Squad / Legends A squad was the smallest military unit in many of the galaxy ' s army formations . The numbers of soldiers in a squad varied , but usually consisted of no more than a dozen personnel . The Clone Wars . Republic army . Under the Old Republic , squads of ten or twelve soldiers were common among the army forces , but in the Grand Army of the Republic created during the Clone Wars , a standard clone trooper squad consisted of nine soldiers , led by a commanding sergeant , with four squads forming a platoon . Although the GAR squads , and later stormtroopers squads , were smaller in amount than the Old Republic squads , they made up for the comparative lack of manpower by utilizing superior training as well as a more thorough usage of coordinated small - unit tactics . Otherwise , elite clone of the Special Operations Brigade , including clone commandos , clone assassin s and ARC commandos operated in squads of four , such as Delta Squad . The four men squad included a sergeant and five such squads formed a troop . Republic Peace Officer squads were made of five men . CIS army . In the Separatist Droid Army , the Order of Battle of its different members was maintained . Trade Federation infantry squads were made of eight battle droids , without squad leader , with seven squads forming a platoon . Geonosian warriors did not have any military organization . Commerce Guild infantry squads were made of six Gossam soldiers , including a squad leader , with six squads forming a troop . Corporate Alliance infantry squads were made of twelve Koorivar Fusiliers , led by a sergeant , with three squads forming a platoon . IBGC infantry squads were made of nine Muun Guards or nine battle droids , led by a sergeant , with five squads forming a troop . Galactic Empire . Imperial Army . When the Republic gave way to the New Order , the non - clone line forces of the Imperial Army retained the GAR ' s standard squad strength of a sergeant and eight other troopers . On the sergeant ' s recommendation , one soldier was normally appointed Corporal , also known as the " one - man " , and a brevet list was created which numbered each trooper down to the " eight - man " , denoting the order in which authority devolved to them if the squad ' s more senior soldiers were killed . This likewise led to the expressions " Lower than the eight - man " and " Certain as the one - man ' s mind . " As with larger units Imperial Army squads could be augmented , with two squads paired together . In these instances the sergeant of the first squad was given the brevit rank of " lead sergeant " and his corporal directed their squad during his absence . More commonly a squad was just augmented with a small detachment , typically a heavy weapons detail supporting a line squad . By the time of the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin , the Empire had been experimenting with the usage of smaller squads , although these were still rare , with the 8 - man squad still acting as the backbone of the Imperial Army . Line Squad . Infantry units were called “ line ” units in the Army , and the line squad was considered the backbone of the army . However , high losses against the Rebel Alliance caused the Empire to rethink how they could improve the line squad as cost - effectively as possible . This led to the process of equipping each squad with a Light repeating blaster to increase their short range firepower . However , only in three Sectors were more than half of the squads equipped with these blasters by the time of the Battle of Yavin : Shwuy Sector , Harron Sector and Nembus Sector . On heavily populated worlds such as Uviuy Exen and Trammen , every line squad was equipped with a light repeating blaster . Heavy Weapons Squad . These heavy weapon squads were armed with either two - to three - man Medium repeating blaster s or three - man Heavy repeating blasters . Heavy weapons squads were usually attached to other platoons in order to provide additional firepower . Sharpshooter Squad . These squads consisted of Special Missions troopers who had shown accuracy above standard with their weapons and could " reach out and touch " the enemy at a distance . Each trooper also received basic demolition and other training , and while not officially part of their Order of Battle practically every squad included a light repeating blaster . Due to their above average skill sets and training , the brevet corporal would be chosen prior to deployment based on the type of mission the squad was assigned , while each trooper was expected to improvise on the battlefield should both NCOs be incapacitated . Engineering Squad . Engineering Squads were composed of Special Missions troopers trained in a variety of combat engineering skills . Engineering squads were expected to get into , get around or go over any obstacle through the creative use of explosives . As the only Imperial tech - squad directly involved in combat they were also expected to be able to operate , repair and dismantle nearly any equipment and gear found on a mission . One of the squad ' s members would also be a demolition expert