Vanguard gunnery specialist

Vanguard gunnery specialists, also known as vanguard troopers or heavy gunners, were Imperial stormtroopers specialized in the use of heavy weapons and equipment.

Description
Whereas the Stormtrooper Corps' standard support gunners used DLT-19 and T-21 repeating blasters, heavy troopers wielded TL-50 heavy blasters; they also had access to other unique equipment such as wrist-mounted shield generators, Z-6 rotary cannons (some of which modified to have explosive or ionized bolts), impact grenades, and portable grenade launchers. They wore standard issue stormtrooper armor, though were distinguished by their use of a black soft pauldron on their right shoulder.

Besides their equipment, the main difference between support gunners and heavy gunners were that the latter were trained for offensive assaults, often in special forces units, while the former were trained to provide supporting fire from a relatively safe distance. Many support gunners were able to be refitted as heavy gunners as a form of promotion if they excelled in their specialization. Another distinguishing factor was in their method of operating: while support gunners operated alongside standard infantry and had average experience, heavy gunners typically served units that specialized in sabotage, intelligence gathering, advanced reconnaissance, and mechanized infantry operations with years, possibly decades, of military experience.

Behind the scenes
Vanguard gunnery specialists are based on the Galactic Empire team's Heavy Class that appears in the Star Wars: Battlefront II 2017 video game.