Stormtrooper



Stormtroopers were the elite shock troops of the Galactic Empire, fanatically loyal and answerable directly to the Emperor.

Established by Emperor Palpatine in 19 BBY as a clause in his Declaration of a New Order, the troopers of the Stormtrooper Corps operated alongside Army and Navy units, as well as alone.

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

It is possible that Palpatine had the Sith trooperss of the ancient Sith Empire in mind, especially in the concept that the troopers induced fear as faceless enemies. The stormtroopers were direct descendants of the clone troopers created from a template of Jango Fett in 32 BBY to serve the Galactic Republic's Clone Army during the Clone Wars. In fact, the clone troopers that lived after the end of the Clone Wars were renamed Imperial stormtroopers by Palpatine during the Declaration of a New Order ;immediately afterwards, Palpatine ordered three new stormtrooper clone batches to be grown in the Outer Rim Territories.

During the time of the Galactic Civil War and the Battle of Yavin, Fett's clones were still used by the Empire, although Fett's progeny were heavily supplemented with clones from new DNA sources and troopers recruited in the traditional manner. If a man between the ages of 18 and 30 scored in the top fifth percentile, an Imperial recruiting agent would contact these people 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 the time of 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 Emperor Palpatine himself, and only followed orders from Army and Navy personnel at their discretion. Scout Troopers have their own order of battle.

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 the following stratum:

Trooper
The Trooper is the basic unit in any Stormtrooper organization. Following the death of Palpatine and the decade of nearly constant warfare that has followed, the Stormtrooper legions are made up of predominantly normal human troopers. There are still clones in the legions and there is no discrimination between the two inside the legions.

Squads (10 Troopers)
Squads are generally made up of nine troopers and a squad leader, typically a Non-commissioned Officer. Each trooper carries a standard load out though as the war has progressed, more and more squads are carrying at least 2 Light Repeating Blasters. There are a few exceptions to the typical line squad:

Command Squad
Command squads are the command and control element for every organization in the legions century level and above. They are comprised of: the century's commanding officer, a 1st or 2nd Lieutenant, a senior Non-Commissioned Officer, A Naval or Army medic, A senior trooper in charge of communications, and six regular troopers.

Heavy Weapons Squad
Heavy weapons squads are typically the first level of support that other Stormtrooper call on. They are broken down into four two man fire teams that employ a variety of weapons, from Medium Repeating Blasters to PLEX-2 Anti-vehicle missile launchers. The Squad NCO and Squad Corporal can break the squad into battle units to spread assets further apart on the battlefield.

Sharpshooter Squad
Sharpshooter squads wear Scout Armor, favored because it is easier to move around in and carry sniper weapons. Sharpshooter squads often became the standby when special Storm Commando units are not available. So much so that spending time in a Sharpshooter squad is quite often a pre-requisite for getting selected to join the ranks of the Storm Commandos.

Naval Security Squad
Naval security squads are only different than line companies in the fact that they are extensively trained in ship-board operations. They have extra equipment geared towards that fact. Leaving behind Light Repeating Blasters, they typically carry Canister Launchers, Deck Clearing Blasters or Shotguns, with rounds designed not to penetrate a ships hull. They also carry breeching charges, magna-grapples, and EVA hand-thrusters.

Century (100 Troopers)
Centuries are comprised of 10 Squads. One of these squads will always be a command squad. The rest can vary depending on the Century's function. The Century is the typical tactical combat group of Stormtroopers. It allows field commanders the greatest range of flexibility when deploying Stormtrooper, as well as makes up the typical detachment level strength on an Imperial Warship. Centuries are commanded typically by a 1st or 2nd Lieutenant. It is not uncommon to see a Captain in charge of multiple centuries in larger battles.

Line Century
Line centuries are the backbone of the Stormtrooper Legions. They are made up of 8 line squads, 1 Heavy weapons squad, and 1 Command Squad. They are the most common formation throughout the legions and every legion is made up at least 80% of Line centuries.

Command Century
This is the command and control group for a Cohort. It will consist of the Commanding Officer and his staff. While lacking the extensive officer corps that makes up a Typical Imperial Army regiment. The Command Century is typically made up of at least 3 Heavy weapons squads, 2 Sharpshooter Squads, 2 Command Squads and 3 Line squads.

Heavy weapons century
Heavy weapons centuries are often able to deliver devastating amounts of firepower on the battlefield, as well as provide an entire cohort with fire support. They are typically made up of 7 heavy weapons squads, 1 command squad and 2 line squads.

