The
Academy of Carida was a private, and later state-supported, comprehensive military institution. It formed a triumvirate of
elite military institutions along with the academies of
Raithal and
Corulag. The institution was known by a variety of names such as
Caridan Military Academy,
Carida Academy, and
Academy at Carida. It was located on the
Spinara Plateau. It was considered a fairly prestigious Imperial military academy, and the planet's high gravity was used to train tougher, more resilient
stormtroopers.
...
The Academy of
Carida existed around
5000 BBY, at which time its logo was inscribed in the
Mascot Moon.
Senatorial mandate around
220 BBY established it as a centralized training ground for
planetary defense forces that maintained order across the Republic, as well as
Judicial ground forces. The Academy was also responsible for training the
Republic Army during the penultimate military conflicts of the
Galactic Republic.
Known then as the
Republic Defense Academy, its influence waned in tandem with the Republic's faltering military capability and shift towards increased reliance on the
Jedi Order. When the
Separatist Crisis threatened to divide the Republic, the Academy's administrators and its
Caridan governors supported the
Militarist senators attempting to pass the
Military Creation Act, hoping to regain the prestige it once held. The role of the Academy during the
Clone Wars was training non-clone warriors to supplement the
Kaminoan-trained
clone troopers and elite
clone trooper commanders.
As
Palpatine's
Galactic Empire assumed the functions of the fallen Republic, a large scale military build-up brought the Academy under state control. Renamed the
Imperial Military Academy, the Academy became best known as the central training facility for the Emperor's fearsome
stormtroopers of the
Stormtrooper Corps, a continuation of its earlier mission during the Clone Wars. As the Imperial war machine accelerated, the compound was expanded to include several other training programs for various branches of the Imperial Service, including the development of a training center for clones that, similar to the Republic's ARC troopers, were bred for greater independence and leadership. Such training included live training supplementing lessons learned through flash instruction. The Academy eventually opened the stormtrooper ranks to non-clones, with a two-year stormtrooper training program well known for its brutality, and thus drawing only the best and bravest army cadets.
The reputation of Carida became so strong that it became synonymous with military education and was known by many as simply "the Imperial Academy", despite the existence of several major and hundreds of minor state-operated Imperial academies. By the peak of the Empire, it was uncommon for any officer or specialized soldier to have not spent at least one semester at the Academy.
During the Imperial years, the Carida Academy's staff and students numbered over 150,000 total. A full four-year course at the Academy would give the Empire an average of 500,000
credits per student.
Before the
Battle of Endor, the Academy was target of an
attack coordinated by Rebel pilots. Only four of them survived the assault, including
Telsij.[SUP]
[1][/SUP]
The Academy was destroyed in
11 ABY when
Kyp Durron launched the
Sun Crusher's
resonance torpedoes into the heart of the
Carida system's primary star. The resulting shockwave incinerated all planetary life, with the follow up cracking the planetary shell. Within the two-hour warning period Durron provided, it is believed that many of the Imperials escaped with much of their equipment.