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- "There is something very touching about them. They look like soldiers; they fight like soldiers; and sometimes they even talk like soldiers. They have all the finest qualities of the fighting man. But behind that is nothing-no love, no family, no happy memory that comes from having truly lived. When I see one of these men killed, I weep more for him than for any ordinary soldier who has lived a full and normal life."
- ―Jedi General Ki-Adi-Mundi
The Special Operations Brigade (SO BDE) was the special operations division of the Grand Army of the Republic, made up of clone commandos, clone assassins, Advanced Recon Commandos, and clone shadow troopers.
History[]
As the Clone Wars began, the Jedi Order formed the two Special Operations Brigades to complete independent, specialized operations for the Galactic Senate, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and the Jedi High Council. Stationed with Arca Company Barracks, the Special Ops Brigades were led by Jedi General Iri Camas and Jedi General Arligan Zey. A year into the Clone Wars, the Brigades had taken half casualties, and were merged into one Brigade under General Zey consisting of 5,000 troops.[1]
It was later reorganized as the Imperial Commando Special Unit.[2]
Command structure[]
By 21 BBY, the Special Operations Brigade was commanded by Jedi General Arligan Zey. It consisted of ten Commando Groups, or battalions, by one year after the Battle of Geonosis.
- Special Operations Brigade —10 Commando Groups (5,000 troopers plus support personnel), commanded by Jedi General Arligan Zey.[4]
Notable units[]
Special ops variants[]
- Clone commandos mostly conducted direct action and special recon missions, in a tactical capacity.
- Alpha-class Advanced Recon Commandos served a more strategic purpose, conducting special reconnaissance and special sabotage missions. They were more obedient and reliable to the Jedi than the Null-Class ARCs.
- Null-class Advanced Recon Commandos specialized in reconnaissance. Less obedient than the Alpha-class ARCs.
- Shadow troopers specialized in gathering intelligence, special sabotage missions, counter intelligence, combating terrorism and espionage.
- Clone assassins were trained specifically to eliminate Jedi in case of their rebellion against the Senate and the Republic by utilizing Teräs Käsi, a form of unarmed combat.
One notable exception was the Covert Ops clone troopers. They were elite clones of the GAR assigned to doing 'dirty work' that most clones would find questionable and unethical for the Republic. The Director of Special Forces ignored the existence of those clones for a long time and they were supposed to take orders from the Office of the Supreme Chancellor.[5]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Republic Commando: Hard Contact
"Omega Squad: Targets" — Star Wars Insider 81- Republic Commando: Triple Zero
- Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Republic Commando: True Colors
- Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
- Imperial Commando: 501st (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- "Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic" — Star Wars Insider 84
- Star Wars Annual 2009
- The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
- The Essential Guide to Warfare