Clone Commandos, also known as Republic Commandos and later as Imperial Commandos, were elite clone troopers 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 Squads 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.