Imperial Army Special Missions trooper / Legends Imperial Army Special Missions troopers were the elite special forces of the Imperial Army . While comparatively rare and available only when deemed necessary by Imperial High Command , they were almost as numerous as the Alliance Special Forces . Overview . Imperial Army Special Missions troopers were the successors of the Republic Outland Regions Security Force ' s Special Tactics trooper s . The most common type of Special Missions trooper was the sharpshooter followed by engineers . Sharpshooters had greater accuracy with a blaster than normal troopers and were trained to " reach out and touch " the enemy at long distances . Each sharpshooter was also given the basics of demolition and expected to master a variety of skills necessary for accomplishing their unorthodox mission , including first aid and vehicle repair . Sharpshooter squads consisted of nine troopers and one sergeant , with a " brevet corporal " chosen based on the needs of the mission , however each trooper was expected improvise and proceed with the mission should both NCOs be eliminated . In addition to their blaster rifles practically every sharpshooter squad included a light repeating blaster , despite the fact such equipment was not on their official order of battle . Engineers were trained to creatively apply explosives to nearly any situation , allowing them to get into , go around or go over just about anything . As the only Imperial technicians directly involved in combat , engineers were also expected operate , repair or dismantle any piece of equipment they came across , from blasters to repulsorlifts . Engineer squads consisted of nine troopers and one sergeant , with one of the troopers being a demolition expert with previous experience as a sharpshooter , making him the most dangerous individual in the squad . In terms of equipment there was no standard load - out for engineer squads and used they could get their hands on , from portable sensor arrays to thermal detonators and medpacs , whether they went through official channels or not to procure it . Deployment . Special Missions troopers were commonly deployed in platoon or company strength ; while battalion - size units existed , there existed few missions for which such a large formation was need which couldn ' t be accomplished by regular Army personnel . The platoon was the basic special missions unit , able to perform limited independent operations with minimal assistance , and was flexible enough to cross - attach its component squads to appropriate - sized tactical units . Led by a Lieutenant and assisted by a Sergeant Major , a platoon would commonly consist of two sharpshooter squads , an engineer squad and a veteran heavy weapons squad . The heavy weapons squad was not a special missions unit " per se " , but by dint of experience and sheer firepower was capable of keeping up with the other squads . These platoons were commonly used for one of three different operations . Political gain operation s were " false flag " missions in which the unit infiltrated a planet with Rebel sympathies and perpetrated terrorist activities in the name of the Alliance . When the local government requested Imperial assistance regular forces would move in and arrest known and suspected Rebel sympathizers , " ending " their terrorist activities . The second was known as Rebel Activity Clearance , or RAC , in which the unit hunted down particularly troublesome Rebel guerrilla units . These operations were fairly successful , especially in built - up terrain such as forests or urban centers ; however they were not particularly popular with higher - ups who preferred to use regular troops , even if they were less effective in the role . The third were assassination missions of military personnel . While all Rebel sympathizers were technically considered military personnel , these missions were most often targeted against Rebel officers , whose sudden death would have a negative impact on their troops . Special missions companies consisted of four combat platoons and the company ' s headquarters unit . Three of the platoons were standard special missions platoons , while the fourth was a special veteran scout troop mounted on speeder bikes . It consisted of a lieutenant and sergeant major along with 20 Army scouts organized into four lances . The scout troop ' s mission was primarily reconnoitering target sites and battlefields . These companies operated on planets considered hostile to the Empire , even those nominally a part of it , and were expected to operate without much support . In rare instances when it was needed , naval support missions of line - size or greater would appear suddenly from hyperspace and launch scores of containers of various sizes onto the planet ' s surface . Normally only five contained actual supplies , the rest being decoys , and once received the naval support either left or stayed to provide additional orbital support . Members of the Special Missions were used for the engineering and sharpshooter squad s of the Imperial Army .