Advanced Recon Commandos, also known as ARC troopers, were an elite variant of the clone troopers that served the Galactic Republic. Chosen from the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic, the status of ARC trooper was bestowed on clones who served with distinction on the battlefield, such as Echo and Fives. The training of clone cadets also served as a means for identifying particular cadets who demonstrated the potential to become future ARC troopers.
ARC troopers such as Commander Rex were trained to serve in positions of command in the Grand Army, and could also be sent on challenging assignments less suitable for standard clones. They were given their own unique armor set, which differed greatly from the standard issue kit given to the rank-and-file clone soldiers, being equipped with more components. During the early days of the Clone Wars, ARC trooper armor served as an experimental version of the Phase II clone trooper armor.
ARC troopers served as the Galactic Republic's frontline fighting force, often complementing standard clone troopers in battle.
An elite variant of the standard clone trooper, Advanced Recon Commandos—also known as ARC troopers—were widely regarded as the best soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, the ARC troopers trained the first wave of Clone Commanders, such as Bly. ARC troopers served as part of the Muunilinst 10. The Rancor Battalion had several ARC troopers, including Clone ARC Commanders Colt, Havoc, Blitz, and Hammer. These ARC troopers were stationed at Tipoca City on Kamino. There they looked for clone cadets that could become ARC troopers, such as the members of Bravo Squad.
ARC troopers served in the Battle of Muunilinst in 22 BBY. ARC trooper Muzzle abandoned the GAR at some point, but, as leader of the Aurodium Sword mercenaries, often continued to support the Republic by working as security for its corporate personnel. Colt and the other ARC troopers supported the defense of Tipoca City against a Separatist invasion led by General Grievous and the Force-sensitive assassin Asajj Ventress. However, Colt was killed by Ventress while Havoc died fighting a group of AQ-series battle droids. Blitz, ordered two ARF troopers to destroy a Trident-class assault ship. In the aftermath of the battle, Echo and Fives of the 501st Legion were promoted to the status of ARC trooper in recognition of their contribution to the Galactic Republic's victory on Kamino.
ARC trooper Fives in Phase II ARC trooper armor.
Echo and Fives were later sent on a mission to rescue Jedi Master Even Piell from the Citadel on Lola Sayu. The two fought their way through the Citadel. However, Echo was presumed to have died in an explosion while attempting to secure a shuttle. He survived the blast, but was captured and subjected to experimentation on by the Separatist-aligned Techno Union. Fives, on the other hand, escaped with the surviving members of his team. The Ossus conspiracy theory concerned a supposed moment in the war where ARC troopers traveled to the planet Ossus, where they recovered artifacts before ordering an airstrike. The rumor was supposedly told first by a dying .
Fives continued serving in the 501st, from Umbara to Ringo Vinda, until his death on Coruscant, where he tried to reveal Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's role in the bio-chip conspiracy to Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Clone Captain Rex. After the death of Fives, Jesse—also of the 501st—was promoted to ARC trooper. He continued serving as a Clone Lieutenant in the 501st during the Battle of Anaxes and through the Siege of Mandalore as part of the 332nd Division. Following his brief capture by Maul, Jesse took part in guarding the former Sith while en route to Coruscant. When the Sith Lord Darth Sidious issued Order 66, Jesse took command of the 332nd and other troopers from Commander Rex on the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tribunal. However, the Star Destroyer crashed on a moon, and Jesse was killed along with the rest of the company.
ARC troopers made use of JT-12 jetpacks
ARC troopers were equipped with ARC trooper armor, a variant of the clone trooper armor. ARC trooper armor included Phase I ARC Trooper Armor and Phase II ARC Trooper Armor. The armor could be outfitted with a double-sided pauldron, a kama, and breathmask survival gear. ARC troopers utilized a wide array of blaster weapons including dual DC-17 hand blasters, DC-15A blaster rifles, DC-15A blaster carbines, DC-15x sniper rifles, ascension cables, reciprocating quad blaster cannons, and Z-6 rotary blaster cannons. They also made use of jetpacks including the JT-12 jetpack.
The AT-FRC Force Reconnaissance Walker was created by Kuat Drive Yards towards the end of the war for ARC troopers.
An ARC trooper in Star Wars: Force Arena
According to Genndy Tartakovsky on the DVD commentary for Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two, the design of the ARC troopers came from Hasbro. They first appeared in the Legends story Republic 50, a comic from the Star Wars: Republic series by Dark Horse Comics. In the current canon, they appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, first seen in "Clone Cadets."
Two concept art pieces—each dated to April 22, 2020—by for the Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode "War-Mantle" refer to clone commandos as a variant of ARC trooper. Furthermore, a promotional image asset uploaded to The Walt Disney Company's official Getty Images page identified the clone commandos as "Clone ARC Commando Troopers." However, according to Star Wars: Battlefront II, ARC troopers and clone commandos are separate classes, as the game separates both clone types into separate Reinforcement units. As Battlefront II represents a full appearance instead of reference material, this article sides with its categorization and does not assume clone commandos fall under the ARC branch.