Although it is the white armored warriors of the Storm Trooper Corps who stand tallest in the popular imagination, they actually make up only a small part of the Galactic Empire's ground forces. It's the job of the elite Storm Trooper Corps to seek out dissenters, fight and kill them where they live. For the less glamorous but no less necessary work of securing and policing the Empire's vast territories, the regular soldiers of the Imperial Army must suffice.
The Army is a mammoth organization, manned through a colossal and universally hated conscription program and sustained through the practically inexhaustible material resources of the Galactic Empire. Army regiments are generally well armed and equipped, but are often indifferently led and motivated. As such, their battlefield performance is notoriously uneven. Shown here are two squads who can be seen as more or less typical of the Imperial Army squads who guard the ramparts of Empire.
The Squad above has obviously been configured for ranged combat. It is most likely part of a garrison force detailed to defend a fixed position, or for patrolling duties in open country. The Squad leader has chosen to make himself conspicuous by arming himself with a blaster carbine rather than one of the clumsier but more powerful blaster rifles carried by his men. This is perfectly understandable, since it is the job of the squad leader to direct the fire of his section and to communicate with his superiors, not to fight himself. It does, however, make him an obvious target for enemy marksmen.
This squad displays a considerably more mixed weapons configuration. It boasts five blaster riflemen and four carbineers. The squad has probably been equipped for urban patrol and assault operations. Should the patrolling squad take fire from a given building, the Squad Leader would most likely form a cordon around the building with his blaster riflemen, who would then suppress doors and windows with long to medium range fire. The carbineers would then assault the target building, clearing rooms and halls with their short ranged but handy and powerful weapons and grenades. Note the blast visors worn by the troopers with short ranged weapons, which protect their eyes from flashes of light and flying sparks and debris in enclosed spaces.
I arranged my Imperial Army platoon in 10-man squads as I figured the Imperium essentially sees them as expendable material and prefers to deploy them in nice round numbers that add up neatly. I didn't distinguish the squad leaders in any way other than their weapons, as I figured Imperial planners probably prefer to deal with tactical problems by throwing masses of men and material at them, rather than going to the trouble of trying to establish the sort of officer and NCO corps that have historically been the keys to success for so many armies. Dangerous to give that sort of training to men who are only indifferent to your cause anyway. They might leave your army and take the training over to the other side.
I plan on adding two more squads to this platoon. That's in addition to the platoon command team, of course. Finally, some bad guys to fight my rebs!
A young Jedi-in-training named Luke Skywalker leads troopers of the Mon Calamari Marine Brigade in an ambush of an Imperial Army patrol...
Prepare to be crushed, you Rebel Scum!