Imperial Army trooper

Imperial Army troopers were the standard infantry of the Imperial Army, and the most common soldiers of the Galactic Empire on most subject worlds. Following the Empire's post-Endor fragmentation, their numbers were maintained by periodic conscription from among subject populations.

Characteristics
Imperial Army troopers were recruited from all across the Empire, though preferably from worlds which lacked any rebel sympathies. Those who passed their initial screening at their local Imperial Recruitment Office and the medical and intelligence assessments at a Training Center were shipped to one of thousands of drop camps situated across the Empire for basic training. Physical fitness, equipment maintenance, team-building drills and indoctrination were all part of training to become an Army trooper. Though survival in a variety of environments was standard, some drop camps specialized in certain exotic types as well. All manner of combat techniques were taught, from hand-to-hand fighting and blaster proficiency to grenade and heavy weapons training.

Troopers fresh out of training were reasonably professional soldiers, though lacking in experience and (among those drafted against their will) generally low morale. While capable of facing regular Rebel troopers in combat, they were easy prey for the Alliance's SpecForce. Those who managed to survive a few tours of duty, mostly career soldiers, were able to hone their skills to a greater degree and likewise possessed superior morale and confidence in their abilities. Such veteran troopers were a fairly significant threat even to SpecForce. The most elite of the Army were Imperial Army Special Missions trooper.

However military duty for an Army trooper was relatively light: whereas the Stormtrooper Corps&mdash;which was separate from the Imperial Army&mdash;was employed for boarding actions and attacking enemy positions, regular army troopers were used to secure ground already taken. They also maintained Imperial military bases or served aboard fleet vessels as marines, and garrisoned pacified worlds. Troopers were more than willing to fight when necessary though; thirty troopers participated in an attack against a group of smugglers in the Whistler's Whirlpool Tapcafe on Trogan in 9 ABY.

Equipment
During the early years of the Empire, troopers wore a similar uniform as Imperial Navy Troopers, though it was grey-colored, along with partial field armor and a blast helmet with integrated comlink like the DH77 Comlink. Standard gear consisted of a blaster rifle and grenades along with survival gear and a utility belt containing supplies. Goggles were also worn, with a varity of tinted and vision-enhancing models in use by the army. Troopers could be equipped or operated as part of the crew for an infantry support weapon, including light repeating blasters, Equalizer ion cannons, PLX-2M portable missile launchers, DEMP guns, CSPL-12 projectile launchers or E-WEB repeating blasters.

At some point in the history of the New Empire, the Stormtrooper Corps was disbanded and the stormtroopers were redistributed into the ranks of the Imperial Army. Yet individual stormtrooper units continued to operate separately from army troopers as elite shock forces, and thus they retained their armor as well.

Variants
Imperial Army Special Missions trooper-the elite special forces of the Imperial Army.

Imperial medic-a type of soldier and officer that was attached to the Galactic Empire's ground and naval forces that had specialized medical training.

Behind the scenes
Some Imperial Medics, as well as Imperial Officers, wore field uniforms similar to that of regular Army Troopers.

The Imperial officers in Star Wars: Battlefront II armor resembles Imperial Army Troopers' armor.

In the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, a massively multiplayer online-role playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, certain Imperial non-player characters were identified as Imperial troopers, and wore white jumpsuits, with a white belt, boots, and gloves. Given that these Imperial troopers acted as soldiers who patrolled Imperial bases on various worlds, it can be deduced that these were simply Imperial Army troopers wearing a different type of uniform.

Appearances

 * The Traitor's Gambit
 * Star Wars: Empire: The Wrong Side of the War
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (video game)
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Operation: Elrood
 * Gathering Shadows
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Operation: Elrood
 * Gathering Shadows
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * The Last Command