Stormtrooper Corps

The **Stormtrooper Corps** was an independent military branch that operated alongside the Army and Navy of the Galactic Empire. Though they functioned under their own command structure, Imperial stormtroopers ultimately answered directly to Emperor Palpatine, the architect of the New Order that incorporated most of the known galaxy under Imperial rule. Regarded as elite shock troopers of the Empire, the Corps also functioned as Palpatine's chief enforcers—both within the military ranks and the galactic populace alike—due to their uncompromising loyalty to Palpatine.

The first stormtroopers were Republic clone troopers that the Empire inherited after the Clone Wars. However, the Stormtrooper Corps gradually expanded its ranks to include cloned soldiers from different genetic sources. Further changes in policy led to the recruitment of birth-born Humans as enlisted troopers. Before long, the original clones of the Jango Fett line were reduced to the status of a minority within the army that they once held as their exclusive province.

## Organization and structure

*"The Empire has a legion of loyal soldiers that are in endless supply."*
—Darth Vader

The Stormtrooper Corps was organized by a system, known as the Order of Battle, that mirrored the Imperial Army's lower-level structure. Unlike the Army, the legion was the highest level in the stormtroopers' command structure. In addition, stormtrooper units did not include support personnel.

The Stormtrooper Corps were often the first to go in and face the enemy when they are at their strongest, and as such, they don't stop until achieving their objective. They also are independent of the other military branches, but are at the same time willing to complete joint operations, whether it be serving aboard their warships and executing boarding operations with the Imperial Navy or seizing starports and taking out gun emplacements with the Imperial Army. As they answer directly to the Emperor, they are unconcerned with long-term employment, and as such they also were streamlined and ready for rapid deployment.

### Order of Battle

* **Legion**—9,813 units: 4 regiments (9,812 units: 8,192 troopers and 1,620 officers) led by a High Colonel. The largest defined level of organization within the Stormtrooper Corps., it is the approximate equivalent to an Imperial Army battlegroup. The legions mere deployment and parading also act as a form of psychological warfare, being adept at manipulating the psychology of dominance while shielded in the eerie anonymity of their armor.
* **Regiment**—2,453 units: 4 battalions (2,452 units: 2,048 troopers and 404 officers) led by a Lieutenant Colonel. A Stormtrooper regiment is considered sufficient enough to seize a Class A planetary starport.
* **Battalion**—613 units: 4 companies (612 units: 512 troopers and 100 officers) led by a Major. A Battalion is very likely to incorporate many types of specialized stormtrooper units, including scout troopers and incinerator stormtroopers.
* **Company**—153 units: 4 platoons (152 units: 128 troopers and 24 officers) led by a Captain.
* **Platoon**—38 units: 4 squads (36 units: 32 troopers and 4 officers) led by a Lieutenant and a Sergeant Major. A platoon is variable in size, similar to a squad.
* **Squad**—9 units: 8 troopers, including a Corporal, led by a Sergeant. It is the smallest stormtrooper unit typically deployed into a threat situation.