I was going to make a thread on this issue, but I'm glad to find it on the first page of suggestion box.
In pretty much every MMO I've tried, I've been going with the soldier theme with the fitting outfit. On Imperial side, the Imperial Trooper armor is the only such outfit to my knowledge. And no, Republic trooper is not for me.
GooseGrims' suggestion of paying $150 for this armor simply blows my mind, the sheer level of stupidity is making me dizzy.
The Imperial Trooper Armor is such a central part of the lore that it makes no sense for only a small ever-dwindling fraction of players to be able to acquire it. If CE owners should be too discontent with the decision of making the armor available to all, they should remember that all products are subject to 3rd degree price discrimination; in this case, products and services become cheaper over time in order to capture the maximum reservation price of each customer segment.