Swamp trooper

This article is about the troops outside the Stormtrooper Corps. You may be looking for the troops in the corps, or the Mud Jumpers in the Galactic Republic.

"Great, more mud."

―Corporal Han Solo^[2]

Swamp troopers, known informally as mudtroopers, were a type of Imperial Army trooper used by the Galactic Empire that existed outside the Stormtrooper Corps.

History

While the Imperial Naval Academy of Carida primarily trained Imperial cadets as Imperial Starfighter Pilots, cadets were also issued with swamp trooper armor and underwent training as swamp troopers including wading through swamps, fighting in trenches, and running up mountains.^[4] Around 18 BBY,^[5] early in the Imperial Era, swamp troopers carried out a massacre, with Sergeant Lear and Captain Amari both present amongst the swamp trooper ranks for the operation. Lear, who would go onto adopt the name "Luthen Rael," was overwhelmed by the operation and chose to defect from the Empire after it, taking a survivor who adopted the name Kleya Marki under his wing in the process.^[6]

Imperial naval cadets deemed to be insubordinate, such as Han Solo, were often reassigned to infantry duty as swamp troopers.^[2] The swamp troopers of the 224th Imperial Armored Division fought on the swamp planet of Mimban during the Mimban Campaign, which saw the Empire battle forces of the Mimbanese Liberation Army for control of the planet and its vital resources.^[1] Solo served as a swamp trooper before deserting with the Wookiee Chewbacca to join Tobias Beckett's gang.^[2]

Organization and equipment

Swamp troopers were a type of Imperial Army trooper that existed outside the Stormtrooper Corps. Standard troopers were denoted by a red bicep band. Medics fought alongside standard swamp troopers, and they could be identified by a white bicep band on their right arm.^[1]

Swamp troopers were equipped with helmets and chest plates similar to those of Imperial officers' battle armor. Due to the often hazardous nature of the various worlds the Empire found itself subjugating, troopers wore goggles for eye protection and oxygen masks to filter out potentially deadly substances, although swamp troopers did not always wear their masks during battle. Swamp troopers wielded SX-21 pump-action scatter blasters, E-10 blaster rifles, E-11 medium blaster rifles, E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifles, DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles, and EC-17 hold-out blasters.^[1]

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Behind the scenes

Swamp troopers were first officially revealed by Entertainment Weekly on February 7, 2018 during their coverage of Solo: A Star Wars Story.^[7] Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy incorrectly describes swamp troopers as being a mix of Army troopers and stormtroopers,^[8] when in fact stormtroopers involved in campaigns like the war for Mimban were their own variant, the wet-weather gear stormtrooper.^[2] Swamp troopers later returned in flashback in the Andor episode "Make It Stop,"^[6] with actor Bailey Patrick later sharing behind the scenes photos of himself in costume on May 12,^[9] May 19,^[10] and May 27, 2025. According to Patrick, his character, Amari, was a corporal.^[11] However, the episode itself identifies Amari as a captain.^[6]