CSA troopers, nicknamed "Espos," were the infantry soldiers of the Corporate Sector Authority. The brown troops of the CSA functioned as an army, utilizing military formations such as companies and platoons. While they were considered an improvement on the Corporate Sector Authority Security Police, CSA troopers lacked discipline, training, and tactical experience according to Lando Calrissian and Komat. High Colonel Enric Pryde was also largely unimpressed by CSA troopers, although he also admitted that they possessed a degree of efficiency following their victory over the of Basta Core.
In 21 ABY, a detachment of CSA troopers assisted the Jedi hunter Ochi of Bestoon in the search for Rey. Ochi failed in his initial efforts to capture the child, despite the support of the CSA troopers, two of whom were incapacitated by Rey's father Dathan.
CSA troopers, also known as Espos, evolved from the CSA security police.
In the era of the New Republic, the Corporate Sector Authority engaged in a secret military buildup. The number of CSA troopers or "Espos" was increased as the CSA security police expanded to become an army of professional soldiers. By 21 ABY, CSA infantry troops were organized into military formations, with a single company consisting of three platoons.
The First Order in the Unknown Regions sent High Colonel Enric Pryde to the CSA as a military supervisor. According to Pryde, who was known as Steadfast during his covert assignment, the CSA believed it controlled an army. However, the Imperial veteran was unimpressed by the uniform of the CSA troopers, preferring the white armored appearance of the Imperial stormtrooper. In Steadfast's view, the CSA and its troops were privateers trying to emulate the Galactic Empire.
Despite Steadfast's opinion about the CSA, he found the CSA troopers to be "reasonably efficient" after witnessing their combat skills in a firefight against on Basta Core in 21 ABY. Their victory over the insurgents was achieved within a matter of minutes, leading the high colonel to consider the idea that the CSA troopers were not as "militarily inept" as he initially believed.
Against the protests of Viceprex Coromun, Steadfast reassigned a company of CSA troopers and a transport to assist Ochi of Bestoon, a Jedi hunter who served the Sith Eternal cult during the search for Rey. Later, however, he rejected a second request by Ochi for more CSA troopers, having terminated his alliance with the alien hunter.
Lando Calrissian and Komat discovered a large contingent of CSA troopers stationed at an on Taw Provode in 21 ABY. Calrissian had heard only rumors about the CSA's activities in the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War; the number of CSA troopers, as well as their heavily armored state, indicated to Calrissian that the CSA had in fact built its own private army.
CSA troopers were an evolution of the old CSA security police that existed during the Imperial Era. Although they inherited the nickname "Espos" from their predecessors, CSA troopers were trained as soldiers and therefore functioned as a military rather than a police force. Lando Calrissian considered them an improvement on the Imperial-era Espos, and even Enric Pryde admitted to being impressed by the CSA troopers during their battle with the insurgents on Basta Core. However, according to Calrissian the CSA troopers were not the disciplined, battle-hardened soldiers that they believed themselves to be. They acted on adrenaline and instinct instead of tactical experience, their confidence shaken by setbacks. Komat concluded that CSA troopers were deficient in training and experience after assessing their overall quality.
Dathan, a strandcast who lacked the Force-sensitive nature of his template, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, managed to incapacitate two CSA troopers while protecting his family. Possessing neither military training nor a strong connection to the Force, the junk trader from Jakku was uncertain if he was merely lucky or if the CSA troopers were simply "bad at their jobs."
During the New Republic Era, CSA troopers wore dull brown that was made of plastoid. Their uniform included a helmet and a flashlight mounted to the front of the breastplate. The red helmets that were worn by CSA officers, also known as "redcaps," distinguished officers from regular troopers.
CSA troopers were more heavily armored than their predecessors, and were therefore different in appearance to the "regular Espos" of the CSA security police.