Stormtrooper (First Order)

"How skilled are your soldiers, General?''" "I won't have my men questioned by the likes of&mdash;" "''They're certainly skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps the Supreme Leader should consider using a clone army?"

- Kylo Ren and General Hux

Stormtroopers, also referred to as First Order Stormtroopers, were the military infantry units of the First Order. With their stark white armor, inspired by older designs utilized by the clone troopers of the Old Republic and the stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire, this new generation of stormtroopers was one of many symbols that the First Order derived from the fallen Empire. Armed with powerful weapons such as the F-11D blaster rifle and SE-44C blaster pistol, they served as the enforcers of the First Order much like their predecessors had done under the Empire. As soldiers they were trained from birth, given unit designations instead of names, and subjected to years of propaganda to ensure their loyalty and obedience to the First Order.

Approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor, stormtroopers fought for the First Order of Supreme Leader Snoke in a conflict against the Resistance. By then they served under the command of Captain Phasma, a veteran officer and a member of the First Order's commanding triumvirate along with General Hux and Kylo Ren. The objective of Phasma's relentless training program was to produce the finest soldiers in the galaxy&mdash;promoting ruthlessness, yet also improvisation on the battlefield, therefore, making the First Order stormtroopers more dangerous than their Imperial precursors.

History
Once the dominant power in the galaxy, the Galactic Empire suffered a catastrophic defeat in the Battle of Endor, resulting in the deaths of its two leading figures—Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. The victorious Rebel Alliance, now known as the New Republic, ultimately forced the shattered Imperial remnants to sign the Galactic Concordance, a formal peace treaty between the ascendant Republic and the fallen Empire. As a result of the accord, the Empire was reduced to a rump state, deprived of its once-vast military and economic resources due to severe disarmament treaties and war reparations.

Unwilling to accept the outcome of the Galactic Civil War, a group of former Imperial officers, nobles and technologists endeavored to restore the Empire to power. In the Unknown Regions of space they established a military junta known as the First Order; from there they began violating the Empire's treaties with the Republic by conducting a vast rearmament program, resulting in the secret creation of new fleets and armies. Through this policy emerged a new generation of stormtroopers; an army of soldiers inspired by their clone and Imperial predecessors, they were taken from their parents at birth and raised to be absolutely loyal to the First Order. Thirty standard years after the Battle of Endor, the First Order's stormtrooper legions were led by Captain Phasma in addition to other notable leaders such as General Hux and the dark warrior Kylo Ren.

Around this time, the First Order was engaged in a conflict with the Resistance —a private military group founded and led by the Rebel hero Leia Organa, members of the Resistance fought to prevent the First Order from restoring Imperial rule to the galaxy. In addition to the First Order's goals, which included the destruction of the New Republic and the Resistance, it also supported Kylo Ren's quest to destroy the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker. To that end, Phasma and an armed force of stormtroopers conducted an assault on Tuanul, a village on the planet Jakku where Ren hoped to gain information pertaining to Skywalker's hidden location. After executing the village leader Lor San Tekka for refusing to cooperate, Ren directed Phasma and the stormtroopers to exterminate the village's entire population. All but one trooper—FN-2187—complied with Ren's order, firing into the crowd until the last villager was dead. The experience of witnessing the First Order's brutality and the deaths of his comrades influenced FN-2187's decision to commit desertion by abandoning his life as a stormtrooper.

The pursuit of Skywalker led Kylo Ren and an armed force of stormtroopers to the planet Takodana where the dark warrior attempted to capture BB-8, a Resistance astromech droid that contained part of the information regarding the last Jedi's location. The stormtroopers assaulted a castle belonging to Maz Kanata during their search for the BB unit, then pursued BB-8 and Rey into the forest where several troopers were killed before Ren apprehended the scavenger. During the battle, FN-2199 confronted the traitor FN-2187, now referring to himself as "Finn." After a brief duel FN-2199 defeated Finn in single combat, only to be shot by the smuggler Han Solo. The remaining stormtroopers ultimately withdrew from the battle on Ren's orders, the dark warrior having discovered that Rey already accessed the information he wanted from BB-8.

Training
"I was raised to do one thing&hellip;"

- Finn, referring to his stormtrooper training

The First Order's stormtrooper training program was designed to produce an army of super-soldiers. As a result, a new generation of stormtroopers was trained since birth to become capable soldiers with a single purpose in life—to serve the First Order. Under the First Order, stormtrooper training involved rigorous combat exercises in addition to a strong emphasis on uniformity and conformity. An army of nameless soldiers, individual stormtroopers were given unit designations.

