Elite Squad Troopers, also known as ES troopers, were troopers belonging to a special forces unit that served the early Galactic Empire before the cloning program on Kamino was shut down. Following the Clone Wars during the Imperial Era, Elite Squad Troopers acted as a pioneering force for the eventual introduction of recruited soldiers into the Imperial Army. At that time, the Imperial Army was exclusively composed of clone troopers who had previously served the Galactic Republic. High-ranking Imperial officers like Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart and Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin advocated for the Empire's plan to augment and ultimately substitute clones with willing enlistees.
A team of exceptionally trained Elite Squad Troopers, specifically ES-01, ES-02, ES-03, and ES-04, operated under the command of Clone Commander Crosshair. Their integration into the Imperial Military threatened the interests of the Kaminoans, while Tarkin viewed them as further proof that a cheaper conscript army would serve the Empire better than an expensive clone army.
The genesis of Elite Squad Troopers can be traced back to Project War-Mantle, an initiative with the long-term objective of replacing clone troopers with recruited soldiers following the formation of the Galactic Empire. Despite the fact that the soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic transitioned into the initial generation of stormtroopers, tasked with enforcing the New Order of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine across the galaxy, Admiral and Governor Wilhuff Tarkin deemed cloning an excessively costly burden on the Imperial economy.
Following the end of the Clone Wars and the collapse of the Separatist leadership, the Emperor withdrew his support for the Kaminoan scientists responsible for breeding the clone army. Furthermore, the Empire did not recognize itself as bound by the agreement between its predecessor, the Galactic Republic, and the Kaminoan government, which mandated the continuous production of clone troopers.
Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart oversaw the recruitment and training of the Empire's initial cohort of non-clone troopers. Although the Imperial officer acknowledged the clones' effectiveness as soldiers, he contended that the Empire shouldn't solely rely on cloning to generate loyal troops. Rampart showed particular interest in individuals who willingly enlisted in the Imperial Army, recognizing the significant potential in their voluntary service to the Empire, contrasting with the clones who were programmed for loyalty. Despite being stationed on the planet Kamino to supervise the clone troopers, Rampart seized the opportunity to introduce four enlisted recruits to Tarkin. Chosen for their outstanding abilities, their original names were replaced with alphanumeric designations—ES-01, ES-02, ES-03, and ES-04—as they became the first Elite Squad Troopers.
Prime Minister Lama Su had asserted that conscripts were inferior to clones, who underwent training throughout their accelerated childhood. However, Rampart countered that his recruits could attain comparable skills under the tutelage of an experienced clone instructor. Taking Rampart's suggestion into consideration, Tarkin assigned the Elite Squad to Clone Commander Crosshair, an enhanced clone and the only member of Clone Force 99 whose programming compelled him to remain loyal to the Empire. The members of Crosshair's Elite Squad were subjected to tests and observation during their stay in the cloning facility of Tipoca City. ES-01 expressed his agitation with the Kaminoans' medical droids, stating that he enlisted to serve as a soldier, not as a test subject. When ES-04 questioned who they would fight now that the Clone Wars were over, ES-01 revealed that he was motivated by the practical advantages offered by the Empire in exchange for service in the Imperial Military, such as food, shelter, and a salary. He recalled that the Republic had never offered such opportunities, favoring clone soldiers over enlisted recruits throughout the Clone Wars.
The Elite Squad and their clone commanding officer were deployed to Onderon with orders to eliminate a group of insurgents led by Saw Gerrera. En route to the Onderonian homeworld, ES-01 voiced his doubts about whether a clone was suitable for the military rank of commander, especially given that the Empire had begun limited recruiting of natural-born humans to supplement clone units. Like Tarkin and Rampart, ES-01 envisioned a future where the Empire no longer relied on clones, but for the time being he was willing to serve under Crosshair's command.
The special forces unit ambushed Gerrera's followers in the forest, killing most of them and preventing the rest from escaping aboard an LAAT/le patrol gunship. Gerrera was absent during the attack, prompting Crosshair to interrogate the prisoners, most of whom were non-combatant civilians. Crosshair was prepared to execute them, having determined that they did not know Gerrera's location, but ES-01 opposed the commander's decision. While the trooper considered Gerrera's fighters legitimate targets, he did not regard unarmed civilians as such, and refused to obey orders he deemed immoral. Consequently, ES-01 was executed by Crosshair for attempting to relieve the clone of command. The remaining members of the Elite Squad followed the Clone Commander's orders, using their weapons to kill the prisoners.
Tarkin and Rampart welcomed the Elite Squad's return to Kamino, as well as Crosshair's report on the destruction of Gerrera's camp. Despite Gerrera's survival, Tarkin noted that the kill order he issued had been obeyed by the clone's squad, whereas Crosshair's former team—Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo—disobeyed the governor. Rampart dismissed the death of ES-01 as an "unfortunate" but acceptable loss, considering the inherent risks of military service. The mission's completion solidified the Imperial officers' belief that the Empire could discontinue and replace cloning with conscription as the primary method of maintaining the military. However, Tarkin concluded that the Empire was not yet ready to completely abandon clones; therefore, he decided that the clone trooper program would remain intact for the time being.
Tarkin then departed from Kamino, entrusting Rampart with the oversight of both the clone troopers and the new stormtrooper program that threatened the status of the "old guard." While Tarkin approved of Rampart's initiative to improve the Elite Squad Troopers by having them train under an enhanced clone like Crosshair, their success in the field concerned Lama Su and Doctor Nala Se. As the genetic material of Jango Fett was becoming less reliable for the production of new clone troopers, the Kaminoans were determined to create a superior clone in the hope of securing their future with the Empire, focusing their efforts by trying to reclaim the young clone Omega, who had escaped with Clone Force 99. As Project War-Mantle continued, a training facility was established on the planet Daro, where clone commandos would train recruited humans as the next generation of Imperial soldiers, who were dubbed "TK troopers."
In the meantime, Elite Squad Troopers under Crosshair continued their operations within Tipoca City on Kamino. When Clone Force 99 were located on the planet Bracca, Crosshair's Elite Troopers and a force of clone stormtroopers were deployed together, although they failed to prevent Clone Force 99's escape. Subsequently, Crosshair and his team were assigned to the planet Ryloth, which had been a battlefront during the war and was experiencing unrest due to Imperial occupation, alongside Rampart. There, the Elite Troopers collaborated with a battalion of clone stormtroopers stationed around the capital city of Lessu. When Crosshair framed Twi'lek revolutionary Cham Syndulla for the attempted assassination of Senator Orn Free Taa on Rampart's order, Elite Squad Troopers and clone troopers arrested Syndulla, his wife Eleni, and their allies.
When Clone Force 99 became involved in the incident through Syndulla's daughter Hera, the Elite Troopers once again faced Clone Force 99, who assisted the Twi'leks in their escape. Clone Captain Howzer also inspired several of his fellow clone troopers to oppose the Empire, leading Crosshair to order the Elite Troopers and the still-Imperial loyal clones to arrest Howzer and his contemporaries. The destruction of a nearby Imperial doonium refinery further convinced Rampart to authorize Crosshair to hunt down Clone Force 99. Over time, two additional Elite Squad Troopers joined Crosshair's squad. With Project War-Mantle in full swing through the facility of Daro and the Elite Squad Troopers, the Empire formally terminated its cloning contracts with Kamino and began the process of pulling all forces and resources from the world.
When Lama Su attempted to flee Kamino with Nala Se and several other officials, Rampart ordered Se be taken away to leave Kamino with the Empire, while Su was left to the Elite Squad Troopers and arrested when Rampart declared he had no place in the Imperial Era. Meanwhile, Hunter was captured after breaking into the Daro facility and brought to Kamino by Crosshair and his Elite Squad. As the Empire moved the finalize its withdraw, Crosshair stationed his Elite Squad within the Tipoca City Training Facility to wait for the rest of Clone Force 99 to arrive on a rescue mission. In secret, Crosshair also positioned reflective discs around the training course, which would allow a single blaster bolt to ricochet across the room and take out the entire squad where they stood, should his troops refuse what he intended to do with Clone Force 99: it was Crosshair's hope that he could convince his brothers to rejoin the Imperial Army, which he did not tell his Elite Troopers.
