Imperial Army trooper

> 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,

**Imperial Army troopers**, also known as **Imperial Army soldiers**, 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.

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.

## 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,

In 14 BBY, Imperial Army troopers fought under Moff Delian Mors against the Free Ryloth Movement, a coalition of freedom fighters founded by Cham Syndulla.

During the Mimban Campaign in 10 BBY, 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.

Also involved in the battle for Mimban was Beilert Valance, who had trained alongside Solo at the Carida Academy. Due to the injuries he sustained during the Battle of Howlan, 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. Over his ensuing career in the Imperial Army, Valance served as both a stormtrooper 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.

### Rise of the Rebellion

Despite the Empire's efforts to replace Army troopers with stormtroopers, Army troopers were still part of the military in 5 BBY as the fires of rebellion began to spread. 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 Commandant Jayhold Beehaz. The Alkenzi Air Base, meanwhile, was staffed not only by Army troopers, but also by stormtroopers. An elite detachment of Imperial Army troopers known as Imperial security troopers made up the bulk of the Ferrix garrison, supporting the standard stormtroopers also deployed to Ferrix.

## 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,

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 colored bicep bands that denoted the trooper's position, with red indicating a soldier and white indicating a medic. Within the Aldhani Garrison, troopers could forego the combat helmet in favor of an Imperial kepi. Troopers assigned to rural posts, such as Mimban and Aldhani, were issued olive green colored utility fatigues and grey armor. Troopers assigned to more developed urban posts, such as the Ferrix garrison, were issued black utility fatigues and matching black armor.

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, E-10.5, and E-11 blaster rifles. 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 sidearms such as the EC-17 hold-out blaster. 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.

## Specialized Army troopers

* **Imperial security troopers** — Elite Army troopers who were deployed into urban environments to maintain Imperial order. Security troopers wielded riot shields and batons when putting down civilian demonstrations.
* **Swamp troopers** — Informally known as **mud troopers**, Swamp troopers were Army soldiers who were fielded into begrimed, mud-caked environments. Swamp troopers possessed waterproof capes in order to keep mud from gathering within the gaps of their armor. They also possessed breathing masks and could wear their googles over their eyes to keep hazardous materials out of their eyes.

## Sources

* *Forged in Battle* Template:1stID
* *Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide*
* *Starships and Speeders* Template:1stID
* Template:EncyclopediaCite Template:Po
* *Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy*
* Template:Databank
* Template:Databank

## Notes and references

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1. ↑ *Star Wars* (2015) 58
2. ↑ *Starships and Speeders*
3. ↑ *Forged in Battle*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `TOG`
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Solo`
6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `GA`
7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `LOTS`
8. ↑ *Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide* establishes that the events of *Solo: A Star Wars Story* begin nine years after the founding of the Galactic Empire. *Star Wars: Galactic Atlas* dates the Empire's founding to 19 BBY, meaning that the Mimban Campaign can be placed in 10 BBY.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 *Target Vader* 5
10. ↑ *Han Solo - Imperial Cadet* 5
11. ↑ *Target Vader* 3
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `The Axe Forgets`
13. ↑ "The Axe Forgets" takes days after "Kassa," which dates itself to 5 BBY.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Template:Andor
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Imperial Security`
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Template:Andor