Zulu Force

The **Zulu Force**, officially designated the **1st Special Operations Squadron Detachment-Zulu**, is one of the Terran special operation unit of the Terran Special Operations Command (TSOC), considered the best special operations unit in the entire Terran Armed Forces. Zulu Force is known for the fact that its members wear Mandalorian armor, and is the only elite special ops unit in the Terran Alliance to have them. It's members are drawn from all over Terra and other worlds of the Alliance, and are considered some of the most lethal and extremely effective men and women in the Terran Alliance. Members of the force are known as Zulus.

## History

### Background

When the Terran Alliance was first formed, one of the military commands formed was TSOC, responsible for overseeing all of the Terran Alliance's SOF units and their operations. Throughout the early part of the Terran involvement in the Clone Wars, multiple special forces units were deployed to the Andromeda Galaxy to support both Terran and Republic operations, including the American SEALs and Delta Force, British SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, German KSK, and Israeli Sayeret Matkal. These units proved to be very effective in accomplishing their missions.

However, when the Terran Alliance became involved in the hunt for the terrorist group Death Watch, it became clear that Death Watch, despite being a militia force with only about 5000 members, outmatched many Terran special forces (SF) units, due in part to the advantages their Beskar armor being energy weapons and ballistic resistant. TSOC commanders began considering forming a new special forces unit specifically to hunt down Death Watch.

### Formation

In late 1993, after receiving word from Samuel Adams that Darth Maul had taken control of Mandalore, the Terran Alliance sent military forces to the planet. They were not able to capture Maul, but found the sites of fights between two different factions of Death Watch, Maul's Mandalorian super commandos & Bo-Katan's Mandalore resistance. They were able to recover 60 suits of Mandalorian armor from the sites of the battle from deceased Death Watch warriors. The suits were then brought back to Terra.

After those 60 Beskar suits were brought to Terra, TSOC commanders proposed the idea of creating a new special ops unit equipped with the armor. The motion was approved by the Terran Joint Command, and Zulu Force was formed. It was comprised of 60 operators, drawn from SF units from the United States, Britain, Russia, France, Israel, Pakistan, Canada, China, India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. With hundreds of support staffs to make sure the operators could accomplish their missions.

From its formation, Zulu Force was highly classified. Outside of the unit itself and the personnel in TSOC, very few people knew of the unit's existence. All of the unit's training operations were conducted at a highly secret facility in Nevada in the United States.

### Service in the Clone Wars

Zulus first combat deployment in the Clone Wars took place in October of 1993. When then lone trooper Fives supposedly went rogue, Terran Alliance became determined to get their hands on him to see if he had any helpful information on Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. 2 Zulu Force operators were sent to Coruscant and successfully captured Fives, taking him back to Terra to be debriefed.

One month later, 2 Zulus were sent to Scipio to surveil the transition of power in the Banking Clan. When the Separatists invaded the planet, the two commandos fed information to incoming Terran forces, then located Senator Padme Amidala to guide Israeli commandos to her location.

The first deployment of the Zulus that saw them interact with other forces took place during the Anaxes campaign. 4 members of Zulus were sent to take part in a mission behind enemy lines to cripple the Separatists' ability to predict any Republic moves. Captain Nathan Allen led the Zulus on the mission. They accompanied Tyler Hall, Rex, Cody, and the Bad Batch to raid a Separatist Cyber Center. After the mission, they returned to Terra.

Most of Zulus was dispatched to the Andromeda Galaxy aboard the *TAS Sentinel* near the end of the war. When Palpatine issued Order 66, the Zulus aboard the *Sentinel* were sent to retake the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, along with men from SEAL Team 6, the Sayeret Matkal, and the SAS. The Terran strike force, led by Tyler Hall, successfully killed all the guards surrounding the Temple right before Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Dennis Rommell arrived. The Zulus helped to clear the Temple and retrieve valuable artifacts before retreating back to the *Sentinel*. Two of the Zulus, Nathan Allen and Tony Woods, went with Obi Wan Kenobi and Tyler Hall to Mustafar to help kill Anakin Skywalker.

Zulus retreated with the rest of the Terran Alliance following the betrayal of the Republic which later reorganized as the Galactic Empire. They continued to train in event of war with the Empire, but until such a time came, their primary role within the Terran Alliance became counter terrorism.

### Intergalactic Cold War and Counter-Terrorism

Shortly after the end of the Clone Wars, the Zulus first mission as a counter terrorism unit came in December of 1994. On Christmas Eve, members of the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria hijacked Air France Flight 8969. While the flight was still being detained by the Algerians, the French Prime Minister put in a request to TSOC for the Zulu Force to intervene. After contacting the Algerian government, which was a member of the Terran Alliance by that point, they agreed, and twelve Zulu Force operators, as well as the clone Crosshair from Clone Force 5, were dispatched to Marseilles in France, where it had been decided that the rescue would be carried out.

The Pilots were told, without the hijackers knowing, that they were to proceed to Marseilles and fake a fuel shortage to necessitate landing their. The Algerians allowed the plane to take off, and the plane landed in Marseilles safely. The aircraft was led to a spot away from the rest of the planes at the airport. A half hour after the aircraft landed, the Zulus approached the aircraft from above using their jetpacks, allowing them to keep out of sight of the hijackers. Six Zulus then opened the forward doors, while six more entered through the rear doors. They quickly killed the two hijackers in the main cabin, while Crosshair took out the leader of the hijackers, who was sitting in the cockpit, using a sniper rifle. The Zulus then breached the cockpit and took out the last hijacker. Only one passenger was injured during the firefight, and the Zulus' armor protected them from the few bullets that they were hit with.

The Zulus continued to operate in the counter terrorism role over the following years. Two Zulu Force commandos were part of the team that captured terrorist Ramzi Youseff in 1995. Several Zulus took part in the effort to free the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru from terrorists in 1996. Rumors circulated that some Russian Zulus had taken part in the hostage crisis in Kizlyar in 1996. Almost half of the Zulu Force was deployed in that same year to bring in the culprits of the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. In 1998, Mamdouh Salim was captured by a German Zulu Force commando in Munich.

In December 1999, 12 Zulus were deployed in response to the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. They were able to catch the aircraft on the ground in Dubai, and successfully breached the aircraft, killing three of the hijackers and arresting the remaining two.

Several Zulus were believed to have joined the British SAS in Operation Barras in 2000 in Sierra Leone.

In 2001, the terrorist group al-Qaeda carried out the 9/11 attacks. The Zulu Force was immediately commissioned to help hunt down al-Qaeda operatives, and in particular Osama bin Laden. Zulus were among the first forces to go into Afghanistan following the attacks. At least 20 Zulus were present during the Battle of Tora Bora, in which they came very close to catching Osama bin Laden.

## Organization

### Operators

The Zulu Force's striking power is 60 well trained commandos. These commandos are drawn from existing special forces units from across the world. In order to qualify for the unit, a candidate must have at least 3 years of experience as a fully trained member of another special ops unit. Women are allowed to join, but so far no woman has qualified for the force. The unit is also fully open to other species besides humans. At the time of the Galactic Civil War, 2 members of the force were non-humans.

The Zulu Force also uses military dogs. During the Galactic Civil War, the Zulu Force had two fully trained military dogs as part of their team, named Jango and Champ. The Force's dogs were fully equipped with body armor made from beskar and durasteel and helmets modified after Mandalorian helmets, complete with tracking systems and night vision.

### Training

After a candidate is selected for the Zulu Force, they must undergo a year-long training regimen.

## Appearances

* *Rise of the Terran Alliance (first appearance)*
* *The Terran Alliance Strikes Back*