Clone commando

A team of clone commandos.

"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

A clone commando, or 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 standard tasks for the clone commandos.

When Order 66 was issued by Emperor Palpatine at the end of the Clone Wars, one commando unit, Ion Team, refused to fire on their commanding Jedi for various reasons, thus showing that at least some commandos were independent.

History

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

―Trooper Three-five on Geonosis

File:Clonesquad.jpg

Delta Squad shortly after the Battle of Geonosis.

Soon after the cloners of Kamino began their clone trooper project, Jango Fett, although he believed his clones would be the best soldiers in the galaxy, realized that situations would arise that regular infantry clones could not handle. He persuaded the Kaminoans to create a new class of Advanced Recon Commando, which he would personally train. The result was the Alpha-class Advanced Recon Commandos.

The Kaminoans believed the Alpha ARCs would be just as rogue as the "failed" Null-class ARC troopers, so they proposed another idea. They requested a battalion of elite commandos be created from the regular clone trooper genome template. These clones would be just as loyal and obedient, with the same docility and independence, as their more common brethren. The only differences between the two would be their superior weapons, armor, gear, teamwork and training. The commandos would be placed into squads (nicknamed "pods") of four commandos each, in a reflection of the aiwha hunting pods native to the depths of Kamino.

Fett agreed to this proposal and requested that the commandos be trained by professional mercenaries in addition to computerized "flash" training. The cloners listened to Fett, and soon Jango had gathered 100 ex-Mandalorian soldiers and other elite mercenaries from around the galaxy to form the Cuy'val Dar. Under the direction of Fett, the training sergeants 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-augmenting 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—50 percent of them having died in the first year of the war—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. Regular clone infantry respected them for their superb training and skills while other clones, especially the infantry that fought in the larger battles of the war, 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

File:Commando222.JPG

A clone commando in battle.

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. Anti-terrorist training was conducted in a building nicknamed the Killing House. Though many commandos died 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—a brother.

Specialized training

"Try to keep them 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

"Not quite ARCs, sir. Not like clone troopers, either. We don't work alone and we don't work in formations. We just look the same."

―RC-8015

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

Two commandos making short work of enemy forces.

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 either DC-15s side arm blasters, or shotguns. 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 improved camouflage, 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

A trio of clone commandos.

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
• Mort's mission to Kashyyyk
• Mission to Yorn Skot

Rank and color notation

"Clone troopers are well disciplined. Even the Alpha-batch ARC troopers—surly though they are—are predictable, in the sense that Fett gave them precise orders that they continue to obey. But the commando batches are almost as unpredictable as the Nulls, and the Nulls are as good as being Skirata's private army. That's the problem with having intelligent clones trained by a ragbag of undisiplined thugs—they've turned out at best idiosyncratic, at worst disobedient. But they'll probably win the war for us. Tolerate them."

―Assessment of Republic Commando cadre by Director of Special Forces general Arligan Zey to Iri Camas

A clone commando.

The standard color of the Katarn armor worn by Republic commandos was silver-gray regardless of rank. However an experiment by the Kaminoans allowed for one squad, Delta Squad, to paint their armor as they saw fit and test its effects on morale in combat. Delta Squad's superior performance during the Battle of Geonosis would pave the way for all other commandos squads to paint their armor as well. Some commandos decorated their armor to their individual tastes or according to rank, while others such as Omega Squad ordered identical suits of matte black stealth armor, as they found the regular armor was easily spotted when crossing an open field.

Delta Squad used circles on the left breast plate to designate rank. Boss, being the leader, had four circles. Fixer, being second in command, had two circles. Since Scorch and Sev didn't have a leadership role, neither of them had any circles on their armor.

Clone commando units

• Arca Company
  • Omega Squad
• Aiwha Squad
• Aiwha-3 Squad
• Blue Squad
• Bravo Squad
• Delta Squad
• Gamma Squad
• H.O.P.E. Squad
• Ion Team
• Lambda Squad
• Kilo Squad
• Prudii Squad
• Teroch Squad
• Triton Squad
• Theta Squad
• White Squad
• Vevut Squad

Training companies

• Alpha Company
• Epsilon Company

Clone commandos on Kashyyyk.

Notable commandos

• "Climber"
• "Di'Kut"
• "Mort"
• RC-0288
• RC-1013 "Sarge"
• 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"
• RC-5108/8843 "Corr"
• RC-5039
• "Tyto"
• "Zag"

Clone commandos in action.

Appearances

• Republic Commando: Hard Contact
• Star Wars: Republic Commando
• "The Package"
• Omega Squad: Targets
• Honor Bound
• Republic Commando: Triple Zero
• Odds
• The Cestus Deception (First appearance)
• Jedi Trial
• The Drop
• Labyrinth of Evil
• Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
• Republic Commando: Order 66
• Orders
• Descent
• Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
• Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
• Republic Commando: True Colors
• Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron

Sources

• Clone commando in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The New Essential Chronology

See also

• Special forces