Clone trooper/Legends

The faceless soldiers of the Republic, clone troopers are an army in the image of one man, totally loyal and unquestionably dangerous in combat. The clone troopers mark a new era for the galaxy, and provide the basis for the elite shocktroops of the Galactic Empire.

The clone troopers were created by the cloners of Kamino to serve as the infantry units in the Republic Army commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. The Kaminoans drew on their history of cloning and genetic manipulation to create the finest clone army ever created. As of the Battle of Geonosis, ten thousand troops were ready to serve the Republic, with a million more undergoing the final stages of training.

Jango Fett was chosen by Darth Tyranus as the genetic template for the clone troopers. Though the Kaminoans created a Prime Clone - from whom the cloners could take further DNA samples for next-generation clones - Jango remained on Kamino to supervise clone trooper growth and combat training. Clone troopers mature twice as fast as a standard Human being, thanks to the growth acceleration programs introduced by Chief Scientist Ko Sai. In the ten years since his creation, a clone trooper is fully matured and ready to fight for the Republic. Sadly, this rapid growth also means clones have a short lifespan, even if they were to survive their many battles.

To ensure a high survival rate, the Kaminoans handed trooper training over to Jango Fett and his personally selected group of Mandalorian training sergeants. Rigorous mental and physical training exercises were performed constantly in Tipoca City, in controlled laboratories or on virtual battlefields. Clone troopers are bred to ensure obedience; the cloners tampered with their creations' genetic structures to make them more docile and less independent than regular soldiers. While this breeds total loyalty to the Republic, it also means clone troopers follow all orders without question - regardless of the morality of those orders.

In keeping with their Mandalorian training, clone troopers are outfitted in body armour similar in design to the battle armour worn by Mandalorian shocktroopers. Clone trooper armour is comprised of twenty form-fitting plates of lightweight plastoid-alloy composite, sealed to a black bodysuit. The armour itself is white: the Kaminoans' own personal touch, and while its tactical use is initially questionable, the armour has become a sight to fear; clone troopers themselves know no fear, and want their enemies to see them coming.

The clone troopers' first engagement was at Geonosis, shortly after Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered the existence of the clone army. Led by Master Yoda, the clone troopers stormed Geonosis, taking on the Separatist army and destroying many escaping transports. The clone army was well organized; a true testament to the depth of their training. 192,000 clone troopers were deployed on Geonosis, and their combined might was enough to rout the Confederacy and destroy countless thousands of droids.

The Battle of Geonosis marked the beginning of the Clone Wars, a conflict into which the clone troopers were flung headfirst. The Army of the Republic was deployed across the galaxy to counter the Separatists, and the white-armoured Republic soldiers soon became a common sight. Their prowess grew, despite losses on many worlds. Even medical treatment was made easier by the fact that replacement organs were easy to obtain; sharing the same genetic structure, clone trooper body parts are interchangeable, and many complicated operations are standardized among clones.

This approach initially gave the impression that clone troopers were no better than droids; faceless soldiers, ordered to fight and die for the Republic, with no minds or lives of their own. However, as the war progressed, this attitude shifted as more and more clone troopers laid down their lives to protect the peoples of the Republic. The Jedi Knights worked closely with the more advanced clone soldiers, and formed battlefield friendships with many of the more independent specimens.

Sadly, the defenders of the Republic would soon no longer be seen in such a light. When Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the galaxy, he transmitted a special command to his clone troopers: Order 66, tasking the clones with the elimination of the Jedi 'traitors'. In an act of "mutiny by order", the clone troopers turned against the Jedi Knights--most of whom were their generals and commanding officers--while shocktroopers stormed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. As Emperor Palpatine forged the evil Galactic Empire, the loyal clone troopers became the mindless Imperial stormtroopers, the feared drones of the New Order. Though by the time of A New Hope, most of the original clones had been replaced by recruits from the Imperial Academy. According to one of the Star Wars Empire comics, only one survived to fight for the Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War, Able-1707 who was stranded on a planet for 20 years after his unit was decimated in an attempt to destroy Separatist Confederate forces attacking them. He later became an Alliance intelligence agent and his fate is unknown.

Specialized Clone Troopers
During the Clone Wars, a number of special clone trooper squads were created. These included:


 * ARC troopers, or the Advanced Recon Commando trooper; deadly soldiers representing the elite of the Republic armed forces.
 * ARC trooper captains, red-armoured clone elite leading the deadly ARC troopers
 * Clone SCUBA troopers, adapted to work and fight underwater.
 * Clone trooper pilots, trained to fly anything from a military speeder to a Venator-class Star Destroyer.
 * Clone trooper commanders, tasked with leading squads of clones into battle. 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 and Thire.
 * Clone commandos, or Republic Commandos, seen in action in the video game of the same name. Work well in squads of four, and often customize their armour.
 * Clone trooper captains, tasked with leading 144 clone troopers (16 squads) into battle.
 * BARC Troopers, or Biker Advanced Recon Commandos, trained to pilot BARC speeders.
 * Clone Shock Troopers, assigned to Homeworld Security and tasked with enforcing law on Coruscant.
 * Clone Swamp Trooper, camo troops trained for swamp terrain combat.
 * AT-RT Driver, trained to pilot AT-RT walkers.
 * Clone Lancer Trooper, trained to pilot speeder bikes and joust with power lances.
 * Clone Jet Trooper, deployed in battle with jet packs similar to those worn by Jango Fett
 * Clone Sharpshooter, trained to operate as snipers, armed with DC-15x rifles.

Rank of the troopers is determined by color worn on their helmet, arm and shoulders armor.
 * None-trooper
 * Light green-Sergeant; command squads, made of 9 troops
 * Blue-Lieutenant; command platoons, made of 36 troops
 * Red-Captain; command companies, made of 144 troops
 * Yellow-Commander; command regiments, made of 2,304 troops

With the development and distribution of Phase II clone trooper armor, clone troops no longer use color markings to denote rank. Instead, colour patterns on trooper armour signify legion designation and position. Commanders often sport red, orange or yellow armour, while some sergeants and lieutenants retain green and blue armour respectively.