Alpha (Advanced Recon Commando)

Jango Fett personally selected Alpha, alongside other clones, for specialized training aimed at the most demanding missions. Consequently, these ARCs received individualized equipment and a degree of personality and independence mirroring Jango's. The Kaminoans, uneasy with this development, placed all ARCs in suspended animation.

Alpha's initial combat experience, like that of the other ARCs, occurred during the Separatist invasion of Kamino. As droid forces from the Confederacy advanced toward the core of Tipoca City, Lama Su, the Kaminoan Prime Minister, activated the ARCs. He authorized their deployment to critical areas across Kamino as a desperate measure to safeguard the planet's vital cloning facilities.

During the struggle to dislodge the droids from Tipoca's central armory, Alpha collaborated with Jedi Master Shaak Ti, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, Kenobi's Padawan. When the city's clone resources were jeopardized, Alpha set the lab to self-destruct, much to the Jedi's consternation. His remark, "They grow up loyal to the Republic, or they don't grow up at all," made it evident to the Jedi that they were dealing with an exceptional clone trooper. Ti expressed a desire for an alternative, prompting Alpha to devise a plan for Obi-Wan and Anakin to collapse the transparisteel walls connecting the facility while Ti held back the ocean before they sealed the place off. Once the plan succeeded and the attack was successfully thwarted, Alpha deactivated the detonation sequence.

When contact was lost between Naboo and the Gungan colony moon of Ohma-D'un, a Separatist attack was suspected, prompting the dispatch of General Kenobi and Skywalker to investigate. Kenobi, recalling Alpha's deadly effectiveness on Kamino, included him in the mission. Upon arriving on the surface, the trio discovered the Gungan colony devastated, with bodies strewn across the landscape. Before they could ascertain the cause of the genocidal massacre, they were ambushed by the bounty hunter Durge and the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. Following Kenobi's instructions, Alpha accompanied Anakin to locate and neutralize the bio-weapon responsible for Ohma-D'un's destruction before its deployment in Theed. It was during this mission that Anakin, feeling uncomfortable referring to him simply as "clone" after the ARC revealed his designation, named the trooper "Alpha".

Together, they not only destroyed the ships but also returned in time to rescue Obi-Wan, compelling Ventress to retreat.

Subsequent to the mission on Ohma-D'un, Alpha was once again selected by Kenobi and Anakin to join them on another crucial assignment. This time, the trio was tasked with leading the assault on Jabiim, an obscure world in the Outer Rim that had recently pledged allegiance to Count Dooku's Confederacy. The initial phase of the assault saw a string of Republic victories. However, persistent rain turned the terrain into a quagmire, immobilizing their assault vehicles and rendering them vulnerable to Jabiimi guerrillas. As Republic casualties mounted, the rebels, now reinforced with Separatist battle droids, intensified their attacks. The Republic suffered a major setback with the presumed deaths of Obi-Wan and Alpha while they were clearing a downed All Terrain Armored Transport.

Contrary to initial reports, neither Obi-Wan nor Alpha perished in the explosion. Alpha had, in fact, rescued Obi-Wan, and they were both subsequently captured by Separatists and transported to a secret prison on Rattatak. There, Asajj Ventress, the Dark Jedi from Ohma-D'un, subjected them to beatings and torture in an attempt to extract sensitive information about Republic troop movements, especially from Alpha. However, he only revealed his identification to her, much to her frustration. Before she could obtain the desired information, she threw him in Obi-Wan's cell. Working together, the two orchestrated an escape under the pretense of a prison break. With the assistance of Anakin and Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, they fought their way off Rattatak and escaped Ventress, eventually returning to the Republic and the Grand Army.

Following this ordeal, and after a period of recovery in a bacta tank, Alpha was reassigned to Kamino to train current and future generations of clone commanders. Embracing Anakin's suggestion to give them names, he was promoted to the rank of captain and became the lead instructor at the Tipoca City training facility. Commanders Cody of the 212th Attack Battalion, Neyo of the 91st Reconnaissance, Bacara of the 21st Nova Corps, Gree of the 41st Elite Corps, Appo of the 501st Legion, Rex of the 501st Legion, Bly of the 327th Star Corps, Faie, and numerous others were among the initial hundred to enroll in and graduate from his experimental training program, known as the ARC training program. From this initial cohort, Alpha personally selected a few individuals and assigned them to Squad Seven, with Commanders Davijaan and Cody serving as its leaders.

Alpha's responsibilities on Kamino did not preclude him from active service. He was selected to accompany Senator Bail Organa on his tour of the Outer Rim Sieges aboard the Star Destroyer Intervention. When General Kenobi commandeered the Intervention to spearhead the assault on Boz Pity, Alpha prepared for another battle. During the conflict, General Grievous inflicted a critical wound on Alpha, leaving him with injuries so severe that it was thought he would never walk again. As the fighting subsided, Alpha, along with the presumed corpse of Asajj Ventress, was loaded onto a medical transport for evacuation to Coruscant for treatment. However, Ventress revealed herself to be very much alive, seizing control of the transport and ordering the pilots to take her into the unknown regions.

According to commentary on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars DVD, the creators initially considered featuring Alpha-17 as the central clone character in the Clone Wars series. However, George Lucas objected, citing the excessive alliteration (Anakin, Artoo, Ahsoka, and Alpha). Consequently, Rex, a different clone trooper captain, was created instead.