Imperial Stormtroopers, also known simply as stormtroopers, were the elite shock troops of the Galactic Empire and part of the Stormtrooper Corps, an independent military branch operating under the Imperial Army. They were men and women recruited or conscripted at a young age to serve as expendable foot soldiers of the Empire, gradually replacing clone troopers. Stormtroopers were first-line shock troopers meant to strike with speed and accuracy, putting down insurrections and maintaining order on the far-flung worlds of the Empire. They served both the ground-based armies of Emperor Palpatine's forces and the space-based Imperial starfleet.