Coastal defender stormtrooper

Coastal defender stormtroopers, more commonly known as shoretroopers, were a specialized variant of the Galactic Empire's stormtroopers trained and equipped for combat in tropical environments. Stationed at the top secret Imperial security complex on the tropical planet Scarif, shoretroopers patrolled the beaches and bunkers of the facility. Shoretroopers operated effectively as sergeants which allowed them to command small squads of regular stormtroopers. One of the notable aspects of coastal defender stormtroopers was that the position they serve in was rotational (temporary); subject to rank (skills and qualification) and operational demands (open positions due to mobilization or transfers). On a galactic scale, shoretroopers as a whole were scarce, as the conditions for necessitating their employment were less frequent, as few stations or garrisons were located on coastal/tropical planets. Shoretroopers wielded both the E-11 blaster rifle and the upgraded E-22 blaster rifle while stationed on Scarif. They also carried a thermal imploder, a highly explosive grenade that was used to destroy SW-0608, an imperial cargo shuttle the Rogue One team used to bypass the Empire's space station in orbit over the world.

Del Meeko served as a shoretrooper prior to becoming a TIE fighter pilot.

Several Shoretroopers were stationed on an ocean planet. They later came into conflict with rebel leaders Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker after they crashed on the world.

Armor
There were at least three distinct ranks of shoretroopers, all with unique armor markings. Regular shoretroopers featured sand colored armor, with a red band around their right arm and a white stripe around their left shoulder guard. Squad leaders were identified by a sand blue stripe that went along the top of their chest plates and onto the top of their shoulder guards. Squad leaders also sported a kama attached to their belt. Shoretrooper captains had almost all of their chest plates blue, along with a small plate of armor that was on their left side. Their right shoulder guard was sand colored, but their left shoulder guard was all sand blue, save for the white stripe. Further down the same arm, there were stripes of sand blue and yellow. They also had limited or no upper leg armor for swifter movement in battle, similar to Scout troopers. Although their armor had more capabilities than standard Stormtrooper armor, it proved no stronger, as shown on Scarif. Shoretroopers were also known to use different armor load-outs or weapon configurations based on the conditions of where they were stationed or serve.

Behind the scenes
The first footage of the shoretrooper was shown in the teaser trailer for the Star Wars standalone film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, on April 7, 2016. The shoretroopers were identified by name in the third episode of The Star Wars Show on May 25, 2016.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization
 * Rogue One Adaptation 5
 * Rogue One Adaptation 6
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Battlefront II: Inferno Squad
 * Star Wars 33: Rebels in the Wild
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Poe Dameron 8: The Gathering Storm, Part I

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes