Clone commando

Clone commandos, also known as Republic commandos while serving under the Galactic Republic and Imperial Commandos under the Galactic Empire, were elite clone troopers that served in the Grand Army of the Republic's Special Operations Brigade during the Clone Wars. A result of the Kaminoans' genetic experimentation with the Jango Fett template, they were special forces soldiers noted for their training and elite status in the clone army. In 22 BBY, Clone Commander Ponds gave command over five commando units to Jedi Master Mace Windu, who directed them to engage in a frontal assault against the Separatist Droid Army during the First Battle of Geonosis.
As the conflict between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems swept across the galaxy, the commandos were organized into squads that supported the Republic war effort as an elite group within the Grand Army. One such team was Delta Squad; following the battle on Devaron, they reported directly to the High Council of the Jedi Order, informing them that no survivors were found at the massacre site. Foxtrot Group consisted of commandos led by Clone Captain Gregor. They served with the 212th Attack Battalion until the Battle of Sarrish, where they were declared "missing in action."
In the latter days of the war, Clone Force 99 "Bad Batch" participated in the Battle of Anaxes, fighting alongside Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion. Unlike the other clones, who were genetically identical with each other as well as their template, the Bad Batch commandos possessed various characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the clone army and even each other.
Following the end of the Clone Wars, the clone commandos became part of the Imperial Military. In the months following the Empire's formation, numerous clone commandos would be reassigned as training instructors to TK stormtroopers, non-clone soldiers that were set to bolster and eventually fully supplant clone troopers. Other commandos would form the Imperial royal guard, a specialized unit assigned to protect and assist the Advanced Science Division under the leadership of Royce Hemlock.
==History==
===Conception===
In an effort to make "super soldiers," Kaminoan scientists who created the clone army changed and augmented the genetic template of some clone troopers, leading to the army's first commando unit.Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
===The Clone Wars===
Five commando units served under Clone Commander Ponds during the First Battle of Geonosis where the newly-formed Grand Army of the Republic—the army of clones created by the Kaminoans—engaged the Separatist Droid Army for the first time in the Clone Wars. During the battle, Ponds and his commandos served under the leadership of Jedi Master Mace Windu, a leading member of the High Council of the Jedi Order. During the Battle of Christophsis, several clone commandos served under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, who ordered the commandos to stay in position after a Separatist retreat.Ahsoka
The Jedi Council later sent Delta Squad to investigate the massacre on Devaron, retrieving Master Halsey's body alongside that of his apprentice Knox. Gregor, the Clone Captain of Foxtrot Group, participated in the Battle of Sarrish. With the Republic routed by the Separatist battle droids and casualties mounting, Gregor took a shuttle to look for help, but crashed on the remote desert world Abafar. He survived and was pulled from the wreckage by Borkus, a Sullustan male who owned Power Sliders, a diner in the small mining settlement of Pons Ora. Gregor's file in the Republic Military database listed him as missing in action. He was discovered by Colonel Meebur Gascon and D-Squad, and after regaining his memories, Gregor then decided to assist Gascon and his squad in destroying a rhydonium mining installation being operated by the Separatists. However, he volunteered to be left behind to buy D-Squad time to escape. He managed to survive.
While putting down an insurrection on Yalbec Prime, Clone Force 99, also known as "The Bad Batch," was summoned by Commander Cody during the Battle of Anaxes to assist him and Clone Captain Rex in ascertaining the secret behind Admiral Trench's strategies. However, matters escalated when Wrecker, the team's bruiser, cut off the Yalbec queen's stinger with a blade, causing multiple Yalbec males to attempt to mate with the clones. However, the team was able to escape to Anaxes aboard their gunship, the Marauder.
After fighting alongside Rex on Anaxes, the Bad Batch joined him and General Skywalker on a mission to Skako Minor to rescue the captured Advanced Recon Commando Echo. After the changes he went through, Echo became a defective clone trooper.Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers After the rescue of Echo, Rex, Skywalker, Echo, and the Bad Batch rallied together to take out Trench's flagship Invulnerable and his Droid Army. After that victory on Anaxes, Echo, who was further promoted to the rank of Clone Corporal,Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition joined the Bad Batch due to the cybernetics he was given on Skako Minor, which he felt separated him from the average clone trooper.
Prior to the Battle of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee ChieftainStar Wars Character Encyclopedia, New Edition Tarfful was captured by Trandoshan enslavers. These Trandoshans had made a deal with Count Dooku, but a group of clone commandos rescued Tarfful from the slavers. Meanwhile, the Bad Batch continued their one hundred percent success rate on missions, joining the fighting in the Conquest of Kaller before the execution of Order 66. Skywalker, as the newly-christened Sith Lord Darth Vader, marshaled the 501st for a siege of the Jedi Temple during the execution of Order 66. Amongst his forces was an elite group of clone commandos, who Vader led into the TempleNexus of Power with the standard troopers to wipe out the all Jedi they found inside the building.
===The Empire===
====Training the next generation====
Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the transition of the Republic into the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas clone commandos, now officially rechristened as Imperial Commandos continued to serve in the Imperial Military. In the months following the Empire's formation, fifty commandos, including Gregor, were assigned to an Imperial Base on the planet Daro to train the first generation of non-clone Imperial stormtroopers, designated as TK troopers, which numbered 1,000 soldiers. As part of Project War-Mantle, the TK troopers were intended to bolster and eventually fully supplant cloned soldiers throughout the Imperial Military. Donned in new armor, the TK troopers were trained by the clone commandos, although Captain Gregor did not teach them everything he knew. Eventually, Gregor grew disillusioned with the Galactic Empire and deserted one night, but was tracked through the forests of Daro by Imperial forces and was captured and imprisoned. Although captured, Gregor managed to activate a homing beacon in order to reach out to former clone officer Rex, who was covertly running the Clone Underground, a resistance network of rogue clones.
The Bad Batch—who, with the exception of Crosshair due to him remaining loyal to the Empire, had also defected from the Empire and became mercenaries for the information broker Cid—infiltrated the base to rescue Gregor. After rescuing Gregor, the base's security protocols were triggered by Tech who used an old clone code, Code-16, which did not work in the facility. Soon after, they were ambushed by a squad of TK troopers and their clone commando instructor. The troopers were incapacitated by stuns, and the commando was placed in a chokehold and strangled unconscious by Hunter. The group then made their way to a turbolift to reach the top of the base and escape, but were cut off by another squad of TK troopers and commando Scorch, who immediately opened fire. The Bad Batch managed to escape by lowering the lift and exiting, but continued to be pursued by Scorch and his TK troopers. Engaging in firefights throughout the base's corridors, Gregor was wounded by Scorch, who in turn was stunned multiple times and incapacitated. Another clone commando and his forces moved in from the opposite direction, and the Bad Batch were forced to escape through the base's exhaust vents that led through the mountain and out to an opening on a cliffside.
A clone commando and his troops deduced their location, and moved in on the group at the exhaust vents. The commando and the stormtroopers fired on the Bad Batch as they waited for their ship, and the commando was shot by Wrecker who had arrived on the Marauder. As the rogue clones were escaping, the clone commando charged forward through the exhaust vent and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Sergeant Hunter and Echo, but was restrained. After managing to break free from the hold and stepping back into the exhaust vent, the commando was accidentally struck with a barrage of blaster fire from his own troopers, and subsequently fell down to the bottom of the mountain screaming. Hunter was separated from the rest of the rogue clone group during the skirmish, and was captured by several clone commandos and multiple TK troopers. He was subsequently imprisoned and taken under Imperial custody.
====Guarding Tantiss====
Meanwhile, commandos with grey markings identified as the Imperial royal guard were stationed at the Tantiss Base in Mount Tantiss, the site of a cloning operation on the planet Wayland headed by the Advanced Science Division. There and off-world, commandos in blank armor also served as secruity for the scientific division. Royal guard commandos escorted the Kaminoan Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se to the Wayland facility, where she was welcomed by the Imperial medical officer Scalder. Scorch would, in time, be transferred to Wayland as a Clone Commander.
