Special Operations Brigade/Legends

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.
The Special Operations Brigade were part of Republic Intelligence operations.Labyrinth of Evil
It was later reorganized as the Imperial Commando Special Unit.
==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.The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
**Commando Group —5 companies (500 troopers plus support personnel), commanded by a Jedi General.
***Company—5 troops (100 troopers plus support personnel), commanded by a Clone Commander.
****Troop—5 squads (20 troopers ), commanded by a Jedi.
*****Squad—4 troopers, including a sergeant.
==Special ops variants==
*Clone commandosGuide to the Grand Army of the Republic states that all clone commandos were part of the Special Operations Brigade. 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.Republic Commando: True Colors
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons
*Star Wars: Republic Commando
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*SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story
*The Cestus Deception 
*Jedi Trial
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization 
*Republic Commando: Hard Contact
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*Republic Commando: Triple Zero
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*Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth 
*Republic Commando: True Colors
*The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny: The Way of the Jedi
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*Reversal of Fortune
*Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
*Labyrinth of Evil
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*Imperial Commando: 501st 
===Non-canon appearances===
*Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66
==Sources==
*Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Scrapbook
*Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
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*The New Essential Chronology
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*Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
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*Star Wars Annual 2009
*Star Wars Fandex Deluxe Edition
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
*Galaxy at War
*Scavenger's Guide to Droids
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*The Essential Guide to Warfare
*Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
*The Essential Reader's Companion
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*Lords of Nal Hutta
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==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Republic Special Forces units
Category:Grand Army of the Republic brigades