Clone commando / Legends Clone Commandos , also known as Republic Commandos and later as Imperial Commandos , were elite Clone trooper s of the Grand Army of the Republic and later the Stormtrooper Corps . Cloned from the genetic template of the famous Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett , clones selected for the commando program were trained by Mandalorian drill sergeants that were recruited by Fett himself to train them to become the deadliest soldiers in the Clone Army . Often working in Squad s of four , clone commandos were assigned to carry out special operations that the average clone trooper couldn ' t handle . These missions included covert infiltration , sabotage , demolition and assassination , all of which were standard tasks for the clone commandos . When Order 66 was issued by Chancellor Palpatine near the conclusion of the Clone Wars , the Jedi Order became targeted for extermination while Palpatine brought a swift end to the Old Republic by declaring himself emperor of the first Galactic Empire . The remaining Republic commandos were rechristened as Imperial commandos and incorporated into a special forces unit attached to the 501st Legion , under the command of the Sith Lord Darth Vader . However , a minority of commandos refused to comply with Order 66 , either out of sympathy for the Jedi or due to other personal reasons . For instance , Ion Team did not carry out the command to kill their Jedi officers , viewing it as an invalid order and not believing that the Jedi would betray the Republic , and instead opted to ensure the survival of General Roan Shryne . Other commandos fled to Mandalore , choosing to go into hiding rather than serve as the enforcers of the Emperor ' s New Order . History . Conception . Soon after the Kaminoans began developing the Galactic Republic ' s secret clone army on their homeworld of Kamino , a special forces unit was conceived as a necessary addition to the overall operational effectiveness of the new military force . Jango Fett , a Mandalorian bounty hunter and the genetic template for the entire clone army , was confident that progeny would be engineered into the best soldiers in the galaxy , but also knew that there were situations that regular infantry was not suited for . As a result , he requested for a special batch of clones that he would personally train as Advanced Recon Commandos . The Kaminoans reluctantly agreed , although due to their disappointment in the failed prototypes , they felt little confidence that the second generation of ARC troopers would meet their expectations . Thus , they compromised with Fett ; the bounty hunter would be allowed to personally train his ARC troopers while the Kaminoans proceeded with their plan to create the clone commandos , otherwise known as Republic Commandos . Unlike the ARC troopers , the Republic commandos would be more loyal and susceptible to following orders without question , yet they would still retain greater ability for independent thought than the standard clone troopers . This however could not prepare them for Order 66 . Thus , they were to be the perfect balance between two extremes . With a greater capacity for independent thinking , the commandos would be better suited to handling delicate missions with complicated objectives . If necessary , they would also be capable of devising their own way for completing missions . By being indoctrinated with absolute loyalty to the Republic , the commandos would not be difficult to control as the notorious Null - class ARC troopers were . The first batches of clone commandos were separated into squads , also known as " " pods " " , of four clones each , in reflection of the native aiwha hunting pods from Kamino . In addition to being subjected to the computerized flash - training program , the commando squads were divided amongst the " Cuy ' val Dar " , a group of professional mercenaries covertly brought to Kamino and hired to train the commandos in a variety of ways , such as teamwork , infiltration methods , demolition techniques , assassination and much more . The majority of the trainers were Mandalorians , such as Kal Skirata and Walon Vau ; the rest were mercenaries of different backgrounds . Although Fett ' s Cuy ' val Dar were primarily responsible for the commandos ' training , Kaminoan scientists personally oversaw the development of their creations as well . Taun We took a vested interest in the training of Delta Squad ' s leader , RC - 1138 , and helped to guide him throughout the first ten years of his life . The Clone Wars . When the Clone Wars erupted between the reigning Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems , the clone commandos had just completed a decade of training and were prepared for deployment into Republic service . The Kaminoans ' efforts to breed a special forces unit resulted in a number of small , operational squads , each capable of carrying out self - contained or campaign - augmenting missions . They were also highly trained and fiercely cohesive , yet capable of carrying out a variety of mission profiles . As the Clone Wars began with its first battle on the Separatist world Geonosis , the clone commandos were among of the first units deployed onto the battlefield , undertaking stealth missions to disrupt and destroy droid factories ; Delta Squad was responsible for assassinating Geonosian Lieutenant Sun Fac . However , due to the fact that the Jedi had not yet been prepared to lead an army , nor could they distinguish clone commandos from regular infantry troops , roughly fifty percent of the commandos died in the first battle . Despite their training as elite soldiers , the commandos were unfit to perform the role of the infantry - based clone troopers . In the aftermath of the battle , squads that survived intact were kept together , such as Delta Squad , while surviving commandos from various squads were merged together , thus creating new units like Omega Squad . 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 about the commandos . Some clones were impressed by the commandos ' status within the Grand Army and were awed by their skills as a special forces unit . Other clones , especially the ones belonging to the infantry - based units , disliked the commandos and felt that their reputation was grossly exaggerated . Later in the war , many clones grew to hate the commandos ' for their delving too much in the Mandalorian culture . Prior to the Clone Wars , Alpha - Ø2 , a defective ARC trooper , went rogue and escaped from Kamino . He reunited many Mandalorians into a new mercenary force and fought against the Republic on behalf of the Separatist cause ; the treason of Alpha - Ø2 even resulted in a Mandalorian assault on Kamino , where many of his clone brethren were killed in defense of their homeworld . Due to the Mandalorians ' declaration of war against the Galactic Republic , as well as the fact that they were led by a treacherous clone of Jango Fett , many clone troopers rejected their genetic template ' s heritage and began to despise anything that had to do with the Mandalorians , including fellow clones who still imitated certain Mandalorian customs and traits . The clone troopers of the 2nd Airborne Company , having suffered high casualties against the Mandalorian Protectors , displayed open contempt for Omega Squad , a unit of clone commandos that felt deeply connected to their Mandalorian roots . As far as the vast majority of clones were concerned , the Mandalorians had become enemies of the Republic , and the mere notion that some of their own brethren behaved like the enemy was deeply offensive to the clones that swore absolute loyalty to the Republic . While the clone commandos were generally acknowledged as a superior breed compared to the majority of the standard - issued clone troopers , the only clones in the Grand Army that superseded the commandos in skill and reputation were the ARC troopers . Though the Null - class ARCs were still regarded as anti - authoritative and problematic , they were useful as intelligence operatives . The more well - known Alpha - class ARC troopers , trained by the hand of Jango Fett himself , were acknowledged as the absolute best and most elite force that the Grand Army of the Republic had to offer . Their reputation was so renown amongst the clones that not even the commandos challenged the superiority of the ARC troopers . Omega Squad felt a mixture of respect , awe and fear in regards to the ARCs . RC - 1136 admitted that the ARC troopers were the only people on the Republic ' s side that he feared ; RC - 3222 regarded the ARC troopers as the clones that were closest to emulating Jango Fett in skill and personality , describing them as " " pretty well raw Jango " . " The Rise of the Empire . In the waning hours of the Clone Wars , the Sith plot to seize control of the galaxy was realized after a thousand years of preparation . Darth Sidious , the Dark Lord of the Sith and the true identity of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine , initiated the near - extermination of the entire Jedi Order by issuing Order 66 to all clone troopers . Trained from birth to be unflinching loyal and to obey all legal orders without question , the clones executed their orders , thus resulting in the immediate deaths of thousands of Jedi throughout the galaxy . After Palpatine declared himself Emperor shortly afterward , the 25 , 000 year - old Galactic Republic ceased to exist , clearing the way for the rise of the Galactic Empire . Among the many changes that were enacted to reflect the Emperor ' s New Order , the Grand Army of the Republic was soon reorganized into the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps respectively , the clone troopers were re - designated as Imperial stormtroopers , and the Republic commandos were rechristened as Imperial Commandos . As the Emperor ' s new apprentice and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet , the Sith Lord Darth Vader wasted no time in taking on his task to exterminate all surviving Jedi that escaped Order 66 and fled into hiding . As such , all of the remaining ARC troopers and Imperial commandos were incorporated into the 501st Legion as a new special forces unit , thus placing them under Vader ' s direct command . In addition to their new role as Jedi hunters , the Imperial commandos were also tasked with tracking down and killing anyone who either sympathized with the Jedi , or aided them in any way . Another objective that the Imperial commandos took on was to hunt down and exterminate clone deserters and traitors , mostly former Republic commandos and rogue ARC troopers . Among the first to compose the ranks of the Imperial commandos were the remaining members of Delta Squad and Omega Squad respectively . Although still capable at operating in the field , due to their combat experience as veterans of the Clone Wars , one of their primary tasks was to train the Empire ' s newly - engineered clone stormtroopers . However , the new clones were barely a standard year old , having been speedily grown through Spaarti technology . As a result , they were far less independent - minded than the clone troopers from Kamino , and much more likely to depend upon the flash training and rhetoric that they had been taught . As soldiers , the Spaarti - Fett clones demonstrated poor marksmanship skills and disregarded traditional strategy for a simple charge towards the enemy . Commandos such as IC - 1136 were shocked and exasperated by the operational effectiveness of the Empire ' s latest clone soldiers , or lack thereof . Under the 501st Legion , the Imperial commandos were divided into slightly larger squads than the " " pods " " that operated under the Old Republic . Galaar Squad and Omega Squad were combined into the Imperial Squad 40 . Due to the commando casualties in the Clone Wars and the traitors that deserted the Empire , it was clear that the Imperial commandos ' ranks could not be filled only by the first generation commandos that served under the Republic . In addition to the remaining commandos , the 501st Special Unit was also composed of regular clones grown from the Spaarti cylinders , much to the dismay of the original clone commandos . As previously mentioned , not all of the Republic commandos chose to obey Order 66 . A small minority of commandos disregarded the command from the highest level of Republic authority , either out of sympathy for the Jedi Order or due to different personal reasons . With the exception of IC - 1309 and IC - 1136 , the remaining commandos of Omega Squad fled in exile to Mandalore . Due to the subversive influence of Sergeant Kal Skirata , and having been indoctrinated into Mandalorian culture , Omega Squad ' s commandos had been