Clone commando/Legends

"Think of yourselves as a hand. Each of you is a finger, and without the others you're useless. Alone, a finger can't grasp, or control, or form a fist. You are nothing on your own, and everything together."

- Kal Skirata

The clone commando, or the Republic commando, was an elite soldier of the Grand Army of the Republic. Often working in groups of four, clone commandos were assigned to carry out covert operations too delicate for regular clone troopers. Infiltration, sabotage, and assassination were all in a day's work for the clone commandos.

When Order 66 was issued by Emperor Palpatine at the end of the Clone Wars, some commando units, such as Ion Squad, refused to fire on their commanding Jedi, thus showing that the commandos were independent themselves.

History
"If they're any thing as good as I hear, they can practically win the war themselves."

- Trooper Three-five on Geonosis



Soon after the cloners of Kamino began their clone trooper project, Jango Fett expressed dismay about the quality of the soldiers. He believed that they wouldn't be effective as anything but cannon fodder, and requested a brigade of elite commandos to be created. Furthermore, Fett requested the commandos be trained by Mandalorian mercenaries, and not through computerized "flash" training.

The cloners listened to Fett, and soon Jango had gathered ex-Mandalorian soldiers and other mercenaries from around the Galaxy. Under the direction of Fett and the training sergeants known as the Cuy'val Dar, work was begun on a new soldier: the clone commando.

The commandos were separated into squads (nicknamed "pods") of four commandos each, in a reflection of the aiwha hunting pods native to the depths of Kamino. The Cuy'val Dar gave the commandos the most elite training available.

The Kaminoans soon found they had a number of small, operational squads, each capable of carrying out self-contained or campaign-augementing missions, as well as being highly-trained and fiercely cohesive, yet capable of carrying out a variety of mission profiles.

When the Clone Wars started with the Battle of Geonosis, the commandos were some of the first units dropped in, disrupting droid factories and assassinating Geonosian lieutenant Sun Fac. However, due to the Jedi inexperience with leading an army, many commandos died&mdash;50 percent of them having died in the first year of the war&mdash;as many were used as infantry. Over the course of the Clone Wars, the commandos were set to work in various other flash-points across the Galaxy, wreaking havoc on the Separatist forces.

Throughout the Clone Wars, there were many different opinions regarding the commandos. Standard clones either respected them for their superb training and skills, while other clones, especially the infantry that fought in open battles, thought the commandos were given more credit than they deserved. Only the Advanced Recon Commandos surpassed the clone commandos in the Grand Army.

It is possible that the remaining loyal clone commandos became storm commandos during the reign of the Galactic Empire.

Training
"Ah, one of the deluxe models. Come to save us with your 'superior' training?"

- Anonymous clone trooper to Boss



Clone commandos were trained by a group of elite training sergeants chosen by Jango Fett. These men and women, known as the Cuy'val Dar trained the commandos in a variety of tactics, and often the trainers were a fatherly figure for the fatherless clones. However, some, like Walon Vau, opted to toughen up their soldiers and were ruthless towards them.

Clone commandos were trained in live-fire exercises, giving them a sense of the reality of combat long before normal clone troopers. Though many commandos did die during these exercises, the rest learned rapidly, allowing them to become better soldiers. However, the repercussions of their squadmates' deaths were felt by any commando who lost a vod&mdash;a brother.

Specialized training
"Try to keep from blowing the place up until Vau gets here, ok."

- Niner to Darman

Each clone commando was trained to handle a specialized task, varying from commando to commando. Some, like Sev, specialized in sniping and assassination. Others, like Fi, specialized as medics and received more advanced training than their other brethren in that field. Others, like Boss or Niner, showed more leadership potential and acted as squad leaders. Some, like Scorch and Darman, showed a natural skill with demolitions ordinance and acted as demo specs. Others, like Fixer or Atin, were trained to be able to handle a variety of technology-based tasks, such as slicing and demolitions work.

Integration into trooper training regime
It appears that the clone commando program was so successful, that some clone troopers were trained in commando skills and tactics. Some commando-trained troopers were CT-19/39, a recon trooper killed on Praesitlyn; CT-5108/8843, a former bomb disposal expert taken under Kal Skirata's wing; the clone trooper squad that accompanied Mace Windu and Valiant during the hunt for Darth Sidious; and the non-ARC members of the Muunilinst 10.

Equipment
"Being hard is good, being hard with superior tech is better."

- Sergeant Walon Vau

As their name implied, the commandos were not all about subtlety. They had at their disposal an impressive arsenal of blasters, sniper rifles, and anti-armor launchers, all part of the configurable DC-17m Interchangeable Weapon System. They also carried DC-15s sidearm pistols. Wearing advanced Katarn commando armor, clone commandos were the ultimate soldiers. Because the armor was silvery-gray, the other clone troops called them "shinies." However, some squads would put special colors on their armor to symbolize rank and position in the hierarchy of the squad. Other squads would opt for better camo, as was the case with Omega Squad, which wore black matte armor.

By default, the commandos were trained with the DC-17m, but often times other weapons would be used or issued to them, depending on the situation. Katarn-class armor also featured a retractable knuckle plate vibro blade for melee combat. However, they were also supplied with an array of non-Republic exotic weaponry, such as bowcasters or Trandoshan firearms, when their mission objectives demanded as such.

Known operations
"That's what they created us for. The complicated jobs."

- Niner

Republic commandos were deployed across the Galaxy following the Battle of Geonosis, battling through the murky Geonosian hives and the dangerous forests of Kashyyyk.
 * Battle of Geonosis
 * Mission to Qiilura
 * Coruscant spaceport siege
 * Mission to Coruscant
 * Mission to the Corellian-Perlemian Intersection
 * Mission to the Chaykin Cluster
 * Mission to Fest
 * Mission to Ord Mantell
 * Battle of Praesitlyn
 * Mission to Garqi
 * Battle of Deko Neimoidia
 * Battle of Murkhana
 * Mission to Kashyyyk
 * Mission to Yorn Skot

Rank and color notation
The standard color of the Katarn armor worn by Republic commandos was silver-gray regardless of rank. However, the commandos were free to recolor their armor as they saw fit. Some, like Delta Squad, decorated their armor to their individual tastes or according to rank, while others such as Omega Squad ordered identical suits of matte black armor.

Clone commando units

 * Aiwha Squad
 * Aiwha-3 Squad
 * Blue Squad
 * Bravo Squad
 * Delta Squad
 * Gamma Squad
 * H.O.P.E. Squad
 * Ion Squad
 * Lambda Squad
 * Kilo Squad
 * Omega Squad
 * Prudii Squad
 * Teroch Squad
 * Triton Squad
 * Theta Squad
 * White Squad

Notable commandos

 * "Climber"
 * "Di'Kut"
 * RC-0288
 * RC-1013 "Sarge"
 * RC-1080
 * RC-1133 "Taler"
 * RC-1134 "Vin"
 * RC-1135 "Jay"
 * RC-1136 "Darman"
 * RC-1138 "Boss"
 * RC-1140 "Fixer"
 * RC-1207 "Sev"
 * RC-1262 "Scorch"
 * RC-1309 "Niner"
 * RC-3222 "Atin"
 * RC-8015 "Fi"
 * "Tyto"
 * "Zag"

Appearances

 * Republic Commando: Hard Contact
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando
 * The Cestus Deception
 * Hide in Plain Sight
 * The Package
 * Omega Squad: Targets
 * Honor Bound
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Odds
 * Jedi Trial
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Orders
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader