Storm commandos

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Size:
  1.83 meters

• Weapon:
  Blaster carbine, blaster pistol, concussion grenades, thermal detonators

• Affiliation:
  Galactic Empire, stormtroopers

• 

From the Expanded Universe

The dreaded storm commando was the Empire's answer to the increasing victories won by Rebel Alliance guerilla tactics. Rebel successes early in the Galactic Civil War forced the Imperial military to re-examine some of their methodology. While overwhelming numbers and brute force sufficed in many applications, the Empire identified a need for a leaner, more focused fighting force.

Crix Madine, an Imperial Army officer, developed the storm commandos to that end. Though Madine would eventually defect to the Alliance, the storm commando training program continued after his departure. Only the best of the stormtroopers received this intensive training, and storm commandos remained a rare sight by the end of the war. Nonetheless, Rebel SpecForces grew to respect their skills and abilities.

While standard stormtrooper operations are broad in scope, storm commandos are specifically trained for anti-Rebel operations, siege-breaking, extractions and sabotage. A unit of storm commandos can range from four to 40 troopers. Typically, one quarter of these are standard commandos, while a second quarter is an assault team trained for vehicle combat and artillery. Another quarter are experts at sabotage, demolitions and stealth, while the last quarter is tech team devoted to keeping gear functioning or jury-rigging makeshift supplies.

The black storm commando armor is based on the lightweight armor of the stormtrooper scout, but is coated with an advanced polymer called reflec which bends light and sensor energy away from the trooper.