The Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was the military branch of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. It consisted of genetically-engineered clones from the genetic structure of a Bounty Hunter named Jango Fett.

## **History**

By the time of the first years of Palpatine's administration, the Republic had no standing armed forces. Many sectors within Republic territory held local defense forces and small patrol fleets. There was only one recognized and organized military force in the Galactic Republic known as the Jedi Order, which were used as peacekeepers and negotiators in order to keep the peace, but as new threats loomed over the Republic, and the realization from the Jedi that their numbers alone would not be sufficient enough to fight, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, without any prior confirmation with the rest of the Order, had made contact with the Kaminoans and their cloning facilities with the intent of creating a clone army.

By the death of Sifo-Dyas to a Syndicate, Lord Sidious took over the process and assigned a Bounty Hunter named Jango Fett as the genetic template for the clone army. Growth acceleration and behavioral modification were used, making many of the clones dependent and more docile than that of their genetic template. In addition to this, inorganic bio-chips were installed into the brain of every clone during their early stages in development that ensured that clones did not succumb to independent thought.

### **Founding**

Due to the growth acceleration all the clones possessed, over two hundred thousand clones were ready ten years after the battle of Naboo. At this time, the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) a warring faction consisting of secessionist star systems and powerful corporation had formed independent \*of the Republic regime. Negotiations ensued to preserve the wholeness of the Republic, but with the Seperatist Crisis at hand and the Galactic Senate split between peaceful negotiations over military intervention as shown by the Military Creation Act, the clones remained a deactivated force, still remaining unknown to the galaxy.

By the time of the discovery of the Clone Army by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the advocation for the Supreme Chancellor to put an end to the Separatist movement, he was given the right to re-establish the Republic Military and allow for the formation of the Grand Army of the Republic. They made their debut in the battle of Geonosis in order to route the Confederate droid army, but ultimately became the first battle of the war that ensued after.

## **Organisation**

The Grand Army of the Republic was lead by Commander-in-Chief, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and administered by the Department of Defense and legislative oversight provided by the Military Oversight Committee of the Galactic Senate.

Both the Grand Army and Republic Navy were under the official military administration of Republic High Command led by the Chief of Defense Staff. Their Headquarters was based on Coruscant Command Headquarters near the Jedi Temple.

The army was split into separate Orders of Battle (ORBATs). These were regular forces, and special forces. Most of the structure of the regular forces was unchanged through the Clone Wars and was even used by the Galactic Empire. The special forces were highly independent clone commandos that had specific objectives and required very little help from Jedi commanders. There were also special units such as the Coruscant Guard that had limited but specialized duties than the regular clone military unit.

**Command Structure**

* **Grand Army of the Republic** — 10 systems army and extra troopers (3,200,000 troopers) led by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.
* **Systems Army** — 2 Sector Armies (294,912 troopers) led by a High Jedi General.
* **Sector Army** — 4 corps (147,456 troopers) led by a Senior Jedi General.
* **Corps/Division** — 4 legions (36,864 troopers) led by a marshal commander and a Jedi General.
* **Legion/Brigade** — 4 regiments (9,216 troopers) led by a senior commander and a Jedi General.
* **Regiment** — 4 battalions (2,304 troopers) led by a regimental commander and a Jedi Commander.
* **Battalion** — 4 companies (576 troopers) led by a battalion commander, major and a Jedi Commander.
* **Company** — 4 platoons (144 troopers) led by a captain.
* **Platoon** — 4 squads (36 troopers) led by a lieutenant and sergeant-major.
* **Squad** — 9 troopers led by a sergeant and corporal.

At first, color was used to denote the rank of Grand Army clone officers. This system was intended as a benefit for non-clones on the battlefield, as well as clones whose helmet displays malfunctioned. It fell out of use, however, as the Jedi encouraged the clones to express their individuality. As a result, the clone army gradually adopted a new system in which they customized their armor with unique color schemes and markings. Non-clones and non-Jedi could also serve as Republic officers in the Grand Army. Republic volunteers were also allowed upon the passing of the Military Volunteer Service Act in order to supplement the larger number requirement than predicted, partially for propaganda as well.

**Command structure of Special Forces**

* **Special Operations Brigade** (**SO BDE**) — 20 groups (10,000 men).
* **Commando Group** — 5 companies (500 men)
* **Company** — 5 troops (100 men).
* **Troop** — 5 squads (20 men).
* **Squad** — 4 men.

## **Commanding Officers**

The largest frontline units under a Sector Army were commanded by a Marshal Commander (the highest attainable rank of a Clone Trooper) and a Jedi General. Many of the clone commanders were trained under the ARC Training Program which gave them more independent thought that was valuable for a commander that was less reliant on a chain of command.

**Notable Commanding Officers**

CC-1004 "Gree"

CC-1138 "Bacara"

CC-2224 "Cody"

CC-3636 "Wolffe"

CC-5052 "Bly"

CC-6804 "Checkmate"

CC-7492 "Tempest"

CC-8826 "Neyo"

VC-0612-61

## **Ranks**

Jedi remained as high ranking officers for many of the larger units as well as the Systems Armies. They operated side-by-side with the clone commanders.

* **High Jedi General** — Jedi High Councillors in command of one of the ten Systems Armies.
* **Senior Jedi General** — Jedi Masters in command of one of the twenty Sector Armies.
* **Jedi General** — Jedi Knights in command of corps or legions.
* **Jedi Commander** — Jedi Padawans in command of regiments and battalions.

Clone ranks were once denoted by markings on their armor, but with increasing individuality, identity and presence most of the original markings were scrapped in favor of battalion markings or colors.

* **Marshal Commander** — The highest rank a clone soldier could attain. Like all commanders, their armor was color-coded yellow. The rank indicator HUD glyph was eight dots, arranged in two parallel horizontal lines of four. Each marshal commander was in command of a corps.
* **Senior Commander** — The second highest rank attainable by the clone forces. Their armor was color-coded yellow and the rank indicator HUD glyph was two horizontal rows of three dots running parallel. Each was in command of a brigade or legion.
* **Regimental Commander** — Also indicated by yellow armor. HUD glyph was arranged in two parallel rows of two dots. Each was in command of a regiment.
* **Battalion Commander** — The lowest commander rank of the clone forces. Also indicated by yellow armor, HUD glyph was that of two dots, stacked vertically. Each was in command of a battalion.
* **Major** — Their armor was color-coded red. HUD glyph was four vertical lines running parallel. Each was second in command of a battalion.
* **Captain** — Captain's armor was also color-coded red, with an HUD glyph of three vertical parallel lines. Each was in command of a company.
* **Lieutenant** — Indicated by blue armor. Rank was indicated by an HUD glyph of two vertical parallel lines. Each was in command of a platoon.
* **2nd Lieutenant** — Indicated by blue armor. Rank was indicated by an HUD glyph of one vertical line. Each was in command of a platoon.
* **Sergeant Major** — Indicated by green armor. They were second-in-command of platoons and had an HUD glyph of five slashes.
* **Sergeant** — Also indicated by green armor, was in command of a squad and had an HUD glyph of three slashes.
* **Corporal** — The second lowest rank of clone forces. They were second-in-command of squads and had an HUD glyph of two slashes.
* **Trooper** — The lowest rank in the clone forces and had an HUD glyph of one slash.
* **Cadet** — This rank was even lower than trooper. It was used by new clones. These ones had not passed their final trial and therefore could not yet be considered soldiers.