Although modern stormtroopers were modeled largely on the stormtroopers of yesteryear, combat training for a First Order stormtrooper differed substantially from that of their Imperial precursor. Unlike the Empire, which resorted to the use of numbing routine for its troopers, the First Order's training simulations, live-fire exercises, and sparring practices encouraged stormtroopers to embrace improvisation on the battlefield. They were therefore more effective in battle than the stormtroopers who served as their template. In addition to combat training, all stormtroopers of the First Order received practice in the medical field and were able to treat injuries such as blaster wounds.

Behavioral and personality conditioning was also critical in the training of a First Order stormtrooper. In an effort to control their psychological development, the First Order provided its trainees with a steady amount of pro-Imperial propaganda, resulting in the production of soldiers who possessed absolute loyalty to the First Order. Captain Phasma, the commander of the stormtrooper legions who endeavored to mold the First Order military into the galaxy's finest soldiers, supported this policy by maintaining a constant vigilance against any signs of weakness or disobedience.

Nevertheless, not every stormtrooper was a successful product by the First Order's standards. Though FN-2187 was a capable soldier, he did not possess the same devotion that his comrades felt for the First Order. His lack of zeal for the First Order's cause, combined with his unwillingness to execute unarmed prisoners, led him to doubt his loyalties before ultimately forsaking his allegiance to the First Order. Kylo Ren regarded FN-2187 a renegade, as well as a prime example of a stormtrooper training program which he viewed as flawed. He theorized that a clone army could serve the First Order in a better capacity. However, General Hux remained confident in the collective reliability of the First Order stormtroopers, believing the rogue FN-2187 to be an anomaly in an army of loyal soldiers.

Equipment
"Even a Wookiee can't crush First Order armor."

- Captain Phasma

Members of the First Order's infantry forces wore white armor that was reminiscent of the Galactic Empire's stormtrooper armor, as well as the Old Republic's Phase I and Phase II clone trooper armors. Aside from some aesthetic differences, First Order stormtroopers bore a close resemblance to their Imperial predecessors. To denote rank, stormtrooper officers wore color coded pauldron armor plates.

Regarding functionality, the First Order stormtrooper helmets could filter out smoke, but not toxins. To deal with toxins, a stormtrooper needed to engage one of several special filters, depending on the specific contaminant. Identification was the province of one or two squad leaders.

In terms of armor strength, stormtrooper armor was held in high regard. Captain Phasma once claimed that not even a Wookiee was strong enough to break First Order armor. To keep weight down, most First Order stormtrooper helmets lacked advanced imaging gear, requiring stormtroopers to use separate quadnoculars in the field to provide them with enhanced, multispectral imaging. However, standard stormtrooper helmets were still equipped with integral polarized lenses, communications and targeting systems.

The F-11D blaster rifle was the primary weapon of standard stormtroopers. A successor to the Imperial stormtroopers' E-11 blaster rifle, the F-11D was mass produced and provided to the First Order's soldiers by Sonn-Blas Corporation. In addition to the F-11D, Sonn-Blas also designed the SE-44C blaster pistol as a side arm for the First Order stormtroopers.

Specialized stormtroopers
The First Order incorporated a specialized training program for flametroopers, megablaster heavy assault troopers, riot control stormtroopers and snowtroopers —all variations in the stormtrooper ranks. These specialist troopers were trained and equipped to function in various fields. Additionally, they could also be deployed alongside infantry units, supporting standard stormtroopers in an auxiliary capacity.

Flametroopers wielded an incendiary weapon and were equipped with specialized armor unique to their function. In combat they advanced in conjunction with the standard infantry, utilizing the D-93 Incinerator flamethrower to force enemies out of their entrenched positions.

Megablaster heavy assault troopers were heavy weapons specialists. Armed with the FWMB-10 repeating blaster, they also fought alongside regular stormtroopers in a support capacity.

Riot control stormtroopers were specialist units tasked with enforcing order on worlds within the First Order's domain. Trained in riot-control tactics, they were equipped with betaplast shields and the non-lethal Z6 riot control batons. However, they were also authorized to utilize lethal weapons in situations where rioters could not be contained with non-lethal equipment. Although their primary function was to serve in the military occupation of planets, riot control stormtroopers could also be dispatched on combat missions with standard infantry troopers.

Snowtroopers were specifically trained and equipped to serve in frigid environments, particularly the ice planet that housed Starkiller Base. Their specialized armor and equipment enabled them to operate effectively in freezing conditions. During the construction of the Starkiller, teams of snowtroopers patrolled the frozen world, exterminating indigenous species that were regarded as potential threats to the First Order.

Behind the scenes
Daniel Craig makes a cameo appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens as the First Order stormtrooper who frees Rey from captivity on Starkiller Base after falling under the influence of her Jedi mind trick.

Appearances

 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens novelization
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens junior novelization
 * Han & Chewie Return!