Jedi Commander

Jedi Commander

Jedi Commanders wereJedimilitaryofficers in theGrand Army of the Republic during theClone Wars. The title was created shortly after theFirst Battle of Geonosis, the first battle of the Clone Wars, and was given to thePadawans of theJedi Order in22 BBY. Therank ofcommander granted them authority over theclone troopers of the GrandArmy, includingclones of rank, such asClone Captains. As in the Order itself, however, Jedi Commanders were subordinate to theJedi Generals—veteran Jedi who completed theirtraining to becomeJedi Knights andJedi Masters.

A Jedi Commander's place was often at the side of their master andgeneral, although they were occasionally required to complete tasks or missions without the aid of their mentor. As the conflict between theGalactic Republic and theConfederacy of Independent Systems came to a close in19 BBY, the majority of Jediofficers were betrayed andkilled by their clonetroopers as a result ofOrder 66—a military protocol labeling all Jedi asenemies of the state. Despite the deaths of many Jedi in the ensuingpurge, there were several survivors who escaped intohiding, such as CommanderCaleb Dume and former CommanderAhsoka Tano, both of whom went on to become supporters of theAlliance to Restore the Republic during thereign of theGalactic Empire.

Powers[]

Whereas therank ofJedi General made bothJedi Knights andJedi Masters thecommanding officers of theclone trooper forces that composed theGrand Army of the Republic, the rank ofcommander established by theJedi Military Integration ActJediPadawans^[6] their second-in-command.^[7] A Jedi Commander outrankedClone Commanders. Jedi Commanders were also still subordinate to the higher-ranked JediGeneral and were given authority over clone forces as large as aregiment.^[4] Clone troopers were trained to follow orders without question^[8] and would execute commands given to them by their Jedi Commanders, just as they would with their Jedi Generals.^[1]

History[]

Establishment of the rank[]

During theFirst Battle of Geonosis^[8] in22 BBY,^[9] the GrandArmy of theRepublic was deployed against theSeparatist Droid Army of theConfederacy of Independent Systems for the firsttime. At the time, theJedi Order lacked an official status in themilitary forces of theGalactic Republic. Nevertheless, the clone troopers followed the orders of the Jedi, who served on the battlefield asde facto generals.^[10] In the aftermath of the Battle ofGeonosis, the clones began to refer to Jedi Knights and Masters as unofficial generals,^[6] while their Padawans held a lesser rank.^[11]

While Padawans already were serving within skirmishes as the war spread,Supreme ChancellorSheev Palpatine suggested to theJedi High Council that Padawans be officially brought into the military fold, beginning a debate amongst the Council. Following themission to Cato Neimoidia, theGalactic Senate passed the Jedi Military Integration Act, which officially made fully-trained Jedi into generals. Jedi who were stilltraining as Padawans, meanwhile, were granted the official but lesser rank of commander.^[6] Many in the Republic found the footage of the teenage Jedi Commanders leading full grown clones strange. However, many had forgotten or weren't aware of the fact that, because clones had gone through growth acceleration, the Padawans were chronologically older than the clone troopers.^[4]

Into the front lines[]

During theBattle of Christophsis,Ahsoka Tano was assigned to the newly-promoted Jedi KnightAnakin Skywalker, makingher Skywalker's official Padawan despite his unwillingness to mentor the next generation of the Jedi Order. As a result, Tano also became a Jedi Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic. OnChristophsis, she served alongside thesoldiers of her master'sunit, the501st Legion, and would continue to serve as Skywalker's second-in-command in multiple battles acrossthe galaxy, such asTeth,^[1]Bothawui, andRyloth.^[13] In21 BBY,^[9] Tano worked with CommanderBarriss Offee—^[14] the Padawan of Jedi MasterLuminara Unduli—to destroy theGeonosis primary droid foundry during theSecond Battle of Geonosis.^[15] After securing victory for the Republic onGeonosis, commanders Tano and Offee worked together toprevent the spread of aninfestation that infected the crew of thePelta-class frigateTB-73.^[14]