Special Operations Century
When something out of the typical Stormtrooper’s scope of work must be done, Special Operation Centuries are the typical force for doing that. With Storm Commando's becoming more and more rare, Special Operations has stepped in to fill the gap. They are comprised of 8 sharpshooter squads, 1 command squad, and 1 heavy weapons squad.

Naval Security Century
Just like centuries are the standard battle organization, naval security centuries are the standard shipboard security detachment. They are organized with 7 naval security squads, 1 command squad, 1 heavy weapons squad, and 1 Sharpshooter Squad. As with the Naval Security squads, the heavy weapons employed by Naval Security Centuries are typically designed not to blow holes through the vessel's hull.

Cohort (1000 Troopers)
Just as the century is the basic tactical level Stormtrooper organization, the cohort is the primary strategic level organization. Cohort’s commands can be spread across several smaller ships, or charged with manning a garrison. They are commanded by Majors and Lieutenant Colonels.

Line Cohort
Line cohorts are the typical force found at any Imperial Garrison on worlds considered safe. They consist of 6 line centuries, 1 command century, 2 heavy weapons centuries, and 1 special operations century.

Command Cohort
Command Cohorts are the command and control organization for an Imperial Stormtrooper Legion. A command cohort's standard organization is 4 command centuries, 2 heavy weapons centuries, 2 special operations centuries, and 2 line centuries. Three of the centuries are commanded by Majors to allow the Legion to break up into smaller, 2-3 Cohort maneuver groups. This allows a legion to have a great deal of flexibility while still maintaining a uniform command and control structure.

Heavy Weapons Cohort
Heavy Weapons Cohorts are capable of laying waste to entire cities. They consist of 7 Heavy Weapons Centuries, 1 Command Century, and 2 Line centuries. Heavy Weapons Cohorts typically fill a support role, but in critical battles it is not unheard of to drop a Heavy Weapons Cohort into a defensive position that must be held against superior numbers, heavy armor, or to break enemy strongholds.

Special operations cohort
Special operations cohorts are designed to move behind enemy lines and shatter an enemy’s ability to make war. The Highest organization level among Storm Commandos is at the Cohort level. However only a handful exists, most often they are made up of dismounted Scout Troopers. They consist of 8 special operations Centuries, 1 command century and 1 heavy weapons century.

Marine Cohort
Marine Cohorts are responsible for guarding the larger capitol ships. They are specialists in fighting and seizing large vessels. They contain typically 7 Naval Security Centuries, 1 Command Century and 2 Special Operations Centuries.

Legions (10000 Troopers)
Legions are unique in the Empire. No two Legions are exactly alike and the exact breakdown of Cohorts can change as well. Legions run the gauntlet of responsibilities from the assault legions embarked on Star Destroyers, to the Legions defending the Imperial Palace. Legions are commanded by Generals.

A company commander could give command to any regular officer over any given squad or platoon. A single battalion consisted of eight hundred and twenty soldiers&mdash; whereas a battalion of Galactic Republic clone troopers was comprised of only five hundred and seventy-six men.

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.

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 similiar purpose.

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. 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.

All stormtroopers also had a cylindrical thermal detonator attached to the small of their back, on their torso armor. The detonator could only be used by its owner, since activation required a code unique to each individual trooper. This, along with their designation codes and rank, were the only semblance of individuality the troopers were allowed.

Armor
Before stormtrooper armor was developed, the first stormtroopers used Phase II Clone Trooper armor after the transition from the Republic to the Empire. For how long, this is unknown. Later, a distinct stormtrooper armor was developed.

This armor was a white body armor over a sealed black body glove, and in this respect appeared similar to their Clone Wars predecessors. The assembled set completely encased the body and typically had no individual distinguishing marks outside of rank. In fact, the casual first-time observer sometimes would mistake the stormtroopers as a form of battle droid.

It 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 reduce damage from the bolts absorbed significantly. The body glove allowed for operation in warm or cold climates; however, it could protect the trooper from almost any environment&mdash;from total vacuum conditions to the very extremes in cold and heat for a very limited period of time. In this respect, 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, however, stormtroopers would sometimes wear camouflage armor to help them blend in with different environments. The Stormtrooper Corps instituted this reform after the embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Endor.

Extra
Some special features include a wrist comlink, a tiny battle holocam built into the helmet, a proper resonator (to open secure doors) built into their armour, or 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.

Additional Resources

 * Stormtroopers in exhaustive detail on Wookieepedia.