Stormtrooper/Legends

Stormtroopers were the elite shock troops of the Empire, fanatically loyal to the Emperor and his New Order. The Imperial Stormtrooper Corps operated independently from the Army and Navy, although both organizations employed stormtrooper units in supporting roles, and answered directly to the Emperor. As with much of the Imperial military, stormtroopers were predominantly male. Members of the Imperial Royal Guard not on active guard duty for the Emperor were circulated through stormtrooper units.

History
The stormtroopers were direct descendants of the clone troopers created from a template of Jango Fett in 22 BBY to serve the Galactic Republic in the Clone Wars. During the time of the Battle of Yavin, Fett's clones were still used for the Empire, although Fett's progeny were heavily supplemented with clones from new DNA sources and troopers recruited in the traditional way. When the Rebel Alliance defeated the Empire in the Galactic Civil War and took over the machinery of galactic government, they terminated the stormtrooper program including the cloning process on Kamino. The Imperial Remnant continued to use stormtroopers in battle until a peace treaty was signed some years after. Following the treaty, stormtroopers became little more than guards and police officers on Remnant worlds, though they fought along with their New Republic and Galactic Alliance contemporaries against the Yuuzhan Vong.

Organization
Stormtroopers have their own command structure, ranking system and support facilities. A Company Commander can give command to any regular officer over any given squad or platoon. Their organizational manners are similar to those of the Imperial Army.

The basic unit of organization is the individual trooper. Each Stormtrooper is assigned a number for tactical purposes and to reinforce the Imperial ethic of uniformity. Troopers are organized into squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments and legions.

It is known that a battalion consisted of 820 soldiers. From that, the relative size of other organizational units may be extrapolated.

Officers
In battle, Stormtrooper officers wore standard stormtrooper armor with shoulder pauldrons to indicate rank. In some situations, pauldrons were replaced with standard rank squares worn over the armor. For non-battle situations, officers wore a black tunic and pants dress uniform including a cap, boots, and gloves, with standard rank squares.

Ideology
In addition to their military role as elite troops, stormtroopers constituted an important part of the Emperor's New Order. Stormtrooper training was accompanied by thorough indoctrination to Imperial ideology, above and beyond what the normal military was exposed to, and stormtroopers were closely associated with the Emperor himself. This was particularly significant in light of the tensions between the Emperor and the Navy. For instance, the stormtroopers deployed to the Death Star were, arguably, largely there to ensure the immensely powerful battle station remained in the Emperor's control. (Darth Vader was sent for a similar purpose.)

Equipment

 * See also: Stormtrooper armor

Weaponry
The BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle was the standard issue weapon of the Corps and one of the most common issued rifles in the Empire. All Stormtroopers, excluding those assigned to heavy or special weapons, carried an E-11 along with a DH-17 sidearm.

Armor
A distinctive white body armor over a sealed black body glove, and in this respect appeared similar to their Clone Wars predecessors. The complete set completely encases the body and typically has no individually distinguishing marking outside of rank. In fact, the casual first-time observer sometimes mistakes the Stormtroopers as a form of battle droid.

It also protects the troopers from very harsh environments as well as projectiles and impact weapons. The armor might be penetrated by a direct blaster bolt, but it will reduce damage from the bolts absorbed significantly. The body glove allows for operation in warm or cold climates, however it can protect the trooper from almost any environment -- from total vacuum conditions to the very extremes in cold and heat for a very limited period of time.

In certain situations however, Stormtroopers will sometimes wear camouflage armor to help them blend in with different environments. The Stormtrooper corps instituted this reform after the embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Endor.

Extra
Some special features include a wrist comlink, a tiny battle Holocam built into the helmet, a Proper Resonator (To open secure doors) built into their armour, or an external helmet light. For extended operations, Stormtroopers carried field backpacks that included a personal tent, five concentrated rations, fifteen water packs, eight blaster power packs and a glowrod.

Specialized Stormtroopers
There were several subgroups in the Stormtrooper Corps with training and equipment for particular mission profiles, generally sorted by the type of environment the trooper will encounter.
 * Sandtroopers: Arid-environment stormtroopers.
 * Snowtroopers: Arctic-environment stormtroopers.
 * Scout troopers: Forest-environment stormtroopers.
 * Spacetroopers: Zero-g/vacuum stormtroopers.
 * Seatroopers: Marine-environment stormtroopers.
 * Blackhole troopers: Agent Blackhole's personal stormtroopers.
 * Storm Commandos: Commando stormtroopers.
 * Hazard Troopers: Stormtroopers with heavy, corrosion/temperature-safe armor
 * Dark Troopers: Droid shocktroopers
 * Radtroopers: Radioactive-environment stormtroopers.
 * Magmatroopers: Volcano-environment stormtroopers.
 * Airtroopers: Specialized air-assault stormtroopers.
 * Swamptroopers: Swamp-environment stormtroopers.
 * Minetroopers: Mine-environment stormtroopers.
 * Tunneling Underminers: Tunneling stormtroopers.
 * Rockettroopers: Stormtroopers with modified armor and jetpacks.
 * Coruscant Guards: Law-enforcers of Coruscant.
 * Shadowtroopers: Cross of Dark Jedi and stormtroopers with cortosis armor and an Artusian crystal on each troopers chest. Fought for the Empire Reborn.

Notable Stormtroopers

 * Davin Felth
 * Flint
 * Kyle Katarn
 * TK-421
 * TK-422
 * TK-5282
 * Rom Mohc

[[Media:Stormtrooper ANH.ogg|Hear a stormtrooper aboard the Tantive IV]] (A New Hope)