The Empire of the Hand's stormtrooper corps were originally made up of hired mercenaries and recruited soldiers from the Unknown Regions. After uncovering hidden cloning facilities on Kamino, the Empire of the Hand began using the cloning facilities to produce soldiers, pilots, officers, etc. in order to rebuild the once firm Galactic Empire.

Weapons and armor:
Stormtroopers are equipped with a full set of betaplast armor that has been specially designed for durability to make improvements on the old imperial plastoid armor of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. Their visors provided a heads-up display that was capable of seeing into spectrums of light outside of visible light in order to aid them on non-conventional worlds such as Umbara, where one Empire of the Hand outpost was located. Their helmets were capable of being sealed to keep air flowing and poisonous gasses and other toxins out.

The Empire of the Hand has contracts with a number of weapons manufacturers, but the standard issue blaster of the Stormtrooper Corps is the F-11D blaster rifle which was manufactured by the Sonn-Blas Corporation, a weapon shared by the First Order. Another common armament was the Charric blaster rifle, a standard issue weapon for the Chiss Ascendancy, through which many were purchased by Thrawn through his contacts within the Chiss Ascendancy. A popular side arm for the Corps was RK-3 blaster pistol which was also manufactured by the Sonn-Blas Corporation. One unique weapon that came equipped in all Stormtrooper Corps armor was a hidden wrist mounted gauntlet weapon that fired a concentrated stream of liquid carbonite gas that was used to subdue opposition to the Hand in a non-lethal manner. This weapon was typically used for riot control and could be used to de-escalate situations where it was deemed necessary. All soldiers had vibro-blades for instances where ammunition has run out, and survival equipment was kept stored in compartments on their belts.