Clone trooper/Legends



"If you sharpen a knife to its limits, you run the risk of cutting your own hand. The knife has no choice but to be as sharp as you made it."

- Kal Skirata

Clone troopers were soldiers bred and trained to serve as the Republic's first ever military during the conflict that came to be known as the Clone Wars. Born and raised in the stilt-cities of Kamino, the clone troopers, trained and drilled since birth, came to be regarded as one of the best military forces ever to have existed in galactic history. This was not only due to their unrivaled training, but also to their unwavering loyalty to the Galactic Republic and its leader, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

Commissioning and the genetic template


The origins of the clone troopers can be traced back to the days before the debacle on Naboo, when it was commissioned by the the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas in the name of the Galactic Republic. With the mysterious death of Sifo-Dyas, however, the project fell under the supervision of a mysterious man known only as Tyranus.

After a series of stringent tests, Tyranus selected the famed Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett to serve as the army's genetic template. When the Kaminoans suggested creating the army using a Force-sensitive donor, Tyranus quickly squelched the idea. Before iniating the gestation process, the Kaminoans tampered with Fett's DNA, selecting behavioral genes having to do with such qualities as loyalty, aggression, independence, and discipline. This resulted in soldiers that were more obedient and more reliable than unaltered ones would have been. Only a small batch of one-hundred clones, which came to be the Advanced Recon Commandos, did not undergo these gene modifications. While it is often rumored that the clone's swift execution of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's Order 66 was a result of genetic programming, the truth is that it was due solely to their ingrained loyalty to the Republic.

The Kaminoan's first foray into exploring Fett's DNA resulted in the creation of twelve prototype clones, only six of which managed to survive the gestation process. The clones, which would served as the infamous Null-class ARC troopers during the Clone Wars, were the results of an enhanced Fett genome. The experiment, however, was perceived as a failure by the Kaminoans due to the low birth-rate and no further such clones were created. The six that did survive were prevented from operating in the field due to their extreme independence and presumed unpredictability. As a result, they remained loyal only to their training sergeant, Kal Skirata.

Training


"They're trained from day one to be more obedient than us."

- Atin

As the clones matured, Fett took a hiatus from his bounty hunting career in order to oversee the training of his soldiers. Fett personalized the clone's training regimen, and even had a hand in designing their armor. In order to make them available to the Republic as quickly as possible, all of the clones underwent genetic modification designed to hasten the growth process. As a result, each clone aged at twice the rate of a normal Human. By the age of ten, a clone would be physically fit and ready for combat. Clones that displayed an unusual or abnormal amount of individuality or independence were often reconditioned or reassigned. Clones that did not meet the Kaminoans exacting standards more often than not found themselves mysteriously disappearing in the late hours of the night. This was the case with a company of clones whose vision was not quite 20/20.

All clone troopers received basic training in core military skills, such as weapons handling, marksmanship, and other essentials. The Advanced Recon Commandos received highly-specialized training from Jango Fett himself, while their counterparts, the clone commandos, received training from a group of former Mandalorians and Journeyman Protectors, such as Kal Skirata and Walon Vau, which Fett dubbed the Cuy'val Dar. Officers (sergeants, lieutenants, captains, majors, and commanders) were drilled in how to effectively lead their men in the heat of combat.

Mandalorian heritage
During their development, Jango Fett made a point of instilling the Mandalorian ethos into each and every one of the clones. This was particularly true of the army's upper echelon and special forces. This quickly spread to include Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians, the use of which became widespread among the clones. The Mandalorian influence was particular strong among the Republic commandos, as nearly all of those whom had trained them were once Mandalorian warriors. When the Sith got their revenge with the execution of Order 66, the Mandalorians, in a way, got theirs too.

Armor


The first year of the Clone Wars saw the Republic's troopers outfitted in what is commonly referred to as Phase I armor. This armor, designed under the supervision of Jango Fett, closely resembled the traditional Mandalorian armor, or beskar'gan (Mando'a for iron skin), the most obvious example of which is the helmet's distinctive T-shaped visor. The armor itself was comprised of twenty form-fitting plates sealed to a black body glove. In spite of its bulkiness, the armor allowed for a reasonable range of motion. The armor's principle drawback, no doubt rooted in the Kaminoans' limited knowledge of human anatomy, made the armor intensely uncomfortable to sit down in.

In an obvious reflection of the stark sensibilities of its Kaminoan creators, clone trooper armor was issued in a pristine white state. As time went on, however, officers' armor began to feature colored stripes running the length of their arms and helmets that denoted their rank and position.



With the introduction of Phase II armor in the second year of the war, however, armor coloration came to denote division affiliation as opposed to rank. In addition, its introduction saw a rise in personalization and modification of one's armor. The state-of-the-art armor also featured an improved heads-up display in the helmet and put an end to the discomfort that came with sitting down.

Kit
All clone soldiers had either a DC-15 rifle or its more compact counterpart, the DC-15 blaster, two Merr-Sonn V-1 thermal detonators, two concussion grenades, an EC (electro-static charge) detonator, two tibanna gas canisters, four blaster packs, small amount of rations, handheld holoemitter, spare comlink, electronically charged zip line/grappling/rappeling hook, and a rudimentary medical kit containing enough synthflesh and bacta to keep a wounded soldier alive until a medic could arrive.

