In Star Wars Stormtroopers are the nameless, faceless drones of war in the galaxy. The men and women who make up the ranks of the Rebel Alliance are a different story. While fans may not know all their names - at least in the movies - they can see their faces. They see the Rebels fear and determination as they hold back the tide of the Galactic Empire.
Rebel troopers fight the Empire wherever they find them, and that includes a variety of different environments. The Rebel Alliance has drafted specialized soldiers to fight in each.
Lothal Resistance
Star Wars Rebels takes place a few short years before the original film. The Rebel Alliance is in its nascent form, with many of their best ships not in commission yet, and that's evidenced in the outfit of the crew and troops active in the resistance effort on Lothal. These rebels wore a curved helmet similar to that of the basic Fleet Trooper seen in A New Hope (more on them later), but of a different design and color. They also wore orange or mustard fatigues that varied somewhat depending on their specialty.
Rebel Magma Trooper
The Rebel Magma Trooper is a highly specialized soldier that appears in the Battlefront II game. The video game has steadily improved since its release in 2017, and part of the reason why is the number of new rebel variants it offers. The magma trooper operates in volcanic environments like the planet Sullust. They wear light but well-insulated fatigues, demarcated by an orange and yellow color pattern that is somewhat reflective in the design of other variants.
Ralph MacQuarrie (Concept)
The design of the Rebel Alliance trooper, like everything else in Star Wars, begins with Ralph MacQuarrie. The legendary concept artist was crucial in developing the signature style of the saga. The Rebel Trooper evolved out of different takes on a basic soldier. Early concepts had them wearing an enclosed space helmet since he imagined them fighting in the vacuum of space (this famously led to the mask that Darth Vader would ultimately wear). The odd clam-shaped helmet MacQuarrie envisioned would ultimately become the curved one in the film.
Rebel Honor Guard
The Rebel Honor Guard plays a small but vital role in the Alliance. This soldier guards high profile members as well as installations, like the hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4. They wear a very simple green uniform with a variant of the classic curved helmet, but with a tinted visor.
The Rebel Honor Guard is really only visible in the medal ceremony at the very end of the original Star Wars, in which Chewbacca inexplicably gets shafted. He would eventually get his, though.
Desert Trooper
The Rebel Desert Trooper is another intriguing new type of soldier that emerged out of Battlefront II. This trooper fought in the Battle of Jakku about a year after the end of the Galactic Civil War, one of the major events that took place between the Original and Sequel trilogies. The ruins of this epic battle are visible in The Force Awakens. Desert Troopers wore light fatigues, with virtually no armor. They did wear a simple but common helmet with a tinted blast shield. These troops led the ground assault on Jakku as the Imperial forces fell for the last time.
Endor Rebel Trooper
When the Rebels made their daring raid on the moon of Endor, they sent a small cadre of their finest soldiers with General Han Solo in Return of the Jedi. These troops, called Pathfinders, made up the elite unit that infiltrated the Imperial shield generator, one of the best things about the movie. They wore camouflaged fatigues to let them blend into the heavily forested environment of Endor, as well as lightly padded helmets. Some of the troops wore trench coats, while some wore smaller jackets.
Rebel Marines
Another lightly armored and outgunned group of rebels were the marine unit that accompanied Rogue One to Scarif. These soldiers wore very basic tan fatigues with blue jackets and vests. They did wear heavier helmets than usual, and many of them wore ammo clips or data rods tucked in straps on them. This gave them the look of American G.I.s in the Vietnam War era, and for fans of movies, particularly from Full Metal Jacket, one of Stanely Kubrick's best films.
Shock Trooper
The Mandalorian introduces Cara Dune, and one of the most intriguing elements of Star Wars lore in a long time. Dune is a former Rebel Shock Trooper. This isn't a type of soldier most people would commonly expect from the good and true Alliance, but as Dune proves, not everything about the Rebels was clean and easy.
Shock Troopers seem to have worn Dune's basic outfit, though the jury is still out on that. Perhaps that's one of the things fans will learn in the highly anticipated upcoming second season of the show.
Fleet Trooper
The Rebel Fleet Trooper is the first type of good guy we see on the screen in all of Star Wars. Right away, they establish the basic reality of the Alliance. They're determined but hopelessly outgunned. Rebel Fleet Troopers wore a very simple outfit, with light-blue tunics, khaki trousers, and black vests. They wore unique curved helmets. Some had tinted panels on the top; some didn't. Many of them died at the hands of advancing Stormtroopers, and more still from the powerful wrath of Darth Vader.
Hoth Rebel Soldier
After the Rebels fled Yavin, they created a new base on the remote ice world of Hoth. Rebel soldiers wrapped up heavy to fight against the bitter cold of the planet. When they fought against Imperial AT-AT Walkers, they braved the cold in insulated fatigues with heavy vests and jackets. Most of them wore scarves, as well as insulated skull caps and hats. These soldiers fought bravely against overwhelming odds in some of the harshest conditions of the saga.