Senate Guard/Legends

"The Senate Guards surely afford more than adequate protection&hellip;"

- Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

The Senate Guard, sometimes called the Blue Guard, was an elite unit, stemming from the Republic Senate Guardsman of old, established to protect senators, the Supreme Chancellor, and other ranking members and buildings of the Galactic Republic government.

Some members of the Guard were known to wear Senate Commando armor during times of war.

History
The Senate Guard was arranged into military-style units and held military-style ranks. The commander of the Senate Guard was the Captain of the Guard, while the head of the Grand Convocation Chamber detachment was referred to as the Sergeant at Arms and sat in the central Chancellor's podium. They were responsible to a Senate committee.

Guards were trained at the Guards' Academy and were based at Senate Guard Headquarters. By the end of the Republic, membership in the Senate Guard appeared to, at least unofficially, be hereditary.

The Guard were taught a form of martial art known as Hijkata, given extensive blaster training, and instructed in the use of a blaster pike. Senate Guards wore stylized yet sturdy body armor and were armed with ceremonial weapons that were replaced with modern blasters when required. In addition to their work as bodyguards and police, the Guard also investigated crime scenes, often alongside the Jedi.



During the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine created a new unit from select members of the Senate Guard, termed the Red Guard, which took over responsibility for the Chancellor's security, consisting mostly of elite Senate Guards. There was also a cosmetic change for the Blue Guard; the elaborate crests were removed from their helmets, and the open face was covered by a black visor similar to that of the Red Guard. Some of the Blue Guard also stood at duty without their robes, and holding a DC-15A blaster rifle. They were known as the Senate Commandos.

After the creation of the Galactic Empire, the Red Guard became the Emperor's Royal Guard, and the Senate Guard was gradually phased out. However, as of two weeks into the Empire's rule, the Senate Guard was still important enough to be made privy to the prosciption list of Palpatine's first purge of the Imperial Navy. It is possible the treason exhibited by several of the Guardsmen in helping one of their own escape the purge helped in the decline of the Guards' authority. By this time, the Senate Guard armor had been modified once again, with the black visor removed and the crest reduced in size.

Behind the scenes
The Hasbro toys name the Senate Guards as the Coruscant Guard. It is possible that "Coruscant Guard", although the name of an Imperial stormtrooper variant, could have been another name of the Senate Guards.

When they first appeared in The Phantom Menace, they were intended to be the direct predecessors of the Royal Guard. However, this idea was abandoned in Attack of the Clones, where they appear side-by-side.

Appearances



 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Hate Leads to Lollipops
 * Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell
 * Jedi Council: Acts of War
 * Cloak of Deception
 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Force Fiction
 * Star Wars Republic: Infinity's End
 * Star Wars Republic: The Stark Hyperspace War
 * Jedi Quest: The False Peace
 * Star Wars Republic: Honor and Duty
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Jedi: Shaak Ti
 * Omega Squad: Targets
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Star Wars Republic 61: Dead Ends
 * Star Wars Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows
 * Star Wars Republic 64: Bloodlines
 * Jedi: Yoda
 * Secrets of the Jedi
 * Sithisis
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Clone Wars Chapter 23
 * Clone Wars Chapter 24
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
 * Clone Wars Chapter 24
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties

Notes and references


Blaue Garde Senaatin kaarti