Tatooine garrison

"There's a scarcity of us on this dustball, but we must hold it."

―A garrison officer^[2]

The Tatooine garrison,^[8] also known as the Mos Eisley detachment,^[9] was a stormtrooper garrison of the Galactic Empire's Imperial Army. Stationed on the desert planet Tatooine during the Galactic Civil War,^[1] the garrison often used dewbacks as they found them more favorable to operate than speeders in the desert terrain.^[6] The garrison was a small force^[2] for much of its existence. The events of the secret mission to Tatooine, however, resulted in the Empire arriving in force.^[10]

History[]

Stormtrooper Commander JM-909 once led a squad into the deserts to wipe out a Tusken Raider clan who had stolen Imperial rations, but the raiders successfully ambushed and wiped out the squad, stealing their weapons in the process. Hiding on Tatooine in exile, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi made his way to the battlefield and discovered the heavily injured, but still alive, JM-909, whom he nursed back to health. Discovering that Kenobi was a Jedi, JM-909 escaped back to the Imperial headquarters but ultimately kept Kenobi's existence a secret, repaying the man who had shown him compassion despite their opposing factions.^[2]

TatooineGarrison-Commander — Members of the Tatooine garrison at the time of the Alliance campaign in 0 ABY

In 0 BBY,^[11] the garrison was^[8] reinforced by a detachment sent by the Sith Lord Darth Vader^[9] to search for two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO,^[5] thereby giving Tatooine the full attention of the Empire.^[10] A short time later in 0 ABY,^[12] the Alliance to Restore the Republic then launched a campaign to root out the Imperial garrison on Tatooine, which, by that time, featured the 68th Legion among its ranks. Despite rebel victory in the campaign,^[1] the Empire would retain its presence until the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, a loss so great it made the Empire retreat from Tatooine. The Imperial withdrawal^[13] and recent death of crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure^[14] created a power vacuum on Tatooine.^[13]