Stormtrooper/Legends

"The Empire can always use more mindless automatons."

- Darth Vader

Stormtroopers were the shock troops of the Galactic Empire, loyal and answerable directly to Emperor Palpatine. Like Imperial-class Star Destroyers, stormtroopers served as reminders of the Emperor's power, extensions of his will, and a method of keeping the Empire's thousands of star systems in line through fear.

Formed into the Stormtrooper Corps, stormtroopers operated alongside Army and Navy units, as well as independently, although their common placement on Naval ships occasionally referred to as "marines."

History
"The clone troopers, now proudly wearing the name of Imperial stormtroopers, have tackled the dangerous work of fighting our enemies on the front lines. Many have died in their devotion to the Empire. Imperial citizens would do well to remember their example."

- Emperor Palpatine during the Declaration of a New Order



While potentially inspired by the faceless Sith troopers of the ancient Sith Empire, the first stormtroopers were clone troopers that survived the Clone Wars. Renamed by Palpatine's Declaration of a New Order, these clones of Jango Fett were immediately supplemented by three new stormtrooper clone batches grown in the Outer Rim Territories. Lacking the guidance of the Jedi Generals, stormtroopers were "cut loose" to brutally enforce the new Imperial doctrine, quickly building a reputation as merciless, destructive and endless in number.

By the time the Galactic Civil War began in earnest, Fett's progeny were heavily supplemented with clones from new DNA sources and troopers recruited in the traditional manner; non-clone stormtrooper recruits had first been introduced in 9 BBY. Despite this influx of new trooper sources, the ranks remained exclusively Human: a blatantly visible sign of the New Order's High Human Culture.



For twenty three years, the stormtroopers suffered few known large scale defeats; that changed at the Battle of Endor. An "entire legion" of Palpatine's best troops, supplemented by a unit of stormtroopers, suffered an unexpected and embarrassing defeat. Despite superior numbers, advanced weapons, and superb training, they were defeated by a small Rebel Alliance force and Ewoks, small and seemingly insignificant natives of Endor that Palpatine naturally overlooked as less than a minor threat.

The stormtroopers were caught completely by surprise; and in their arrogance, they began to break rank and divide into small groups to hunt down the Ewoks. This allowed the Ewoks to systematically wipe out each small group of stormtroopers one by one. When news spread of not only Palpatine's and Vader's deaths, but also the defeat of the mighty Imperial stormtroopers against a small band of Rebels and a relatively primitive race on a backwater forest moon, various worlds took advantage of the situation and rebelled against the Empire's military. With the death of their master and their reputation in shambles, the once proud and glorious stormtroopers fell into a long decline that they would not truly recover from for more than a hundred years.

The Imperial Remnant continued to use stormtroopers in battle until the Bastion Accords was signed some years after. However, they suffered extremely high losses. 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 Federation of Free Alliances contemporaries against the Yuuzhan Vong.



Stormtroopers would also be used by other Imperial groups including the Second Imperium and the Empire of the Hand. Grand Admiral Thrawn used the Spaarti cloning cylinders hidden in the storehouse of Mount Tantiss to clone stormtroopers for his future armada of Dreadnaught-class cruisers. This was discovered after comparing genetic statistics of the bodies of Imperial troops found on Katana after the Battle for the Katana fleet.

While the Imperial Remnant slowly regained its former strength, Palpatine's ideals of Human male superiority began to die with him. Eventually, leadership of the Imperial Remnant began to become more open-minded, with little to no regard for Palpatine's prejudiced views, as it had been one of the primary causes of numerous rebellions that gradually brought the Galactic Empire to its knees by the New Republic and many internal struggles between Imperial warlords for the now empty throne.

As of 130 ABY, stormtroopers were serving in Emperor Roan Fel's Empire, though by this time, the Stormtrooper Corps had become a mixed-species organization&mdash;due in part to the inclusion of nonhumans into the ranks of the 501st Legion, itself still in operation at this time. By this time, even females were allowed to serve as stormtroopers. The Imperial stormtroopers returned to prominence when they fought against the Galactic Alliance forces in the Sith-Imperial War, and aided in the Massacre of Ossus.