In 18 BBY, over a year after the Empire's formation, an Imperial shuttle carrying a cloned Zillo Beast was ripped out of hyperspace after the cloned animal broke out of containment and attacked the vessel's crew. The beast would chase a lone surviving clone commando through the ship's corridors before ultimately killing and eating him. Concurrently, royal guard commandos were present for the arrival of Doctor Royce Hemlock on Mount Tantiss, as he would be placed in charge of the Advanced Science Division and all cloning operations at the facility. Upon learning that an Imperial transport carrying a cloned Zillo Beast had crash-landed on the planet Silla, Hemlock dispatched a strike team of royal guard commandos to recapture the beast. After the cloned animal had been subdued and put into stasis, the clone commandos rounded up the populace of a nearby village that had witnessed the Zillo Beasts' rampage and shipped them off-world to be dealt with.
Sometime after, a royal guard commando assisted in the transfer of clone test subjects from an outpost on Balmorra to the Wayland facility on Wayland. The commando boarded a Gozanti-class cruiser along with a security team of stormtroopers and the Imperial Captain Pearce. Before the cruiser could jump to hyperspace, it was ambushed by a shuttle belonging to the Clone Underground. As the rogue clones boarded the Gozanti and fought through its stormtrooper crew, Pearce ordered the royal guard commando to erase the ship's databank to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. The rogue clones entered the ship's bridge and dispatched the commando before he could complete his task, and held Pearce at gunpoint before the Imperial officer killed himself via a suicide shocker. The rogue clones fled the ship as it was strafed and destroyed by Imperial V-wings.
===Legacy===
During her time with the 97th Legion,Battlefront: Twilight Company which began in 2 ABY, Furthermore, it is also established that Thara Nyende enlisted for the Imperial Ninety-Seventh Stormtrooper Legion a year prior to the novel's main events, and so her enlistment can be dated to 2 ABY. Thara Nyende was told that her unit commander, SP-113 was one of the original clone commandos which had founded the Stormtrooper Corps. She became more convinced of the claim after 113 survived a detonation from close up in 3 ABY.
==Equipment==
Clone commandos were equipped with Katarn-class Commando Armor, which came as a unique set of armor to commandos alone. The armor set came with a backpack, where commandos kept various items like grenades and sabotage gear. They were allowed to choose the colors on their armor. In combat, the commandos utilized the DC-17m Interchangeable Weapon System and the DC-17 hand blaster, though the DC-15A blaster rifle used by the likes of standard clone trooper infantryStar Wars: Battlefront II and TK stormtroopers also saw use by clone commandos. Also at the disposal of clone commandos were thermal detonators—particularly the class-A model and that model's hemispherical variant—and a blaster pistol model. Their left gauntlet carried a repulsor while their right gauntlet contained a vibroblade. Commandos could also change their blaster's barrel to an anti armor grenade launcher.
==Known members and units==
===Advanced Science Division===
The Galactic Empire's Advanced Science Division was composed of a large contingent of clone commandos, with many stationed in the division's facilities such as Tantiss Base on Wayland and aboard the division's vessels, such as transport 904. The Advanced Science Division's clone commando force was led by Clone Commander Scorch.
===Clone Force 99===
During the development of the clone army, the Kaminoans experimented with the genetics of the Jango Fett template in an attempt to create super soldiers. While the experiments bore few results, four of the test subjects came together to form Clone Force 99. Referring to themselves as the "Bad Batch." The Bad Batch were engineered to be different, but unlike the enhanced clone commandoes who came before them, each member of the Batch had a unique genetic mutation designed to heighten a specific skill set, the specialist clone commandos used their "desirable" mutations, along with unorthodox tactics, to accomplish their objectives. Members of Clone Force 99, an elite squad of defective clones, had the prefix "CT" in contrast to the "CC" or "RC" used by regular clone commandos.Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! The group was led by Clone Sergeant Hunter, who was strong and stoic, and had greater combat prowess than most.
