Imperial Army trooper

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"I enlisted to fly TIE fighters so I could get off Corellia. Ended up discharged all the way down to the infantry."
―Han Solo reflects on being a soldier[14]

Imperial Army troopers,[15] also identified as Imperial Army soldiers[16] and casually known as "army regulars,"[12] were the standard infantry soldiers deployed by the Imperial Army of the Galactic Empire throughout the galaxy. These troopers, who were separate from the elite white-armored stormtroopers and the fleet troopers of the Imperial Navy, were formed from young, eager conscripts and served as expeditionary units tasked with subjugating worlds that dared resist the Emperor's rule.[1]

Army troopers were originally comprised of members drawn from local planetary defense forces who fought during the Clone Wars and were conscripted into the Imperial Military. These troopers often fought alongside the notoriously zealous stormtroopers in order to bolster military effectiveness on the battlefield. Although the Stormtrooper Corps would be greatly expanded as more planets fell under Imperial control, conscripted army troopers remained a core component of the galaxy-spanning regime, serving as an unyielding reminder of the Empire's omnipresence.[1]

History

Age of the Empire

"This is where I sign up to be a pilot, right?"
"If you apply for the Imperial Navy, but most recruits go into the infantry."
―Han Solo and recruitment officer Drawd Munbrin[6]

Around 18 BBY,[17] swamp troopers—who were armed with heavy weapons such as flamethrowers and E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifles—laid waste to the population of a planet. Among the troopers deployed during the massacre included Captain Amari, Private Moros, and Sergeant Lear. The latter of these was haunted by the screams of the innocent, begging for it to stop. After Captain Amari sent Private Moros to look for Lear, he was found within a ship, claiming that he had to reload his weapon. While Moros left to get Amari, Lear found a girl, a survivor, hiding in the ship's ventilation. When Moros returned with Amari, the latter told Lear not to take long as it would be inadvisable to be outside alone. Lear feigned compliancy, and then escaped the carnage with the girl. The two would adopt the names Luthen Rael and Kleya Marki in future.[11]

Later, the pair were sitting at a public place at a riverside settlement on Naboo. Unbenownst to all others around them, they had placed explosives on two Imperial troop transports on a bridge, guarded by Imperial Army troopers, stormtroopers and an IBT-2921. After a brief exchange, Rael detonated the explosives, killing a number of Army troopers and stormtroopers.[11]

Imperial Army troopers helped maintain the Emperor's rule as the regime's main, on-the-ground grunts.

Imperial Army troopers helped maintain the Emperor's rule as the regime's main, on-the-ground grunts.

At some point, a grouping of swamp troopers fought in an engagement through trench warfare, with one soldier in the trench calling out to their comrades.[18] At another point, a trio of swamp troopers marched through a forested environment as the vanguard to an Imperial operation.[19] Yet another conflict entailed a group of swamp troopers fighting in a forested war zone under an Imperial officer, a lieutenant who directly led those soldiers forward.[20] In 14 BBY,[21] Imperial Army troopers fought under Moff Delian Mors against the Free Ryloth Movement, a coalition of freedom fighters founded by Cham Syndulla.[7]

During the Mimban Campaign in 10 BBY,[21] Army swamp troopers fought alongside wet-weather gear stormtroopers against the Mimbanese Liberation Army in an effort to secure the world of Mimban and its abundance of natural resources. Among the swamp troopers was the young Han Solo, a former attendee of the Naval Academy on Carida who had been transferred to infantry duty on Mimban due to multiple counts of insubordination. Solo served as a corporal within the 224th Imperial Armored Division, an army strike force commissioned to pacify the Mimbanese guerillas.[1]

Also involved in the battle for Mimban was Beilert Valance,[22] who had trained alongside Solo at the Carida Academy. Due to the injuries he sustained during the mission on Qhulosk, Valance had been unable to complete his training to serve as an Imperial Starfighter Pilot, but one of his fellow cadets, Tamu Dree, deduced he would re-enlist to serve in the infantry.[23] Over his ensuing career in the Imperial Army, Valance served as both a stormtrooper[24] and an Imperial Army trooper. As an army trooper, Valance was deployed as a swamp trooper into the Mimban Campaign and, at the cost of sustaining even more injuries, worked to lead his men to safety. In response to his injuries, Valance was discharged from the Imperial Military.[22]

