As the Clone army was created on Kamino by the Kaminoan scientists, a long list of 150 contingency orders was created and ingrained into the heads of the Clone troopers bred there from the moment they were born. These Orders ranged from horrific actions like arresting an entire city’s population until a fugitive reveals himself, all the way to minor things like disposing of a trooper’s comms device if an enemy could obtain sensitive information from it. So, lets find out what each numbered Contingency order was in the grand army of the Republic, and why some of them were truly disgraceful.
First is Order X. Order X is a horrific Clone contingency order was taught to the Clones in their early training on Kamino. This Order could only be activated if any Republic planet, moon or territory declared that they would succeed from the Republic to become either independent or join the separatist alliance. Once activated, large garrisons of Clone forces would be sent to the offending world, where devastating weapons would be utilized to melt the planet or celestial body to slag so that no other galactic power would have access to the natural resources and citizens of that planet. It’s not clear the Supreme Chancellor had the sole power to hand down this order to the Clone army, or whether a majority vote in the senate was required, but with all of the emergency powers granted to Palpatine, it’s likely he could activate this without approval from the senate.
After that is Order 4. Order 4 contained the contingency plan which would be executed if the Supreme Commander of the Grand Army, was incapacitated. If this was the case, the overall command of the Clone Army would fall directly to the Vice Chair of the Senate until either a new Chancellor was elected or the Supreme Chancellor was able to return. During the clone Wars, the Vice Chair of the Senate was of course Mas Amedda, meaning he would have full control of the Clone Army’s strategy and movements… I wonder how that would have gone down. The reason this Order was taught to the Clone Troopers on Kamino was was because disputes about the transfer of power to the Vice Chair could arise. If this happened, the Clone Army would be forced to execute Order 4, and place Mas Amedda, or whoever was in that position at the time, into their rightful position as leader. Order 4 could only be delivered to the troopers by the Vice Chair of the Senate.
Following that is Order 5. Order 5 is very similar to Order 4, and outlined the Grand Army of the Republic’s contingency plan should it’s Commander in Chief, the Supreme chancellor be, or unable to lead the Clone Army or issue orders. It stated that “in the event of the Supreme Commander of the GAR being declared unfit to issue orders, The Chief of the Defense Staff shall assume command of the Grand Army of the Republic. Once the Chief of Defense had taken control of the Clone Forces, he would then be required to form a small cell of senior officers to help lead the clones around the Galaxy. After a new Chancellor was elected, or the current chancellor was able to give orders again, power would be instantly transitioned back. It’s not clear exactly who Palpatine’s Chief of Defense Staff was during the Clone Wars, but it’s likely that Mass Ammedda, the Vice Chair of the Senate was given that role, meaning he would be in control of the Clone Army should Palpatine not be able to. Order 5 could only be handed down to the Clone Troopers by the Chief of Defense Staff or the Vice Chair of the Senate, giving them the authority to oversee the peaceful transition of power.
Next is Order 6. Order 6 is a very simple and practical Order that almost every Clone Trooper would probably have used throughout their time on the battlefield. The Order simply stated “When issued, a trooper must throw away their communications device as quickly as possible”. This was obviously to prevent enemy combatants from obtaining very sensitive information about Republic strategies, tactics and positioning, if a Clone Trooper happened to be captured and taken prisoner. It’s not fully known which ranks have the authority to hand down this order, but at a minimum, it’s likely that anyone with the Rank of Jedi Commander and above could probably give the order, along with Clone Marshall Commanders like Cody.
Following that is Order 37. Order 37 is the most disgusting and disgraceful Order that was ever taught to the Clone Troopers of the Republic… This Order was so vicious that its honestly surprising that the senate even voted to pass this into law.