Providing the team's muscle was Wrecker, who was gifted extraordinary strength, though he had a temper.Tech, while not physically imposing, was a gifted strategist and unmatched in the use of technology. Crosshair was the squad's no-nonsense marksman, though he did not like working with "regs," by which he meant unaltered clones. Clone Corporal Echo, a cyborg, joined the squad following the crucial Battle for Anaxes. Though experimental, they were extremely effective during the Clone Wars.
===Clone X Trooper Division===
Clone X troopers were clone commando warriors created when a clone trooper was taken to and brainwashed within Mount Tantiss, losing their prior identity in the process. Once they were trained and "activated," as trooper CX-2 put it, X troopers were deployed to carry out secretive operations during the Imperial Era, such as taking on assassination jobs. One such assassin was Clone X, who Clone Captain Rex was certain was not a Kamonian-produced trooper. Clone X denied Rex the chance to learn more about his existence by killing himself with a suicide shocker, only describing himself as a "believer" in the Imperial cause.
===Delta Squad===
Delta Squad was a Republic commando squad that was dispatched to Devaron by the Jedi Council and recovered the bodies of Jedi Master Halsey and his Padawan Knox that had been killed there. The squad was led by Clone Sergeant Boss and consisted of second-in-command Fixer, Sev, and Scorch. Delta Squad participated in some of the war's most dangerous missions.
===Elite Squad===
The Elite Squad was composed of multiple Elite Squad Troopers that were led by a clone commando; Clone Commander Crosshair.
===Foxtrot Group===
Foxtrot Group, led by Clone Captain Gregor, was an elite unit of clone commandos attached to the 212th Attack Battalion. The unit was reported missing in action at the Battle of Sarrish. Captain Gregor was also reported missing after the Battle of Sarrish. However, he later reappeared on Abafar with amnesia. While he was willing to lay down his life during the escape from Abafar, he promised he would make his way back home and indeed survived, remaining active into the Imperial Era. However, he would go onto desert the Empire after being stationed on Daro and joined the Clone Underground.
===Imperial royal guard===
A large unit of clone commandos, Imperial royal guards served under the Galactic Empire's clandestine Advanced Science Division, tasked with guarding its facilities and recovering its assets. They were mainly stationed at the Wayland facility on Mount Tantiss, but could also be found at Imperial installations like the Balmorra outpost. The vast majority of royal guard commandos were easily distinguishable by gray markings on their armor, while others returned their armor to its blank-white state.
===Project War-Mantle===
Fifty clone commandos, including Clone Captain Gregor and Scorch, were deployed to the Imperial Base on Daro as part of Project War-Mantle, the training, organization, and implementation of TK stormtrooper conscript soldiers for the Imperial Army.
===Recovery Strike Team===
Two clone commandos, including Clone Lieutenant Hilo, were assigned to the Imperial Army's Recovery Strike Team under the leadership of Clone Commander Wolffe. The strike team consisted of several TK stormtroopers and a large group of clone troopers.
==Behind the scenes==
Clone commandos were first mentioned in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones indirectly during the Battle of Geonosis. The concept of clone commandos was introduced within the Star Wars Expanded Universe novel The Cestus Deception and the characters were later heavily featured in the game Star Wars: Republic Commando. Clone commandos were introduced into Star Wars canon through the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Witches of the Mist."
Clone commando concept art for both Scorch and a standard clone commando by S. Carey for the Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode "War-Mantle" name clone commandos as a variant of ARC trooper, with both model sheets named some variation on "cloneCommandoARC." Both pieces were dated to April 22, 2020, and released on StarWars.com after the release of "War-Mantle." While Walt Disney Studio's Getty Images page identified clone commandos seen in The Bad Batch episode "Shadows of Tantiss" as "Clone ARC Commando Troopers," the video game Star Wars Battlefront II and reference book Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers depict clone commandos and ARC troopers as separate clone classes.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Commando
Category:Imperial military specializations