As Trooper ES-02, who had expressed doubt to Rampart as to what Crosshair intended to do with his former squad, was sent to find Omega, Crosshair gave his brothers a chance to join the Imperial Army, much to the shock of his Elite Squad. When his squad refused to stand down, he fired a single blaster bolt that, just as he had prepared, rebounded off the reflective discs and took out the squad. ES-02, meanwhile, was knocked out by Omega and medical droid AZ-3. By the time she had awoken and returned to the training course, a force of DT-series training droids had been activated by Omega as a distraction that arrived too late, forcing Clone Force 99 and Crosshair to fight together. Briefly exchanging fire with one of the droids after seeing her commanding officer fight alongside his brothers amid the corpses of the Elite Squad, ES-02 escaped and informed Rampart that Crosshair had lost control of the situation.
Just before Rampart issued an aerial bombardment order to his Venator-class Star Destroyers, ES-02 escaped Tipoca City aboard the last Rho-class Transport Shuttle to leave. As Tipoca City was fired upon and crumbled into the waters below, the corpses of Crosshair's Elite Squad Troopers were left abandoned within the Training Facility. Crosshair himself would escape the destruction with Clone Force 99, but he resolved to stay with the Empire instead of leaving with them.
Elite Squad Troopers were recruits who enlisted and possessed a high degree of skill. Their mission was to neutralize anti-Imperial insurgents across the galaxy, demonstrating the effectiveness of troops who were not clones.
Vice Admiral Rampart presented the first Elite Squad Troopers to Governor Tarkin, describing them as some of the most highly trained soldiers in the galaxy. Rampart believed that, given enough time and resources, these soldiers could evolve into an unprecedented military force. It was the Vice Admiral who proposed that the Elite Squad Troopers should complete their training under the guidance of a skilled clone, such as Crosshair, who would serve as both their instructor and commanding officer. Lama Su had argued that recruited conscripts could never match the caliber of clone troopers, who had been trained from birth. However, Rampart countered that the skills of clones could be acquired by enlisted volunteers.
Elite Squad Troopers were equipped with stealth-fitted clone trooper armor constructed from plastoid coated with a reflec polymer. This armor was specifically designed to fit the unique body shapes of non-clone conscripts, who differed from the genetically identical clone troopers. This iteration of the armor resembled the Phase II clone trooper armor, comprising armor plates worn over a black body glove. However, its primary color was black, and the helmet lens was green. The Elite Squad employed the same weapons as standard clone stormtroopers, such as the DC-15A blaster carbine and the DC-15A blaster rifle. Additionally, ES-04 carried a BT X-42 heavy flame projector during her tenure in Crosshair's squad.
Crosshair wore a version of the Elite Squad Trooper's armor, which bore similarities to his previous Katarn-class Commando Armor. In addition to the new armor, Crosshair continued to use the 773 Firepuncher rifle and a DC-17 hand blaster, weapons that had served him during his time as a sniper in Clone Force 99. Another instance of clones in similar gear came with the Clone guards active under the Empire's Inquisitorius, who wore a suit of dark clone trooper armor much like that of the ES troopers.
Elite Squad Troopers were created for the animated Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. They made their debut in "Replacements," the third episode of the show's first season, which was written by Matt Michnovetz, directed by Nathaniel Villanueva, and released on May 14, 2021. Prior to their first appearance, they were initially featured in a trailer released on December 10, 2020 and first identified in a StarWars.com article published on January 29 that revealed merchandise for the series.
In the Star Wars: Tales of the Empire episode "Devoted," Purge Troopers appear using the same character model as the Elite Squad Trooper.