Author Topic: When did the Empire change their eqiupment?  (Read 9856 times)

Offline Angry Ewok

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Re: When did the Empire change their eqiupment?
« Reply #30 on: October 30, 2006, 06:15 PM »
I wouldn't call any of the OT era troopers part of a 'customized unit'... Snowtroopers and Sandtroopers are still just your average grunt of a Stormtrooper. I'm sure each Star Destroyer has an armory with a range of armor depending on the environment their ground force is more likely to have to patrol in it's responsibilities, but that's it... there isn't a separate barrack for "snow experts" and another for "good swimmers" waiting around. The Commanding Officer probably just says, "For this terrain, we'll be using our Class X uniforms."

The Clone Wars era and the Galactic Civil War era is apples and oranges, really. The reason there were specialized units for the Clone Wars is because the Republic forces were completely mobilized, being constantly transferred to different theatres where they would make the best desired impact. The Grand Army went from blitzing through a uniformed enemy to dealing with spies and terrorists. In the Civil War setting, all of those 'custom troops' are useless... The gears of war have changed and there is no frontline to send specialists around...

My guess is that the non-specific units that made a name for themselves during the war were made honorary color guards of sorts aboard Star Destroyers, given a "Home Base" to continue the name. Specialists like ARC troops and the like were probably made Drill Instructors and whatever the Imperial equivalent to a Basic Training Officer would be...  The rest of the Grand Army was likely dissolved and redistributed to strengthen the galaxy. We know that at some point, the Galaxy was sectioned off and bases and garrisons were put in place. My guess is that these garrisons were originally manned by Clone War veterans, where locals were gradually accepted into position.


But the original question was 'When did the Empire change the equipment'... I'd say it was a gradual change as technology improved around field experience. From AOTC to ROTS we can already spot alot of changes that have been made in the trooper armor.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: When did the Empire change their eqiupment?
« Reply #31 on: October 30, 2006, 09:38 PM »
Agreed on the "specialized units" bit there Brad...  I've always loathed the term "Snowtrooper", or "Sandtrooper"...  The U.S. Army isn't formulating squads of troops specially trained to fight in the sand...  It's impractical.

I think what you see with the "Sandtrooper" is that the term's fabricated in EU ignorance.  Sandtroopers are merely Stormtroopers in their field gear.  Shoulder pauldrons are used to denote a general idea of rank structure for civilians as well as the troops themselves during combat conditions (things in war get hectic, so seeing who is who can be important).  The downfall of this though is the same as the downfall of all singling of Officers and higher-ups in history...  They become targets.  The British officers on horseback in the F&I or Revolution, the Officers targeted by snipers in WW2, WW1, Vietnam, Korea, etc...  In the vain Empire though it definitely falls into place I think... 

The "Snowtrooper" is to me the same idea really then...  To me, they aren't Snowtroopers, but rather they're regular Stormtroopers in cold weather equipment.  More flexible armor/uniforms for the terrain, heating gear, thermal stuff...  It's like saying the US sent "Cold Weather Soldiers" to defend Bastogne instead of just throwing trench coats and Mackinaws on the 101st Airborne and others, and throwing them out in the field.

Now, that's not to say I don't believe in specialized groups for the Empire...  I think they'd employ special forces units for certain, train them, etc., but what are the odds a Destroyer keeps a garrison of Troops on board for every environment?  Not likely, even with the grandeur of the Empire and what they are capable of.  Instead, the troops dress to match the environment...

Specialized units as I see them include:

-Storm Commandoes
-Blackhole Stormtroopers
-Scout Troopers (Not special forces per se, but trained separately of regular infantry and tasked with specific duties separate of the basic infantryman)
-"Airborne" units (requires a special training, but they'd still be merely a step above a basic infantry unit, and really it's feasible to assume all Stormtroopers get some "airborne" training and that "airborne" units don't even exist really)

The other group I'd consider CLOSE to Snowtroopers (and likely looking just like them) would be some kind of special Mountain/Arctic Trooper trained specifically for the environment...  But again, do all Destroyers (Executor included) have a legion of these guys aboard?  Highly unlikely.  Instead they're likely trained and kept in reserve or immediately placed on planets the Empire holds that require their services.  These troopers though would be additionally equipped for the perils of polar regions on planets like we see here, or high altitude mountains and things. 

I don't see the Executor just happening to have a pile of these guys aboard ship though, much less a full group to storm a well manned rebel base...  That just makes no sense.  They're out hunting the rebels, they have no "plan" or assumed location to base who they need to bring along, so they're just going to have the troops they think they can apply to any situation.

Sandies though have always been a comical group to me.  Their packs alone suggest to me a modular design built to be customized for the trooper's need.  Special gear for goign into a forest, a swamp, a volcanic/lava planet, a jungle, a desert as we saw, a cityscape, ship board/capture operations, siege operations, etc., etc...  They're your joe soldier with all the gear he needs for any planet he may be dropped on.  For the deep cold, a new uniform is in his closet ready to roll.
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