Rise of the Rebellion

Imperial Army troopers open fire at a team of rebel infiltrators

Imperial Army troopers open fire at a team of rebel infiltrators

Despite the Empire's efforts to replace Army troopers with stormtroopers,[1] Army troopers were still part of the military[3] in 5 BBY[25] as the fires of rebellion began to spread.[3] Army troopers could be found on worlds like the planet Aldhani, which was host to an Imperial garrison of Imperial Army troopers stationed within the Aldhani dam under[26] Commandant[3] Jayhold Beehaz. The Alkenzi Air Base, meanwhile, was staffed not only by Army troopers, but also by stormtroopers.[26]

Imperial Army troopers respond to the local uprisings on Rix Road.

Imperial Army troopers respond to the local uprisings on Rix Road.

An elite detachment of Imperial Army troopers known as Imperial security troopers[2] made up the bulk of the Ferrix garrison,[27] supporting the stormtroopers also deployed to Ferrix.[2] In the face of the Ferrix community's funeral procession for the recently deceased Maarva Carassi Andor, security troopers were marshalled to block off the civilians' approach. The crowd grew violent after Andor's pre-recorded speech to fight against Imperial oppression and Captain Vanis Tigo's angered response—flipping over Andor's droid B2EMO. Security troopers managed to hold a shield wall against the rioting civilians until Wilmon Paak threw a home-made explosive into the Imperial position. Backed by the shooting of stormtroopers, the army troopers directly engaged the protesters in the final stages of the uprising on Ferrix.[27]

In 4 BBY,[28] a group of Imperial Army troopers and stormtroopers under Lieutenant Krole, including Sergeant Stang and Corporal Pyke, performed an Imperial Supply Census on Mina-Rau. All of these Imperials were killed by Cassian Jeron Andor in his stolen TIE Avenger.[29]

Suppression of Ghorman

Imperial security troopers were present in Palmo on Ghorman and on Coruscant in 3 BBY.[9][30] In 2 BBY,[31] Imperial security troopers under Captain Kaido and Sergeant Bloy played a role in the Ghorman Massacre, killing many civilians.[32]

Galactic Civil War

Stormtroopers had largely replaced the Imperial Army trooper as the basic infantryman of the Galactic Empire by the time of the Galactic Civil War,[33] a struggle between the Empire and a collection of rebel cells that,[34] in 2 BBY, formally united as the Alliance to Restore the Republic.[21] While pinpointing the exact beginning date of the Galactic Civil War was hard,[33] the beginning of open warfare between the Alliance and Empire could be narrowed down to the Battle of Scarif[35] of 1 BBY.[21] Despite the omnipresence of the stormtrooper by that time,[33] Imperial Army troopers still existed to some extent.[12]

In 5 ABY,[21] by which point Emperor Palpatine had been killed and the Alliance had transitioned into the New Republic, army troopers were still casually known as "army regulars"[12] even though the Stormtrooper Corps had taken over the basic infantry role.[33] During the struggle for the Deep Core planet Troithe[12] in 5 ABY,[21] Imperial Army troopers were deployed as part of the Imperial garrison on the planet, defending it from the attacking New Republic. During the battle for the capital, army troopers withdrew alongside stormtroopers to the Tri-Central Complex to a more defensible position.[12]

Legacy

In recollections of the Imperial Era, the stormtrooper was commonly regarded as the everyday face of the Imperial regime despite the role that had been played by the regular army troopers. The slow spread of the Stormtrooper Corps until it had supplanted the primary infantry role had effectively buried the time where they were a relatively rare sight.[33] An Imperial mudtrooper helmet was collected by the collector Dok-Ondar at some point and placed on the wall in his Batuuan store, Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities in Black Spire Outpost.[36]

Equipment

"How do they breathe in these suits? It's so stuffy! No wonder they're such lousy pilots. You can't turn your head, you can't breathe, you can't hear each other!"
―Rio Durant criticizes the uncomfortable nature of Imperial gear[6]
The fatigues of an Imperial Army trooper (Corporal Kimzi, pictured) without additional armor

