Republic military The Republic military comprised the army and naval forces — the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy , respectively — of the Galactic Republic . Formed as a result of the Separatist Crisis and the ensuing Clone Wars , the Jedi - led clone forces fought against the Confederate droid armies across the galaxy for roughly three standard year s . By the war ' s end , Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine used his control over the Republic military to exterminate the Jedi , resulting in the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic ' s reorganization into the first Galactic Empire . The Republic military consequently transitioned into the Imperial Military . History . Formation . Prior to the Age of the Empire , much of the known galaxy was governed by the Galactic Republic , a democratic union that existed for over a millennium without the need of a standing army . Despite the lack of a permanent , pan - galactic military , the Republic remained secure due in part to the peacekeeping efforts of the Jedi Order — guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy . However , by 22 BBY a growing secessionist movement threatened to divide the galaxy between loyalist worlds and those that sought independence from Republic rule . With thousands of star system s attempting to leave the Republic , the Galactic Senate deliberated the Military Creation Act — a bill that , if passed , would authorize the formation of a Republic military force . Upon learning that the newly - formed Confederacy of Independent Systems had secretly engineered a massive droid army on Geonosis , the Senate voted to grant emergency powers to Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine , thereby allowing the Republic to quickly adopt the Kaminoan clone army . As a result , the Republic military became fully established with the formation of both the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy . Clone Wars . The Republic ' s new military — consisting of soldier s cloned from the genetic template of the human bounty hunter Jango Fett — first engaged the Confederate battle droid s in the Battle of Geonosis . The battle not only marked the start of the first full - scale conflict since the formation of the Republic , but also provided the clone trooper s with an opportunity to display a military might never before seen in the history of the galaxy . Upon securing the first victory of the civil war , which came to be known as the Clone Wars due to the clones becoming symbolic of the times , the Republic military deployed across the galaxy with the ultimate objective of putting an end to the Separatist rebellion . As the ancient protectors of the Republic , the Jedi were sworn to defend the government that united much of the galaxy under the rule of democracy for more than a thousand years , and therefore accepted a leadership role in the Republic ' s armed forces . Throughout the Clone Wars , the Republic and Separatist forces engaged in numerous battles across the galaxy . Many clone troopers sacrificed their lives out of loyalty to the Republic , as well as their Jedi General s and the Supreme Chancellor . After three years of constant fighting , the Confederacy was on the verge of defeat as the Jedi - led Republic forces escalated the besiegement of the Outer Rim Territories . However , every clone trooper had been engineered with an organic chip that rendered them incapable of disobeying Order 66 , a secret protocol that called for the immediate execution of all Jedi . In the waning days of the war , Chancellor Palpatine — now known to the Jedi as Darth Sidious , the Dark Lord of the Sith — issued Order 66 to the entire clone army , compelling the clones to slaughter their longtime allies without hesitation . In the end , the Republic military was instrumental in the downfall of both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic , consequently resulting in the restoration of Sith dominance through the rise of the Galactic Empire . Legacy . At the start of Sidious ' reign as Galactic Emperor , the Galactic Empire inherited the armed forces of the Old Republic and reorganized it into the Imperial Military . The clone troopers , who had once served as the defenders of the Republic , came to represent the first generation of the Imperial stormtrooper — elite enforcers of the Emperor ' s regime . Wilhuff Tarkin , Nils Tenant , and other ambitious officer s who made their careers in war gained even more opportunities for advancement in the Empire . Although the Clone Wars officially concluded with the Confederacy ' s defeat , numerous Separatist holdouts persevered in their resistance to the New Order , particularly in the Western Reaches of the galaxy . Their continued existence was used to justify the Empire ' s massive militarization effort , enabling the Imperial Military to grow larger and more advanced than its Republic precursor . Organization . Administration . In light of the Jedi Order ' s insufficient numbers compared to the far more numerous Separatist army , the Jedi accepted the responsibility of leadership in the Republic ' s new military . The title of Jedi General was bestowed on the Knights and Masters of the Order ; Padawan s were granted the lesser rank of Jedi Commander . Assisting the Jedi in their new role as military leaders was a cadre of clones specially trained for command . Their ranks ranged from the low positions of sergeant and lieutenant to the higher commissions of captain and commander . Regardless of their place in the Republic military echelon , clones were outranked by both the Jedi and non - clone commissioned officers . In addition to receiving support from clone navigation officer s , high - ranking Jedi were assigned a Republic Navy officer who served in a subordinate capacity as part of a wartime bargain struck early on between the Jedi Order and the Supreme Chancellor . Army . The Grand Army of the Republic composed the ground forces of the Galactic Republic from its inception and throughout the Clone Wars . Entire legion s of clone soldiers were grown and trained on the planet Kamino to serve — in addition to other military roles — as infantry units . Initially consisting of 200 , 000 units prior to the start of the conflict , the Grand Army ' s ranks ultimately swelled with an additional million clones at the beginning of the war . During the early period of the war , Phase I clone trooper armor served as the standard battle armor for the average clone , whereas variant units , such as clone pilots and ordnance specialists , wore a specialized version to suit their function . As the war progressed , Phase II clone trooper armor was gradually introduced into the Grand Army and eventually replaced Phase I as the standard armor for clones . Navy . The Republic Navy consisted of military starship s ; in particular , the " Venator " - class Star Destroyers and " Acclamator " - class transgalactic military assault ships . " Acclamators " , which were mainly used as troop transports , made their debut at the Battle of Geonosis , ferrying thousands of clone troopers to the first military engagement of the Clone Wars . " Venators " likewise served to transport clone units across the numerous fronts of the galaxy - wide civil war , although their primary function was ship - to - ship combat . In addition , the " Venator " Star Destroyer was developed to act as a carrier for numerous starfighter s and Low Altitude Assault Transport gunship s . The class also came to be closely associated with the Republic military ' s Jedi leaders and thereby gained the alternative name of " Jedi cruiser . "