13 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

TBH, I don't recall ever seeing Veers personally piloting anything himself. He may not warrant having piloting at all.

I also thought that all imperial officers had a unified academy curriculum and only had a branch assignment after graduation.

As an ATAT commander, he would be required to know how to operate the machine. That’s standard military doctrine.

25 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

As an ATAT commander, he would be required to know how to operate the machine. That’s standard military doctrine.

Good to know that you are such an expert on the imaginary doctrine of a ludicrously inept and inefficient space nazi army in the galaxy of space wizards.

Actually, I spent four years in the US Army and served in Operation Desert Storm, so I have first hand knowledge of actual military doctrine.

2 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

As an ATAT commander, he would be required to know how to operate the machine. That’s standard military doctrine.

Surely there's a canonical example to prove your point. It follows, sure, but we cannot say with absolute certainty that it is true. The Empire is rife with hubris and weasels that rise to power through means other than merit and experience.

38 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Actually, I spent four years in the US Army and served in Operation Desert Storm, so I have first hand knowledge of actual military doctrine.

I'm not questioning your knowledge of the modern ground pounder's doctrine. You are though, extrapolating your knowledge and assuming that it must be the same for the fictional army of a fictional organization that rewards backstabbing over competence. It's a leap of faith that you don't have any evidence of and yet there are numerous examples of them making very horrid tactical and organizational decisions.

Plus he was an officer. They can't be trusted to do anything competently and would be lost without the enlisted to show them the way.

1 hour ago, themensch said:

Surely there's a canonical example to prove your point. It follows, sure, but we cannot say with absolute certainty that it is true. The Empire is rife with hubris and weasels that rise to power through means other than merit and experience.

41 minutes ago, Ahrimon said:

I'm not questioning your knowledge of the modern ground pounder's doctrine. You are though, extrapolating your knowledge and assuming that it must be the same for the fictional army of a fictional organization that rewards backstabbing over competence. It's a leap of faith that you don't have any evidence of and yet there are numerous examples of them making very horrid tactical and organizational decisions.

Plus he was an officer. They can't be trusted to do anything competently and would be lost without the enlisted to show them the way.

Yes, General Veers was an Imperial officer. However, that does not automatically make him an incompetent suck-up. Look at Grand Admiral Thrawn. Canon actually shows Gen Veers to be a very competent officer and well respected, even by Vader. To quote a passage from his Wookieepedia page:

Quote

A cool and efficient officer,[2] he did not hesitate to put himself in harm's way on the front line, wearing the AT-AT pilot armor.[4] Cunning and capable, he was also devoted to his family. Because of those qualities, he was viewed as a model Imperial officer.[6] An effective and decorated officer, Veers enjoyed the respect of his peers thanks to an impressive record of ground combat.[3]

Although he always seemed very sure of himself when talking to Vader,[4]Veers had learned to tread lightly around the Sith Lord, fearing both the mysterious power he wielded and his volatile temperament.[2] For example, when the general went to see Vader in his quarters, he was not bold enough to interrupt the meditating Sith, but stood quietly at attention until he spoke.[4

So, no, General Veers was not one of the “stereotypical”, arrogant, backstabbing, glory hound Imperial officers we are accustomed to seeing.

3 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

As an ATAT commander, he would be required to know how to operate the machine. That’s standard military doctrine.

Actually...no, it isn't.

General Officers are technically considered to be branchless and able to command anything (hence "general" opposite of specific).

While it's not unreasonable to assume he has at least some experience with ground combat, ideally coming from an armor background considering his role, there's no requirement for it. He could just as easily be infantry, aviation, logistics, intelligence, resource management (budget), anything.

Now it is Star Wars, so for story sake he probably is something like armor or infantry, but he doesn't need to be.

??????????

That’s not why they’re called “General”. Nice one though.

To be clear, though, even Generals have a specific MOS, and most of them are Combat Arms officers.

29 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

??????????

That’s not why they’re called “General”. Nice one though.

To be clear, though, even Generals have a specific MOS, and most of them are Combat Arms officers.

I didn't say they didn't have an MOS, only that there is no requirement for that MOS to match their command. They can command anything. Typically when doling out commands they try and make them match, but sometimes they don't, and they gotta deal. And don't get me started on "holding pattern" commands...

22 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

I didn't say they didn't have an MOS, only that there is no requirement for that MOS to match their command. They can command anything. Typically when doling out commands they try and make them match, but sometimes they don't, and they gotta deal. And don't get me started on "holding pattern" commands...

As a general rule, they do. In fact, I would say that 99% of time they do. I know that the General we had as Base commander at Ft Gordon was a Signal officer, and the one we had the one we had at Ft Bragg was Airborne and likey Combat Arms.

Now, admittedly this involves a little cross-canon, but from the Legends Wookieepedia article:

Quote

He joined the Imperial Academy and, while there, decided to train towards a career in the Assault Armor Division, where he might operate the mechanical behemoths that were the All Terrain Armored Transports.

That sounds like he went directly into training for Piloting (Planetary). rather than Piloting (space).

Now, does that mean New Canon Veers has the same sort of training and skillset? Possibly not. But I feel like this is pretty sufficient grounds. Veers trained specifically to operate AT-AT walkers and similar planetary craft.

The statement is sourced from Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, which is a sourcebook from the old West End Games RPG.