Alliance Special Forces/Legends

"Eventually, empires fall like trees &mdash; we are the lumberjax!"

- Writing on wall of Rebel SpecForce barracks



The men and women serving the Alliance to Restore the Republic and its successor governments, the New Republic and Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, were dedicated to fighting for the freedom of the Galaxy.

They were either from subjugated worlds, or were Imperials disillusioned by the government's tyranny. Rebel forces were more individualistic and ragtag in contrast to the Imperial military. The Special Forces, or SpecForces, were a prominent part of the Rebel Alliance's ground forces, the Alliance Army.

The SpecForces were small in number, about 10 divisions, and were organized into formal units much like their Imperial counterparts: divisions, regiments, companies, platoons and squads. However, they rarely operated as units, because of the lack of resources. They were instead organized into task forces, consisting of the appropriate number of soldiers required for a certain mission. Below is a list of a few of these divisions.

Command Division
This was the overall leading group that controlled the SpecForces and, as such, were attached to Alliance High Command.

Heavy Weapons Specialists
SpecForces Heavy Weapons Specialists provided protection against enemy air and ground units and reinforce friendly forces. They were trained in starship gunnery. Though well trained, their casualty rates were high. This is because once an artillery piece's location has been revealed in battle, the enemy tends to desperately try to disable or destroy it. SpecForce Heavy Weapons Specialists were trained to die rather than abandon their guns. Often they were armed with explosives, such as standard thermal detonators and the HH-15 missile launcher.

Rangers
SpecForce Rangers were wilderness fighters who were trained to use their terrain for the best tactical advantage in fighting. They were more mobile than their urban counterparts, and often equipped with A-280 blaster rifles. Some brigades are trained for specific combat contions: arctic, aquatic, forest, mountain, etc. White-uniformed, rangers trained to work in cold terrain were present during the Battle of Hoth and stealthy forest-camouflaged rangers struck at the Battle of Endor.

Infiltrators
Rebel Infiltrators were among the most effective SpecForce divisions. They were chosen for their hatred of the Empire. They operated as secret agents and spies. They were also trained to slip through enemy lines and sow seeds of rebellion on Imperial worlds.



Marines
SpecForce Marines were trained for combat onboard ships, zero-g combat, space survival and space-suit operation. They were armed with blaster pistols, rifles, missile launchers, grenades, and sometimes vibroblades.

Pathfinders
SpecForce Pathfinders made drops into enemy territory, establishing beachheads and holding that territory until Alliance reinforcements arrived. They were trained for survival, alien species recognition, and repulsorcraft operation. They rely on surprise to overwhelm enemy forces.

Pilots
SpecForce Pilots were trained to pilot vehicles to provide back-up and support for their comrades. They wore unique helmets with orange-tinted visors and bright orange jumpsuits. They also carried CR-1 blaster cannons.

Sea Commandos
SpecForce Sea Commandos are trained and equipped for aquatic combat and survival underwater. Though the organization was mainly composed of Humans, aquatic species like the Mon Calamari were also employed. Sea commandos wore light blast armor, helmets fitted with comlinks and carried survival packs on their backs. Their standard weapon was a blaster rifle. They participated during the Battle of Mon Calamari against the reborn Emperor Palpatine's forces.

Technicians
SpecForce Technicians were trained to operate and repair equipment utilized by the Rebel Alliance. They rarely worked in units and usually work in task forces they were assigned to.

Urban Combat Specialist
SpecForce Urban Combat Specialists (or UCS, often simply called Urban Guerrillas) were trained for street combat and were skilled in finding ways to adapt the tough urban fighting environment to suit them. They were also trained in making do with whatever equipment they had and were experts in hand-to-hand combat, street fighting, demolitions and light weaponry. They wore tight yet flexible gray jumpsuits, which partially absorb the shock of blaster bolts and also have visor-helmets.

The Vanguard
Rebel scouts were known as the SpecForce Vanguards and wore large helmets with slopes in the back to deal with grazing blasterfire. They used light armor and heavy DL-44 heavy blaster pistols, frequently serving as the front line in the guerrilla assaults commonly initiated by the Rebels.

SpaceOps
A specialized group of the SpecForce whose fighting style was more focused on combat aboard starships.

Mercenaries and privateers


Mercenaries, hired by the Rebel Alliance, would often work as SpecForce personnel and were, formally at least, given the same status and privileges. While mercenaries could be found doing all sorts of SpecForce duties, they would most often operate in much smaller teams, or alone, doing covert missions.

The Rebellion, despite Ackbar's personal dislike of pirates, also made use of privateers. The Rebel privateers would raid Imperial vessels and bases as well as vessel and bases of organizations associated with the Empire and pass on a proportion of the booty to the Alliance.

Special status
The SpecForces had special status within the Rebellion, which also meant that they had special privileges. For example, medical frigates would often reserve entire wards for SpecForce personnel. This was the case of the Mercy where ward 114 was reserved exclusively for Alliance SpecForce personnel and for mercenaries working as Rebel agents.

Appearances

 * ''Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Force Commander
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Gathering Shadows
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Battleground: Tatooine
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Mandatory Retirement
 * Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
 * The DarkStryder Campaign
 * Dark Force Rising
 * X-Wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Champions of the Force
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force