Imperial Stormtroopers


Imperial Stormtroopers
Aliases:	Stormtroopers First Order Stormtroopers
Continuity:	Star Wars
Type:	Military
Status:	Defunct
Members:	See Imperial Stormtroopers
Allies:	Imperial Royal Guard
Enemies:	Alliance to Restore the Republic
1st appearance:	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Imperial Stormtroopers were the commando shock troops of the Galactic Empire. As part of both the Imperial army and navy, the Stormtroopers were the successors to the Clone Troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic founded at the onset of the Clone Wars. Although many Stormtroopers originated from genetically cloned stock, many more were regular human beings who graduated from the Imperial Academy on Carida. All Stormtroopers wore some variation of durable combat armor and were outfitted with standard military issue weaponry such as the E-11 blaster rifle.

History[]

During the Galactic Civil War, members of the 501st Legion stationed aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator boarded a fleeing CR90 Corellian Corvette called the Tantive IV, which was carrying stolen technical blueprints of the Empire's newest battle station, the Death Star. In addition, one of the ship's passengers was Rebel Alliance leader Leia Organa. Darth Vader personally led the boarding party and the Stormtroopers expeditiously captured and/or killed every crew member aboard the ship save for Captain Raymus Antilles, who was subsequently strangled by Vader.

Several legions of Stormtroopers were stationed aboard the Death Star only to meet an untimely end when young pilot Luke Skywalker successfully fired a proton torpedo into one of the station's exhaust ports, setting off a chain reaction that ultimately caused the Death Star to explode. ^[1] More than 25,000 Stormtroopers lost their lives when the Death Star was destroyed, including half of the 501st Legion. ^[2]

Two years later, upon discovering the location of a Rebel base on the planet Hoth, a special commando unit of Stormtrooper, trained for arctic combat, were deployed as ground forces while General Maximilian Veers led an All-Terrain Armored Transport division to take out the base's shield generator. Once the generator was down, the Snowtroopers entered the base. By this point however, most of the Rebellion's high command had evacuated on their transport ships, leaving behind only a small contingent of soldiers. ^[3] Several of the troopers got more than they expected when they opened up a detention cell containing captured wampas. The wampas slaughtered the snowtroopers and escaped from the facility. ^{[can we get a frakkin' citation here?!]}

Three years after the Battle of Hoth a legion of Stormtroopers were deployed to the forest moon of Endor to reinforce the Imperial presence there. Emperor Palpatine sent them as part of a scheme laid out to bait the Rebel forces into a trap. A small Rebellion task force, charged with taking out the Death Star II's shield generator bunker found themselves trading blaster fire with the Imperial soldiers. The Stormtroopers likely would have succeeded in defeating the Rebels had it not been for some unexpected assistance from Endor's native populace, the Ewoks. Using jungle warfare, the Ewoks caught the Stormtroopers unawares and despite their advanced military training, they were unable to mount an effective counter strike. Most of the Stormtroopers on Endor were either captured or killed. ^[4]

Specialist Divisions[]

There exist several different types of Stormtrooper specialty units, each one trained to operate in survive with harsh environmental conditions. Specialists are selected from the ranks of exceptionally talented and motivated Stormtrooper squadrons.

Desert Stormtroopers[]

Stormtrooper on Dewback — A Sandtrooper riding atop a dewback.

Desert Stormtroopers are trained to work in hot, arid environments and are noted for their exceptional tracking and survival skills. Due to the harsh conditions that they are often forced to endure, Desert Troopers enjoy greater autonomy than the standard Stormtrooper squadron. They are often called upon to make snap decisions and ingenuity is often key towards their success as a unit. Desert Stormtroopers are outfitted with an advanced suit of Stormtrooper armor with modified moisture reclamation and cooling systems. The armor plating houses additional heat dissipation units that regulate body temperature and extra cooling units are installed in the weave of the black body stockings worn beneath the armor. Sandtroopers wore colored pauldrons as a designation of rank. A sandtrooper sergeant's pauldron was white, while an enlisted trooper's pauldron was all black. Squad leaders, who led units of seven troopers, wore orange shoulder pauldrons. Since heavy mechanical machinery or vehicles were often considered unreliable in desert conditions, Sand Troopers usually relied upon beasts of burden for their transportation needs such as dewbacks and banthas. ^[5]

One of the more noteworthy Sandtrooper units was the Desert Sands unit. Led by Captain Mod Terrik, the unit was divided into three squads, Alvien Squadron, Drax Squadron and Zeta Squadron. Under orders from Nahdonnis Praji (who in turn received orders from Darth Vader), the Desert Sands unit was deployed to the planet Tatooine in the year 0 BBY in search of two renegade droids who possessed stolen technical data files pertaining to the Death Star. After landing in the Dune Sea, the squadrons split up to pursue different avenues of their investigation. They tracked the droids to a tribe of Jawas who had found them and later sold them to a moisture farmer named Owen Lars. Zeta Squadron exterminated the Jawas and made it look as if the attack had been committed by Tusken Raiders. When they arrived at the Lars' moisture farm, they found that the droids were no longer there. They were in the company of Owen's nineteen-year-old nephew Luke Skywalker. Captain Mod Terrik executed Owen and his wife Beru and had their remains incinerated. The sheer brutality of this attack caused one of Terrik's troopers, Davin Felth to rethink his position within the Empire. When Zeta Squadron tracked the droids to a docking bay at the Mos Eisley space port, Davin Felth secretly betrayed his unit, shooting Captain Terrik in the back with his blaster rifle. A short time later, Felth defected from the Empire and joined the Rebel Alliance. ^[6]^[7]

The First Order[]

First Order Stormtroopers 001 — First Order troopers on Starkiller Base.

In the years following the Battle of Endor, a new Imperial regime was established under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke. Known as the First Order, they employed their own cadre of Stormtroopers, who were culled from human stock, rather than the clones used decades earlier during the Clone Wars. Human babies were taken from colony worlds raised to become servants of the First Order. They were brainwashed into being the perfect trooper, whose only function was to follow orders and obey the precepts of the Order.

Many troopers were stationed out of a First Order headquarters on Starkiller Base, which had been outfitted with an immense super-weapon, that channeled solar energy, which could then be used to destroy entire star systems.

Carrying on the principals of the First Galactic Empire, the First Order sought to wipe out the remaining elements of the Jedi. General Hux discovered that a portion of a map leading to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker had made its way to the planet Jakku. Hux sent his Sith enforcer, Kylo Ren, and a contingent of Stormtroopers to Jakku to recover the map. Failing to find the map, they were then instructed to wipe out all of the villagers. Most of the troopers on hand obeyed the command immediately, and used laser weapons and flame throwers to completely burn the village to the ground. One stormtrooper however, FN-2187, mustered the willpower to overcome his training, and refused to gun down innocent civilians. Soon after, he defected from the First Order and joined the Republic Resistance.

Stormtroopers of note[]

Beilert Valance: Beilert Valance was once an Imperial Stormtrooper who hailed from the planet known only as "Shinbone". Along with his squadron, he was deployed to the Telos-4 medical station on an outworld system. During a skirmish with Rebel forces, he was critically injured by an aerial torpedo dropped from an X-wing fighter. Valance's body was so devastated from the explosion that his fellow Stormtroopers left him at Telos-4 to die.

Daine Jir: Daine Jir was trained to be a Stormtrooper at the Imperial Academy on Carida. He became a member of the 501st Legion. In time, he was promoted into the Officers Corp of the Imperial Navy, eventually achieving the rank of Commander. As a commander, he served aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator.

Davin Felth: Davin Felth was a Stormtrooper in the Imperial Army and excelled at AT-AT combat training. It was Felth who discovered a design flaw in the AT-AT's construction and reported it to General Maximilian Veers. Felth was later assigned to Zeta Squadron of the Desert Sands Desert Stormtrooper unit and deployed to Tatooine to locate two fugitive droids. After witnessing the brutal murder of Owen and Beru Lars, Davin betrayed his commanding officer, shooting him in the back before defecting from the Empire and joining the Rebel Alliance. His knowledge of an AT-AT's vulnerabilities became critical two years later at the Battle of Hoth.

Grotto: Grotto was a Stormtrooper assigned to Krake's Planet. Grotto's unit found Luke Skywalker downloading information from a databank in the kitchen area of the base and opened fire on him. Luke and his friend Chewbacca retaliated by attacking the troopers directly. Grotto opened fire on Skywalker, but Luke grabbed another trooper and used him as a shield against Grotto's blaster fire. After discarding the Stormtrooper's body, Luke opened fire and blasted Grotto in the chest, killing him. ^[8]

Nahdonnis Praji: Nahdonnis Praji was trained to be a Stormtrooper at the Imperial Academy on Carida. In time, he was promoted into the Officers Corp of the Imperial Navy, eventually achieving the rank of Commander. As a commander, he served aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator.

TK-421: TK-421 served aboard the first Death Star in 0 BBY. He was assigned to stand guard outside the captured Millennium Falcon while a scanning crew checked the ship out for signs of life. He was ambushed by passenger Luke Skywalker who took the Stormtrooper's armor and used it as a disguise. TK-421 was killed when the Death Star exploded.

TK-422: TK-422 served aboard the first Death Star in 0 BBY. He was assigned to stand guard outside the captured Millennium Falcon while a scanning crew checked the ship out for signs of life. He was ambushed by passenger Han Solo who took the Stormtrooper's armor and used it as a disguise. TK-422 was killed when the Death Star exploded.

Notes & Trivia[]

Preferred weapon of choice: E-11 blaster rifle. This was standard issue for all combat troopers serving during the Galactic Civil War.

"Genetic Birth Defect"[]

There is a famous blooper from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope wherein a stormtrooper hits his head on a low doorway frame. The scene occurs on the Death Star when a group of Stormtroopers enter the computer operations room where C-3PO and R2-D2 are hiding. Coincidentally, a similar scene occurs in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Following Jango Fett's fight against Obi-Wan Kenobi on Kamino, Jango can be seen hitting his helmet on a bulkhead as walks up the boarding ramp to his ship. On the DVD audio commentary, director George Lucas offers the explanation that Jango's head injury perpetuated a genetic birth defect that was passed on the other clones , which is why the Stormtrooper in A New Hope hits his head. Although the comment came from George Lucas, it was said in jest and does not in any way apply to the official Star Wars canon.