The Havoc Squad represented an elite group of troopers within the Galactic Republic's army, specifically a squad belonging to the Republic Special Forces. They engaged in combat against the Sith Empire during the period known as the Great Galactic War. Initially designated as Infantry Squad 326, they were renamed Havoc Squad under the command of Jace Malcom. Subsequent leaders included Malcom's second-in-command, Jek Kardan, Kardan's protégé Harron Tavus, and a soldier known as Meteor. This squad participated in numerous battles throughout the war, spanning from Ord Mantell to the Battle on Alderaan. Even after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, these commandos continued their fight against Sith threats during the ensuing Cold War.
The formation of Havoc Squad was part of a broader initiative to introduce special forces commandos into the Galactic Republic following the Jedi's departure from Coruscant to the planet of Tython. This squad was involved in various hotspots during the Cold War, including the civil war occurring on Ord Mantell and the significant Battle of Alderaan. Under the leadership of the courageous commander Malcom, Havoc Squad played a crucial role in retaking Alderaan from the Sith Empire's forces, which were commanded by the Sith Lord Darth Malgus. During the Alderaan conflict, Havoc Squad engaged in combat, killing numerous Imperial troopers, assault droids, and Sith despite being significantly outnumbered. Satele Shan arrived during the battle to assist Havoc Squad against Darth Malgus' Sith forces, eliminating several Sith Warriors before ultimately defeating Malgus in single combat, thus securing a Republic victory in the guerrilla warfare.
Eventually, Harron Tavus assumed command of the squad, leading them in many operations. During this time, they engaged in numerous skirmishes with the Shadow Fist unit, an elite component of the Imperial Military.
A notable event occurred when General Garza dispatched the squad to Ando Prime with the mission to halt an Imperial offensive. Encountering a larger-than-anticipated enemy force, the squad requested extraction. However, before Garza could initiate a rescue, the Republic Senate intervened and shut it down. Garza had deployed the squad to Ando Prime without obtaining the Senate's approval or knowledge, and the senators were unwilling to risk reigniting conflict with the Empire. To avoid violating the Treaty of Coruscant, the Senate refused to acknowledge the mission as sanctioned. Consequently, the squad was abandoned in enemy territory, although they managed to return to the Republic using a stolen shuttle. This incident left a deep impact on the team, with many members feeling betrayed by the Republic. As a result, they formulated a plan to defect to the Empire, and they were stationed on Ord Mantell while finalizing their preparations.
While stationed on Ord Mantell, Havoc Squad was tasked with locating and recovering a stolen ZR-57 Orbital Strike Bomb. Given that Havoc Squad was understaffed for the mission, high command decided to add a new recruit to the team, the first in a while. This individual, a sergeant, was unaware of Tavus's intentions to defect. After locating the bomb in a Mantellian Separatist stronghold, Havoc Squad attempted to retrieve the bomb without the new recruit. Due to a suspected communication lapse, the new recruit was sent in to extract the squad. The new recruit discovered Imperial troops organizing the defection. The recruit confronted Commander Tavus, who offered for the recruit to join them in defecting. After the recruit refused, the traitorous Havoc Squad members departed with the stolen ZR-57 Orbital Strike Bomb.
Subsequently, the recruit was appointed as the new leader of Havoc Squad and tasked with recruiting new members, starting with Aric Jorgan, who had recently been demoted to Sergeant, as Havoc's first squadmate.
During the Cold War era, the unit's mission was to counter the Imperial threat and pursue the former members of the squad who had turned rogue. During this period, General Elin Garza oversaw the Special Forces unit's operations. Throughout their missions, Havoc recruited Elara Dorne, an Imperial Sergeant who had defected, and M1-4X, an assault droid, into their ranks, eventually locating all the traitors. Garza then promoted Havoc's commanding officer to the rank of captain.
Havoc was soon tasked with extracting an agent from the Strategic Information Service stationed on Tatooine, who possessed critical data regarding an Imperial superweapon known as Gauntlet, a formidable hyperspace cannon. While coordinating a joint military offensive, Garza needed Havoc to be at full strength with the needed specialists to destroy the Gauntlet. To that end, she dispatched Havoc Squad to recruit explosives expert Tanno Vik on Balmorra and technician Sergeant Yuun on Hoth, as well as extract the Safecrackers squad on Quesh. Participating in the assault, Havoc boarded and sabotaged the Gauntlet, completely vaporizing the superweapon. Upon returning to Coruscant, Garza commended Havoc's actions and promoted each member.
However, their triumph came at a price. Imperial General Rakton initiated a war against the Republic and captured the leaders of several Republic-aligned planets, enabling Imperial forces to bypass their defenses. Havoc launched an assault on the station where the hostages were held, successfully freeing them and incurring Rakton's anger.
Garza then dispatched Havoc to allocate forces from Belsavis, Voss and station A-77 to turn the tide of the war. Unfortunately, a paid Imperial agent, Senator Grom Zian, under Rakton's orders, launched a sham inquiry into Havoc's activities to get the squad suspended. Luckily, the SIS had gathered evidence proving Zian's Imperial ties, allowing Havoc to return to the frontline. The squad soon faced off against Rakton on Corellia and defeated him. Havoc was then personally commended by Supreme Chancellor Saresh.
During the Eternal Empire's conquest, Havoc Squad's commander disappeared, causing the squad to go their separate ways; Tanno Vik led his own gang on the shadowport of Asylum; Yuun traveled to Zakuul to try and understand the technology of the Eternal Empire in the hopes he could also find the Major; M1-4X was reassigned to the Press Corps in recognition of his Morale Initiative; Dorne was removed from Havoc by Saresh; and Jorgan, the last remaining member, was promoted to Major and given command of a new Havoc Squad. His unit consisted of himself, Dengril, Abbeth, Kanner, Xaban, and Torg.
Havoc Squad later went rogue in defiance of Saresh's draconian policies and traveled to Zakuul after being provided schematics of the Spire by the Alliance. Soon after allying with the Alliance, Havoc took in a group of Zakuulan refugees before participating in an assault on a Zakuulan outpost to plant a wiretap in their communications.
The soldiers of Havoc Squad utilized Republic trooper battle armor, which was distinguished by red or orange colored markings on the plates. Additionally, they had access to bandoliers and pauldrons as optional attachments for their armor. The squad employed a variety of heavy weaponry, including assault rifles, portable missile launchers, and handheld blaster cannons resembling the later Clone Wars-era Z-6 rotary cannon, as well as thermal detonators. They also carried blaster pistols as sidearms and combat knives, including those with integrated grenade launchers.