The fatigues of an Imperial Army trooper (Corporal Kimzi, pictured) without additional armor

Imperial Army troopers were outfitted with a set of armor similar to Imperial officer battle armor, which covered the torso, shoulders, and upper arm. Polarized goggles and respirator masks could be issued to filter out toxic substances in hostile environments as seen on Mimban. The set also featured optional helmets, shin guards, and, in swamp troopers, colored bicep bands that denoted the trooper's position, with red indicating a soldier and white indicating a medic.[1] In addition, a white stripe on the left shoulder pauldron indicated an officer rank in regular Imperial Army troopers[26] and Imperial security troopers[32]. As seen within the Aldhani Garrison, and on Mina-Rau, troopers could forego the combat helmet in favor of an Imperial kepi. Troopers wore olive green utility fatigues and gray armor.[26][29]Elite security troopers,[2] such those in the Ferrix garrison and on Ghorman, were issued black utility fatigues and matching black armor.[27]

As front line combatants of the Imperial Military, Army troopers had access to the extensive arsenal deployed by the Galactic Empire. Their weaponry included the E-10,[1] E-10.5,[26] and E-11 blaster rifles.[22] Other blasters seen amongst the infantry included E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifles, SX-21 pump-action scatter blasters, DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles, and blaster pistols such as the Power 5 blaster[29] and the EC-17 hold-out blaster.[1] Troopers stationed in urban garrisons, such as the deployment on Ferrix, would also be fielded with non-lethal riot gear such as ballistic shields and batons to suppress citizen uprisings and protests. These units were specially trained to form multi-layered walls with their shields and occasionally allow snatch squads to emerge, grab protesters close to the wall and pull them back behind it where they would be arrested.[27]

Specialized Army troopers

Imperial mudtroopers were army troopers who donned waterproof capes and breathing masks.

Imperial mudtroopers were army troopers who donned waterproof capes and breathing masks.

Appearances

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Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 StarWars-DatabankII Imperial security trooper in the Databank (backup link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "The Axe Forgets"
  4. ↑ Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Aldhani"
  5. ↑ Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Solo: A Star Wars Story
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lords of the Sith
  8. ↑ Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Sagrona Teema"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?"
  10. ↑ Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "What a Festive Evening"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Shadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel
  13. ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  14. ↑ Star Wars (2015) 58
  15. ↑ Starships and Speeders
  16. ↑ Forged in Battle
  17. ↑ StarWars.com Andor's Stellan Skarsgård and Elizabeth Dulau Break Down Luthen and Kleya on StarWars.com (backup link) states that Kleya Marki and Luthen Rael had known each other for 17 years by the events of "Who Else Knows?" The episode occurs directly after "Make It Stop," which dates itself to 1 BBY. Therefore, Marki and Rael's first meeting and Rael's subsequent defection occurred around the year 18 BBY.
  18. ↑ Star Wars: Unlimited — Spark of Rebellion Card: Entrenched (backup link)
  19. ↑ Star Wars: Unlimited — Spark of Rebellion Card: Vanguard Infantry (backup link)
  20. ↑ Star Wars: Unlimited — Shadows of the Galaxy Card: Warzone Lieutenant (backup link)
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 Star Wars: Timelines
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Target Vader 5
  23. ↑ Han Solo - Imperial Cadet 5
  24. ↑ Target Vader 3
  25. ↑ Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide dates the events of "The Axe Forgets" to 5 BBY.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "The Eye"
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Rix Road"
  28. ↑ StarWars.com Behind the Seams: The Costumes of Andor Season 2 - Updated on StarWars.com (backup link) dates "Harvest" to 4 BBY.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Harvest"
  30. ↑ Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?" dates itself to 3 BBY.
  31. ↑ StarWars.com Behind the Seams: The Costumes of Andor Season 2 - Updated on StarWars.com (backup link) dates the episodes 7–9 of Andor Season 2 to 2 BBY.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Andor logo new Star Wars: Andor — "Who Are You?"
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
  34. ↑ Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Fire Across the Galaxy"
  35. ↑ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  36. ↑ GalaxysEdgeLogo icon Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge — Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities
  37. ↑ Dawn of Rebellion