harboring thoughts of desertion for some time prior to Order 66 . Instead of serving Emperor Palpatine , they opted to start a new life on Mandalore while also living as fugitives . Also , the Republic commandos of Ion Team regarded Order 66 as an invalid command and refused to execute their Jedi officer Roan Shryne . But unlike the deserters who retreated into hiding on Mandalore , Ion Team was unable to escape from the Empire ' s wrath . With the 501st Legion behind him , Darth Vader confronted Ion Team and personally killed two of its members ; the remaining two commandos were captured alive by the 501st stormtroopers . Training . Clone commandos were trained by a group of one hundred elite training sergeants chosen by Jango Fett , of which seventy - five were Mandalorian mercenaries . These men and women , known as the " Cuy ' val Dar " trained the commandos in a variety of tactics and fighting techniques , but the impressionable commandos also developed a few behavioral traits similar to their instructors . The first generation of clone commandos were selected from the regular clone batches and then segregated into " pods " of four , effectively forcing them to depend on each other and work together in order to survive . During their training , commando squads were often pitted against each other during combat sessions . Clone commandos were trained in live - fire exercises , giving them a sense of the reality of combat long before the regular clones . Anti - terrorist training was conducted in a building nicknamed the Killing House . Though many commandos failed to survive their exercises , the rest learned rapidly , allowing them to become better soldiers . However , the the loss of fellow squadmates was felt by any commando who lost a " vod " — a brother . The commandos also experienced near - death torture to train them in resisting interrogation , and many clones were left mentally scarred from the experience . By the end of the commandos ' training , the Kaminoans were very pleased with the results . Although unfit to fight on the battlefield as infantry soldiers , nor capable of performing complete solo operations like the ARC troopers , the clone commandos nevertheless demonstrated themselves as a new breed of warriors that few could challenge . Neither the regular clone troopers or even the elite ARC troopers could match the clone commandos in organization and team - work . Despite the fact that many commandos were indoctrinated in Mandalorian culture and regarded each other as brothers , the Kaminoans were impressed enough to dub their experiment a complete success . Specialized training . 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 ordnance 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 computers . Integration into trooper training regime . 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 ; RC - 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 . The commandos were heavily armed with an array of weapons and technology that were often vital to the success of their missions . 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 blaster s , 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 " " shiny boys " " . However , some squads would put special colors on their armor , or a number of dots on the left breast armor pad 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 matte black armor , and Yayax Squad , who wore gray splinter camouflage . By default , the commandos were trained with the DC - 17m , but oftentimes 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 slugthrowers , Accelerated Charged Particle Array Gun , Accelerated Charged Particle Repeater Gun , LJ - 50 concussion rifle , LS - 150 Heavy Accelerated Charged Particle Repeater Gun , improvised explosive device s , bore bang s , flash - bang grenade s , and EMP grenades . Often one member of the squad would be given an E - web repeating blaster . This was an extremely cumbersome and heavy weapon as it had to be moved in several parts . When used by normal troopers , the E - web was manned by two troopers but such was the training given to the commandos that it was only manned by one . Some times commandos would each carry a section of E - web , dividing it into four parts if the mission required moving fast and / or over long distances . Shortly after the rise of the Empire had begun , the newly christened Imperial commandos received a new set of armor , painted in the Imperial uniform white and later employed a similar divison titled Storm commando s . Although IC - 1136 preferred the old Katarn armor , the new Imperial armor helped him to forget about his past service to the Republic , as well as his dead secret wife , Jedi Knight Etain Tur - Mukan , Other commandos were not excited by the change as well , but nevertheless wore their new Imperial armor without complaint . Known operations . Republic commandos were deployed across the galaxy following the First Battle of Geonosis , battling through the murky Geonosian hives and the dangerous forests of Kashyyyk . Rank and color notation . 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 to test its effects on morale in combat . Delta Squad ' s superior performance during the Battle of Geonosis would pave the way for all other commando 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 . The other three squad members had two circles each , but only Fixer ' s are visible through the naked eye . Sev ' s and Scorch ' s are only visible through vision enhancement devices such as the electromagnetic scope of the DC - 17m ' s sniper rifle attachment , possibly because the three of them share the same rank but Fixer is the accepted second - in - command . Behind the scenes . In the customization menu during multiplayer online gameplay there are a number of skins available for the clone commando . These include Night Ops , Demolitions , Ranger , Sniper and Recon . Delta Squad has been featured in the of " " cartoon series which marked their first onscreen appearance . The term " clone commando " is misused in the novel " The Cestus Deception " , in which it is used to describe a squad of ARC troopers that form part of the novel ' s cast . Additionally , the term is used oddly in " Jedi Trial " , which portrays clone commandos as being deployed in waves led by an ARC trooper , rather than in groups in four as is usually seen in Clone Wars - related media .