with experience operating as part of the sharpshooter squad , making them doubly dangerous . These squads had no standard gear , and would use anything they could get their hands on , such as thermal detonators , medpacs or Portable Sensor Arrays . Repulsorlift Squad . These mechanized squads had the same composition as line squads with the addition of two light repulsorlift transports . Each vehicle had a crew of four , consisting of a mechanic , a driver , a sensor / tech officer and a gunner / commander . The sergeant ' s vehicle was equipped with an additional DER and operator located in the transport compartment . Heavy Weapons Repulsorlift Squad . Heavy Weapons Repulsorlift Squads had additional armaments built into their vehicles , such as a heavy repeating blaster , a 4 . 4 grenade launcher or light laser cannon . These weapons could be dismounted and used by the infantry for additional firepower . Scout Squad ( Lance ) . A scout squad was also called a scout “ lance ” . Consisting of five personnel including the sergeant , they were generally equipped with speeder bikes with a few also using two - man vehicles . Scout troopers were trained to repair and maintain their bikes , which reduced the need for support personnel . In contrast to the more usual practice , the Empire emphasized unit heritage and pride in its scout squads , which were often recruited from worlds with a strong tradition of mounted warriors . Armor Section . An armor section consisted of either two light or medium repulsortank ( or their equivalent ) or a single heavy repulsortank ( or it ' s equivalent ) . These units existed only as part of the Order of Battle for an armor platoon and never deployed by themselves . Artillery Section . Similar to an armor section the artillery section consisted of either two light artillery pieces or one medium or heavy artillery piece . However an artillery section could be deployed by itself to support another platoon , a process known as " grafting , " although this only took place if there was enough time before an attack to plan . Stormtroopers and scout troopers . Just as the standard Army squad consisted of eight soldiers and a sergeant , Imperial Stormtrooper squads were said to have nine men as standard in 6 ABY ; a nine - man squad would also fit with an implied stormtrooper platoon strength of 45 men , and the ten - man stormtrooper bodyguard assigned to a Moff was perhaps a nine - man squad plus an officer in command . However , Rebel sources believed that the Empire was also using smaller stormtrooper squads , and by 22 ABY , the standard squad of the 501st Legion apparently consisted of units of four troopers , such as Unit Aurek - Seven , one of ten such units in Aurek Company . According to Section 682 . T . ST88 of the " Imperial Stormtrooper Corps Field Manual " , although the minimum unit allowed in the Stormtrooper Corps was a squad , the squad itself could be subdivided further into two fire teams and organized into wedge formations , with the fire team leader being at the tip of each wedge , in order to permit maximum firing range in every direction and allow ready communication between members , which was usually advised when the composition or position of enemy forces were uncertain . By 137 ABY , a squad in the 407th Stormtrooper Division consisted of four troopers led by a sergeant . One of the troopers was armed with a heavy support weapon , while the others used conventional blaster rifles . Their officer was a lieutenant , but so far the number of squads in a platoon or company is unknown . Imperial scout troopers were organized differently , drawing both recruits and traditions from worlds where cavalry combat had a prominent history . They were organized in five - man units known as lances , with each trooper being expected to care for his own mount — usually a one - seater speeder bike like the Aratech 74 - Z , although some lances combined one bike with a pair of two - seat flyers . Additionally , although part of the Stormtrooper Corps , scout troopers were often integrated into the Imperial Army order - of - battle : two lances , together known as a scout squadron , were combined with two infantry squads in each platoon of a Repulsorlift Battalion ' s scout troop , while the scout platoon of a special missions company consisted entirely of biker scouts . Other military forces . During the Galactic Civil War , squads comparable to those of Imperial forces served as the most basic component elements of Rebel Alliance SpecForces regiments , but for active duty , mission - specific units were formed with little regard for the nominal roster or formal organizational doctrine . In the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force , a standard squad apparently numbered six warriors , divided into two half - squads of three . Among the Mandalorians , squads ( such as Viper Alpha , Vertigo , and Headhunter ) were larger than in other armed forces ; this may be due to the fact that the Mandalorians seemed to use " squad " and " company " interchangeably . For Yuuzhan Vong warriors , three squads composed a unit .