Ironically, the re-conquest of the Galaxy by the New Galactic Empire, thanks in part to the thousands of dedicated and loyal stormtroopers, was short-lived. Seven years after Darth Krayt usurped the Imperial throne, Emperor Roan Fel re-surfaced and captured Bastion itself, relying soley on Imperial loyalists such as the 501st Legion and the 908th Stormtrooper Division. As of 137 ABY, the Galaxy was once again engulfed in turmoil as various stormtrooper units took sides between the usurper Darth Krayt and the true Emperor Roan Fel.

Recruitment
"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"

- Princess Leia Organa to a disguised Luke Skywalker during her escape from the first Death Star

If a man between the ages of 18 and 30 scored in the top fifth percentile, an Imperial recruiting agent would contact him and presumably arrange DNA sampling for cloning. Men who didn't score that high were still wanted as regular soldiers. Also, it was preferable if stormtrooper recruits met a certain standard in height and weight. Princess Leia Organa was familiar with these standards by 0 BBY.

Organization


The Stormtrooper Corps was not directly tied to the Imperial Army, and maintained its own command structure, ranking system, and support facilities. Stormtroopers were loyal only to the Emperor, and only followed orders from Army and Navy personnel at their discretion.

The basic unit of organization was the individual trooper. Each stormtrooper was assigned a number for tactical purposes and to reinforce the Imperial ethic of uniformity. Troopers were organized into squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments, and legions. A company commander could give command to any regular officer over any given squad or platoon. A single battalion consisted of 820 soldiers&mdash;whereas a battalion of Galactic Republic clone troopers was comprised of only 576 men.

As of 130 ABY, the stormtroopers were apparently part of the Imperial Army, although the individual stormtrooper units remained elite forces.

Officers
Stormtrooper officers were traditionally non-clone graduates from the Imperial Academy. In battle, commissioned stormtrooper officers wore standard stormtrooper armor with rank insignia to indicate status. Non-commissioned officers were identified in the field with shoulder pauldrons instead of the standard rank squares worn over the armor. For non-combat situations, officers wore a black tunic and pants dress uniform, including a cap, boots, gloves, and standard rank squares.

By 137 ABY, it appears that the ranking system used by clone troopers at the beginning of the Clone Wars was in use again.

Ideology
"Now, that's a picture, isn't it? The Emperor's stormtroopers setting the example for good manners. Like arming protocol droids with blasters."

- Han Solo



In addition to their military role as elite troops, stormtroopers constituted an important part of Palpatine'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.

However, despite the death of both Palpatine and Vader, the ideology of the stormtroopers proved to be one of the few lasting legacies the last Sith Lords of the order of Darth Bane left behind. Despite their substantial losses in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and the fracturing of the Empire, the Imperial leaders well understood that the only way the Empire would continue to exist in one form or another, the stormtroopers could not be allowed to slip into oblivion as the Emperor and Darth Vader had. Shortly after the Empire broke apart, desperate times called for desperate measures. In order to re-fill the depleted ranks of the Stormtrooper Corps, women and aliens were finally admitted to serve as stormtroopers, thus resulting in three significant outcomes: the virtual end of High Human Culture, the end of the Stormtrooper Corps as the exclusive province of male Humans (ironically just as it had happened to the once pure Jango Fett clone army), and the gradual decline in the use of clones as birth-born recruits, Humans and nonhumans alike, became the majority and new source of stormtroopers. This new tradition, far more enlightened and liberal than under Palpatine's oppressive reign, continued onward as of 137 ABY, where it is unknown if clones (especially those of the Jango Fett stock) were still created to serve as stormtroopers. Throughout this entire time, even during the point when it seemed as though the Empire was on the verge of total destruction, the ideology of the stormtroopers as the greatest military force in galactic history was never forgotten. They were a testament to the might of the Empire, the legacy of Kamino's greatest creation: the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Empire's way of bringing order and peace through force of arms.

Nicknames
Members of the Rebel Alliance SpecForces had several terms for stormtroopers, including plastic soldiers, plastic boys, toy soldiers, whitehats, bucketheads, and snowmen. SpecOps agents additionally called them the boys in white while Alliance Intelligence used the term busy to describe the presence of stormtroopers.

Weaponry
"Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi



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. Before these blasters were designed, the first stormtroopers used DC-15A blaster rifles and DC-15S blasters. The blaster was largely based on the DC-15 blasters used by clone troopers during the Clone Wars, right down to the folding stock, allowing for increased range and braced fire. All stormtroopers, excluding those assigned to heavy or special weapons, carried an E-11 along with a SE-14R sidearm. DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles and DLT-20A blaster rifles were also used by stormtroopers.

All stormtroopers also had a cylindrical thermal detonator attached to the small of their back, on their torso armor. Like almost everything else on a typical Stormtrooper uniform, the detonator casing and buttons were not labeled, merely blank white in color. This was done deliberately in order to reduce the chance that an enemy would be able to arm the detonator if it were captured. Even a person who somehow knew the way to input the code would have to learn what it was. Each thermal detonator arming code was unique, known only to the soldier to whom the device was issued. The individual detonator code, along with designation codes and rank, were the only semblances of individuality that the troopers were allowed.

Around 130 ABY, some stormtroopers were equipped with ARC-9965 blasters.

Armor
"You really think that armor's gonna help?"

- Anonymous Rebel trooper



Before stormtrooper armor was developed, the first stormtroopers used Phase II clone trooper armor after the transition from the Republic to the Empire. It is unknown how long this was the case. Later, distinct stormtrooper armor was developed.

During the first years of the Empire, the Stormtrooper Corps, still composed of only Jango Fett clones, were forced to remove the color designs on their armor, used to designate legion or corps affiliation, to which the clones had worn with pride while serving under the old Jedi Order. This was due to the new Imperial protocol of uniformity. Thus, the first stormtroopers returned to their previous appearance of stark-white armored soldiers. This tradition would carry on into the new stormtrooper armor, and to the armor of the Legacy era as well. "I'm takin' you down, plastic boy!"

- Anonymous Rebel trooper

This armor was white body armor over a sealed black body glove. In this respect it appeared similar to the armor worn by their predecessors of the Clone Wars. The complete ensemble encased the body, and typically had no individually distinguishing marking outside of rank&mdash;so much so that casual first-time observers would sometimes mistake the stormtroopers for some form of battle droids.

The armor also protected the troopers from very harsh environments as well as projectiles and impact weapons. The armor might be penetrated by a direct blaster bolt, but would significantly reduce damage from the absorbed bolt. The body glove allowed for comfortable operations in an very wide range of climates, including&mdash;for a very short time&mdash;even total vacuum conditions, or immense extremes of cold and heat. In this respect, it could be argued that the armor was much less suited to battle than its clone armor predecessor, and much more suitable as a high-tech survival suit.

In certain situations, stormtroopers would sometimes wear camouflage armor to help them blend in with different environments, as the clone swamp troopers of the old clone army did. The Stormtrooper Corps instituted this reform after the embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Endor.

By 130 ABY, many variants of stormtrooper armor were made for nonhuman and female recruits serving in the Imperial Army. The general appearance of the armor had only minor changes, however.

Extra
Some special features include a wrist comlink, a small battle holocam built into the helmet, a proper resonator (to open secure doors) built into their armor, and 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 would encounter.