The Clone Wars


With the abduction of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala by Count Dooku and his Separatists, the stage was set for the first conflict of the coming Clone Wars. The Grand Army of the Republic made its debut on the barren plains of Geonosis. Within the first hour, the clones, under the command of Jedi Generals such as Mace Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi, had destroyed hundreds of thousands of battle droids and had prevented the construction of millions more with the capture of the planet's droid foundries. A mere 192,000 troops had managed to rout and defeat the gargantuan droid army in a matter of hours, a true testament to the depth of their superb training (although they had support from Jedi, the element of surprise, and vehicles).

The Grand Army's success on wind-swept Geonosis marked the beginning of the Clone Wars, a conflict into which the Republic's clone troops were flung headfirst. As more and more worlds declared their allegiance to Dooku's Confederacy, the troopers of the Grand Army found themselves being shipped off to the farthest and most obscure corners of the Galaxy. As their experience increased, so did their prowess. However, their victories more often than not came with a steep price. As of the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, towards the end of the war, nearly a half of the Grand Army's 30 billion troopers had fallen in battle.

A face and a name


"Come on, when have I ever let you down?"

- Commander Cody speaking to Obi-Wan Kenobi

When the Grand Army was first unveiled at the Battle of Geonosis, the Galaxy as a whole largely thought the clone troopers no better than their droid counterparts; faceless soldiers, sworn to lay their lives on the line for a Republic in which they had never set foot, with no minds or lives of their own. This attitude began to change, however, as the number of casulties increased. At the behest of their Jedi Generals, clone troopers were allowed to adopt names to go along with their impersonal serial numbers.

The Jedi Purge


With the decimation of the Jedi Order and the raid on its temple, the loyal clone troops of the Republic quickly became known as the Imperial stormtroopers. The clones of Jango Fett that originally comprised the Grand Army became absorbed into the ranks of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. During the reign of the Empire, those clones became lost in a sea of recruits, conscripts, and clones made from other templates.

Special unit divisions

 * 41st Elite Legion
 * 91st Reconnaissance Corps
 * 212th Attack Battalion
 * 327th Star Corps
 * 501st Legion
 * Galactic Marines
 * Homeworld Security Command
 * Sky Corps
 * Squad Seven
 * Lancer Battalion
 * 9th Assault Corps
 * 7th Sky Corps
 * Anti-Imperial clone troopers (Battle of Kamino only)

Specialized clone troopers


The initial clone trooper units produced included a limited number of soldiers trained for specialized roles, such as piloting or command. As the Clone Wars progressed, the Grand Army became increasingly specialized, leading to the development of units specialized for specific environments, equipment use or combat roles.

Combat role-specialized variants

 * Null Advanced Recon Commandos were the main intelliegence units, though somewhat unstable.
 * Advanced Recon Commandos represented the GAR's most elite and deadly soldiers.
 * Clone commanders combined enhanced tactical knowledge with advanced combat skills.
 * Clone commandos worked in four unit teams to perform covert actions.
 * Covert-Ops troopers and Republic shadow troopers offered stealth advantages.
 * Clone recon troopers carried out reconnaissance and surveilance for Jedi Generals.

Environment-specialized variants

 * Clone jet trooper provided aerial tactics with jetpacks.
 * Clone cold assault troopers, trained specifically for battle and survival in extremely cold regions.
 * Clone scout troopers, camouflaged and trained for recon on harsh terrain.
 * Clone SCUBA troopers, adapted to work and fight underwater.
 * Clone shock troopers, assigned to Homeworld Security Command and tasked with enforcing law and order on Coruscant.

Equipment-specialized variants

 * AT-RT drivers piloted AT-RT walkers.
 * AT-TE commanders led the massive AT-TE walkers.
 * BARC troopers, special BARC speeder riders.
 * Clone assassins operated as snipers and melee combatants.
 * Clone blaze troopers and clone trooper grenadiers provided heavy, close range anti-troop firepower.
 * Clone lancer troopers operated speeder bikes and joust with power lances.
 * Clone trooper pilots were trained to fly anything from a military speeder to a Venator-class Star Destroyer and serve as field technicians.
 * Clone paratroopers were a elite group of clones specially made for low combat jumps with specialized helmets and armor.

Rank notation
In the start of the Clone Wars, rank of the troopers was determined by color worn on their helmet, arm and shoulder armor.


 * None&mdash;standard white armor
 * Light green&mdash;Sergeant; commanded squads, made of 9 troops.
 * Blue&mdash;Lieutenant; commanded platoons, made of 36 troops.
 * Red&mdash;Captain; commanded 16 companies, made of 144 troops.
 * Yellow&mdash;Commander; commanded regiments, made of 2,304 troops. Many of these commanders were grown with more capacity for independent thought than their troops, and were sometimes known by names rather than numbers. Notable clone commanders included Cody, Bly, Gree, Bacara, Appo, Neyo, Thire, and Keller.

With the development and distribution of Phase II clone trooper armor, clone troopers no longer use color markings to denote rank. Instead, color patterns on troop armor signify legion designation and position.

Behind the scenes
All of the clone troopers were digitally created in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Their voices were provided by Temuera Morrison. He also provided the face for Commander Cody, Odd Ball, and Captain Jai'galaar, wearing a blue bodysuit that would be replaced in post production by the character's clone trooper armor. Morrison would also provide the voice of clones in many games, principally Republic Commando and the Battlefront series. Younger clones were portrayed by Daniel Logan (in Attack of the Clones) and Bodie Taylor (in both Clones and Sith). In the Clone Wars Cartoon, the voice of the clone troopers was provided by André Sogliuzzo. In the Revenge of the Sith game, Andrew Chaikin provided the voice of the clone troopers.