There were some missions that even Republic clone troopers could not accomplish; some battles of the Clone Wars could not be won easily. At such times, the heavily armed and armoured ARC troopers were called in.

ARC troopers - or Advanced Reconnaissance Clone troopers - were bred specially on Kamino as a last line of defence. They were trained by Jango Fett himself for the most critical missions, and as such, displayed some of Jango's own personality and independance. On Kamino, they were kept in statis tubes as the cloners found them to be somewhat unpredictable. Nevertheless, when they were activated during the Battle of Kamino, their advanced skills saved Tipoca City - and their fellow clones - from the Confederacy.

Since their activation, ARC troopers became a large part of the Republic Army. Although there were only a select number of ARC troopers, they proved to be valuable assets in battle. They were stronger, tougher and more resourceful than standard clone troopers. They carried heavy blaster rifles, deadly pulse grenades, and had access to rocket launchers and other artillery. They rode in special ARC trooper gunships, forming elite squads for the most dangerous missions. On one occasion, a group of ARC troopers were left stranded behind enemy lines on Muunilinst, though with their special training, they were able to reach and enter the enemy command centre, destroying tanks, droids and a huge anti-air cannon along the way.

The ARC troopers had been given special orders by Jango Fett during their training, which made them dangerous at times. Fett was able to bypass the Kaminoan conditioning to instill his own instructions into the ARC troopers, ordering them to destroy the new generation of clones were the Seperatists to invade Kamino. Jango's final orders were that the young clones were to serve the Republic, or to die before they fell into enemy hands. They also retained certain traits from their genetic father, chiefly several forms of memory. Thus, although they worked together in various missions, the ARC troopers carried a degree of disdain for the Jedi Knights.

ARC troopers were deployed on many worlds, from the swamps of Ohma-D'un to the water-logged Jabiim. Whatever the terrain, and whatever the conditions, the ARC troopers performed admirably. One, nicknamed Alpha by Anakin Skywalker, was even able to stand up against the bounty hunter, Durge, during the Separatist attack on Naboo. However, by the end of the war, the ARC troopers had been rendered obsolete. The Kaminoans had improved upon the first generation of clones, and the latest batch of soldiers were already more advanced than the ARC troopers.

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Page created: 29 March 2004