 * Airtroopers: aerial assault stormtroopers.
 * Bombtroopers: explosive-specialist stormtroopers.
 * Coruscant Guards: Coruscant Police stormtroopers.
 * Dark troopers: special droid stormtroopers.
 * Force-sensitive stormtroopers: lightsaber-wielding stormtroopers cloned from a Force-sensitive template.
 * Hazard troopers: corrosion-/temperature-armored stormtroopers.
 * Heavy weapon specialist: stormtroopers equipped with heavy weapons.
 * Magma troopers: volcanic environment stormtroopers.
 * Minetroopers: Sevarcos II spice mine security troopers.
 * Novatroopers: elite stormtroopers.
 * Radtroopers: radioactive zone assault stormtroopers.
 * Rocket troopers: aerial stormtroopers with missile backpacks.
 * Sandtroopers: desert stormtroopers.
 * Scout troopers: biker/scout stormtroopers.
 * Seatroopers: aquatic assault stormtroopers.
 * Shadow stormtroopers: stealth stormtroopers (also called Blackhole stormtroopers because of use under Agent Blackhole).
 * Shadowtroopers (Empire Reborn): Dark Jedi-stormtrooper hybrid.
 * Shock troopers: specialist stormtroopers.
 * Snowtroopers: cold assault stormtroopers.
 * Spacetroopers: Zero-G/vacuum stormtroopers.
 * Storm commandos: special mission/stealth stormtroopers.
 * Swamp troopers: swamp assault stormtroopers.

Occasionally, stormtroopers would pilot TIE/ln starfighters in atmospheric environments, as was the case of the unnamed Alderaanian stormtrooper serving under Moff Wessel on Yinchori, who managed to shoot down Princess Leia. One can assume that stormtroopers assigned to TIE fighter duties must have received more or less specialized training, though there is no evidence of the existence of a special TIE fighter-based stormtrooper unit.

Notable stormtroopers
"Not that it matters how many stormtroopers die. There must be a factory that stamps them out."

- Kirtan Loor


 * Avarik
 * Barse
 * Bursk
 * Dendu
 * Dobbs
 * Nathan Donar III
 * Zeth Durron
 * Davin Felth
 * Flint
 * Givens
 * Grotto
 * Haku
 * Kile Hannad
 * Hong
 * Daine Jir
 * Jonsey
 * Kir Kanos
 * Kyle Katarn
 * Kine
 * Rom Mohc
 * Morley
 * Meck Odom
 * Praji
 * Stor
 * Sutu
 * TC-1289
 * THX-1138
 * TK-421
 * TK-422
 * TK-8252
 * TK-622
 * TK-664
 * Brenn Tantor
 * Grodin Tierce
 * Trang
 * Turk
 * Beilert Valance
 * Vollot
 * Trhin Voss'on't

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

Behind the scenes



 * Stormtroopers, as envisioned by Ralph McQuarrie, were to wield lightsabers and hand-held shields.


 * According to several Expanded Universe sources, it would appear that by the time of the Galactic Civil War, stormtroopers were no longer exclusively clones. In Star Wars Empire 36: The Wrong Side of the War, Part 1, following the Imperial assault on Jabiim, Janek Sunber checks his surviving troops. At this point he comments that none of the regular Human troops under his command survived the battle and we are given a look at a group of blue-eyed and blonde clones, obviously a newer template. Sunber also says that the clones in the army are tough and he heard that during the Clone Wars they were even tougher. So, it would seem that with the expansion of the military following the rise of the Galactic Empire, new clone templates were created and regular Humans recruited partly because the lifespan of a Jango clone was roughly half that of an ordinary Human. Thus, a steady stream of clone and non-clone replacements would be required to fill the ranks of the stormtroopers.


 * Also, in the Thrawn Trilogy, Luke Skywalker realizes that some of Grand Admiral Thrawn's stormtroopers are clones by feeling through the Force that they are all identical. He implies that this is unusual.


 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy introduced a new, non-canon stormtrooper type known as the "beach trooper". They wore a standard helmet and swimming shorts, and could be found resting in hot tubs throughout some levels.


 * Due to their seeming inability to hit the main characters in the films, the stormtrooper effect (Wikipedia article here) has been named after them.


 * Stormtroopers were likely based on Third Reich stormtroopers, who served in the Nazi army in World War II.