them ideally suited for command.
The next recruiting area is those worlds which border the Imperial Core, and which are not proscribed under the directives above. Here, a life in the Imperial services can be presented as glamorous and exciting. Recruiters should represent the military as a chance for candidates to improve themselves and develop long and full careers in the Imperial forces. Emphasis will continue to be placed on the benefits to be gained from the services: travel and adventure, learning valuable skills, opportunities for promotion and command, and the respect to be gained from serving the Empire.
Other valid areas for recruitment drives are the frontier worlds. These worlds should be carefully scrutinized prior to recruitment, as a small number of them are known to be sympathetic to the Rebel cause. Do not overlook these systems as a source of officer cadets.
Primitive worlds should continue to be scoured for recruits as these people make excellent assault soldiers. Their lack of technological knowledge is more than offset by the ease with which they can be indoctrinated. These troops are highly expendable, and this should color your recruitment accordingly.
Screening: In order to ensure that only the best are recruited, you shall continue to maintain stringent entry requirements. The need to find more recruits is not an acceptable reason for lowering the quality of those recruited. Recruits must be physically fit, brave, intelligent (may be waived in the case of certain infantry regiments), and loyal.
Initial screening will continue to be carried out by Screening Officers at Imperial Recruitment Offices. Checks will be conducted into potential recruits' background, school reports and home life. Screening Officers should determine why candidates wish to join, and if they wish to apply for officer training.
Instruct your personnel to watch for any Rebel connections or family members with known Rebel sympathies. Candidates who fail to match the preliminary requirements should be rejected. However, suspected Rebel infiltrators should be encouraged to join and the ISB informed immediately.
Those candidates who pass initial screening (including suspected Rebels) will be sent to Training Centers where the candidates will be given further medical examinations and assessed for their intellectual capacity. Retina scans will be carried out and matched against available records.
Policy of Assignment: Initial procedures will have determined which services and branches applicants wish to join. Where possible, recruits should be posted to their chosen positions. Where screening tests show that recruits would be better suited to another branch, this should be implemented as soon as possible. Remember that personnel cannot leave the service before their contract is fulfilled, but dissatisfaction with an assignment has been shown to have a detrimental effect upon morale.
To the less intelligent recruits, the infantry divisions should appear to be glamorous, making their transfer to the infantry seem a logical and beneficial progression.
Stormtrooper units will continue to be formed in the standard manner, and therefore fall outside of your jurisdiction. However, the Empire is always looking for people with high aptitudes and initiatives to undergo specialist training. The files of any recruits who match this criteria should be forwarded to Imperial Command.
Indoctrination: While the loyalty of our recruits should be high, initial training shall serve to further increase this loyalty. The anarchic viewpoint of the Rebel Alliance shall be stressed along with the Rebels' disregard for law and order. The Empire is the only force in the galaxy which actively promotes stability and peace. Our troops are engaged in a noble crusade against the forces of disorder, and every trooper should be aware of this. By the end of basic training, recruits should willingly die for the Empire.
The great size and strength of the Imperial war machine should also be stressed, along with the belief that each recruit has an important contribution to make. Unit morale is very important, and personnel should feel that their individual unit is the best there is.
Any inquires regarding this communique should be addressed to the ISB.
