Alliance Special Forces/Legends

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 the ground forces of the Rebel Alliance and were less commonly referred to simply as the Rebel Army. They were small in number, about 10 divisions.

The SpecForces were organized in formal units much like their Imperial counterparts: divisions, regiments, companies, platoons and squads. However, they rarely operated in 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.

Heavy Weapons Specialists
SpecForces Heavy Weapons Specialists provided protection against enemy air and ground units and reinforce friendly forces. They are trained in starship gunnery. Though they are well trained their casualty rates are high. Often they are 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 were equipped often with repulsorlift vehicles. Some brigades are trained for specific combat: arctic, aquatic, forest, mountain, etc. White-uniformed, cold-terrain rangers 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 in 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 this 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 wore 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 Dac against the reborn Emperor Palpatine's forces.

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

Troopers
Rebel Troopers was the term for the standard infantry and security used onboard starships. They were distinguished by their sleek, heavy helmets and light, shock-absorption vests. Originally, they battled as Rebel fighters in any environment when the SpecForces had been low on resources.

Urban Guerrillas
SpecForce Urban Guerrillas were trained for street combat and were skilled in turning 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 wear tight yet flexible gray jumpsuits which partially absorb the shock of blaster bolts and also have visor-helmets.

The Vanguard
Rebel scouts are known as the SpecForce Vanguards and wear large helmets with slopes in the back for grazing blasterfire and carry light armor. They wield heavy DL-44 heavy blaster pistols and serve also as the front line in the guerrilla assaults commonly initiated by the Rebels.

Mercenaries
Mercenaries, hired by the Rebel Alliance, would often work as SpecForce personnel and was, 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.

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

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
 * Dark Empire
 * New Jedi Order
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * ''Empire at War