The Stormtroopers who served the Empire were mainly made up of regular Human recruits who
willingly joined to fight for the Imperial cause.
So what was their motivation for joining?
Well there were quite a few reasons as to why someone would want to join the Empire,
and the reasons being were usually forged by where they lived in the galaxy prior to
joining.
Most Humans who lived in the inner Core worlds, which for the most part prospered under the
Empire, joined because they genuinely believed it was their duty to bring order to the galaxy.
Once the Empire was created, it sent out a powerful message to its citizens stating that
finally the power to maintain peace and order in the galaxy was going to be put back into
their hands.
That the power to maintain a safe and just galaxy was no longer held by the Jedi, who
failed in doing so by not preventing the Clone Wars, and instead that power was now given
back to the people.
Following the most destructive war of the galaxy, millions joined wishing to contribute
their time and effort to prevent a war of such magnitude from ever happening again.
Many of the earliest operations instigated by the newly formed Imperial Military were
widely popular, as they cracked down on Separatist holdouts and terror groups in the Western
Reaches and Outer rim of the galaxy and brought safety to areas that were still being ravaged
from remaining elements of the clone wars.
And most, if not all, stormtroopers believed that what they were doing was for the greater
good.
And this was true even later on in the Empire’s reign, despite it beginning to use harsher
tactics and becoming more oppressive toward its citizens.
For even if innocents may have died as collateral damage from their actions, it was worth it
if it meant that those actions help prevent there being another galactic war that would
otherwise see millions if not billions of innocents die.
They saw the galaxy as a chaotic mess that had countless innocents get killed due to
there not being any stability and order, and the stormtroopers viewed themselves and the
Empire’s overall goal as being the stable force which would ultimately allow citizens
to prosper in peace once everything was in order.
But this wasn’t the only motivating factor shared among stormtroopers.
Some joined because it was the best career path for them.
This was especially true toward Humans who lived on backwater worlds in the Outer Rim
where they were likely to live out the rest of their lives in or barely above poverty.
For before the Empire came to power, most Humans on backwater worlds were likely to
remain there for the rest of their lives as they had no means of leaving the planet and
seek a better life toward the center of the galaxy.
In most cases, the only real way for one to leave such places was to join pirate gangs
or other criminal organizations in hopes of getting lucky and leaving with them whenever
they ventured off world.
But when the Empire came, it gave them an opportunity to join up within the Imperial
ranks and be given a chance to leave the backwater world and seek grander ambitions beyond whatever
they would have had otherwise.
Plus being a stormtrooper apparently paid very well, at least when compared to whatever
work was available on these backwater worlds.
As there was a female Human named Thara Nyende who lived on the Outer Rim planet Sullust
who became a Stormtrooper mainly because it was the highest paying job available, and
she received enough compensation for her service to be able to sustain her family’s needs.
So if you were a Human living on some poverty ridden world, becoming a Stormtrooper was
likely the best career choice as it not only allowed you to be given future opportunities
you never would have had otherwise, but it also was a high paying job.
However, this was only true when it came to backwater worlds in the outer rim.
When it came to the more prosperous worlds closer to the inner core, it sounded like
the pay stormtroopers made wasn’t that great when compared to other career opportunities
that were available.