First Order Riot Control Stormtroopers

Seemingly abandoned by her parents on Jakku, Rey grew up a scavenger amid the wreckage of war. Her life changed when she agreed to help a droid on an urgent mission for the Resistance. Rey discovered she was powerful in the Force, and sought out the vanished Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to train her. That ended in disappointment, as did her attempt to bring Kylo Ren back to the light. But the resilient Rey continued her training and learned the truth about her parentage and her mysterious connection with Kylo. She then faced her greatest test: a confrontation with fear and evil that would determine the galaxy’s fate.

A harsh desert world, Jakku is a lawless place that’s home to thieves, outlaws and refugees. During the final years of the Galactic Civil War, Jakku was the site of a secret Imperial research base and served as a jumping-off point for warships heading into the Unknown Regions. The Empire made a last stand above the frontier planet, leading to a pitched battle between rebel and Imperial fleets. Jakku’s sandy wastes are littered with old wrecks, picked over by desperate scavengers searching for parts that can be salvaged and sold.

The First Order’s stormtroopers are trained in riot-control tactics and the use of non-lethal equipment such as the Z6 baton. The baton has a magnetic grip, can be spun in combat and delivers a stunning shock. Troopers often use it in conjunction with a betaplast riot shield. On Takodana, FN-2199 used a Z6 baton against his former stormtrooper comrade FN-2187, better known as Finn.

Imperial pilots were treated as expendable, sent into combat in unshielded TIEs, but the First Order treats its fighter pilots as important parts of its war machine. Potential First Order pilots are identified as children and given rigorous training, often within the corridors of warships, then tested ruthlessly throughout their careers to ensure their reflexes, visual acuity and coordination measure up. Elite Special Forces fighter pilots bear red flashes on their helmets, and report to the upper ranks of the First Order hierarchy.

First Order stormtroopers assigned to frigid planets such as Starkiller Base wear specialized armor and gear that let them operate effectively in icy conditions. Snowtroopers carry a backpack-style personal environment unit and wear insulated helmets with glare-reducing slit lenses, gloves, a kama, and a heat-resistant body glove beneath an oversuit of wind-resistant fabric. Snowtrooper teams scouted the planet that now houses Starkiller Base, eliminating native life forms that posed a potential threat.

The First Order’s infantry units wear stark white armor derived from that worn by the Republic’s clone troopers and the Empire’s stormtroopers. Members of this new generation of stormtroopers are trained from birth, growing up with unit designations instead of names and fed a steady diet of First Order propaganda to ensure absolute loyalty. Where the Empire opted for numbing routine, the First Order’s training simulations and live-fire drills encourage improvisation on the battlefield, making these stormtroopers more dangerous than their Imperial predecessors.