In20 BBY,^[16] CommanderKnox fell inbattle along with GeneralHalsey and their clone troopers, all of whom were killed byCountDooku's new enforcer,Dathomirian formerNightbrotherSavage Opress.^[17]Yigan Lam was the Padawan to JediHallan Krintu, whom she was present with during thesabotage of a simulation chamber on Kamino.^[18] Serving under hermaster,Leh'ahnyo Vas served as Jedi Commander in theirclone unit.^[4]

Trials of Ahsoka Tano[]

As the fighting continued, Barriss Offee secretly grew disillusioned with the Clone Wars, the Republic, and the Jedi's role in the conflict. She orchestrated aterroristattack on theJedi Temple ofCoruscant^[20] in19 BBY,^[9] killing several Jedi, clone troopers, and civilian workers. In addition, her actions resulted in the death of her friend,Tutso Mara, and the framing of another friend, Ahsoka Tano,^[21] whom Offee had set up to take the fall for the attack. Although Offee was ultimately exposed as the true culprit andtraitor by Tano's master Anakin Skywalker, the former Commander Tano declined the chance to rejoin the Jedi Order and the Grand Army of the Republic.^[22]

However, when Tano unofficially rejoined the Republic Military to leadforces in theSiege of Mandalore to assist theMandalore resistance, the clones in the unit treated her as though she still held the rank out of respect.^[23] She would nonetheless reflect that, since her days as a Padawan and even into her present, she had found herself a soldier waging war instead of the peacekeeper she was trained to be as a Jedi, much to her upset.^[19]

Final days and legacy[]

In the finaldays of the Clone Wars, the clone troopers turned against their Jedi Generals and Commanders after receiving the command from Chancellor Palpatine to executeOrder 66,^[25] activating thebehavioral modification biochips implanted into each trooper^[19] that was programmed to force each soldier to carry out Order 66 without question, no matter what they thought before the order.^[26] Having been labeled as enemies of the state by the chancellor^[25] and with the clones unable to resist,^[19] many Jedi were suddenly gunned down by their ownsoldiers.^[25] The PadawanCal Kestis, who was a Jedi Commander in the13th Battalion, survived Order 66 due to the sacrifice of his master, the Jedi GeneralJaro Tapal.^[27] Despite her status as a former Jedi, Tano was also targeted by Order 66,^[28] but she managed to free her comrade, Clone Commander Rex, from the spell of Order 66 by removing his control chip^[19] and escaped the carnage with him.^[28]

Another Jedi Commander,Caleb Dume, survived the clones' betrayal due to his master,Depa Billaba, who sacrificed her life to ensure that Dume would not perish by theblasterfire oftheir battalion.^[29] Under thereign of theGalactic Empire, the few surviving Jedi were forced intoexile in order to survive thepurge that all but destroyed their Order.^[30] For a time, Kestis waged apersonal crusade against the Empire, maintaining the path of a warrior he had been set on as a Jedi Commander.^[24] Prior to theGalactic Civil War, the former Jedi Commanders Dume and Tano became members of theAlliance to Restore the Republic during its formativeyears as a resistance movement.^[31] Dume, who now went by the alias of "Kanan Jarrus," continued the Jedi tradition by training a Padawan of his own—theForce-sensitiveEzra Bridger ofLothal.^[32]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• Disney Infinity 3.0

Sources[]

Thisin-universe list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia byexpanding it.

• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Commander BacaraHighlights of the Saga: Palpatine Unmasked
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Commander PondsHelmets: Commander Ponds
• Star Wars: On the Front Lines
• Star Wars Bust Collection: StormtrooperCharacter: Stormtroopers
• Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
• Rise of the Separatists
• Collapse of the Republic
• Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi
• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "Score"
• Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection(Picture only)
• "Republic, Rebel, and Resistance Starfighters" —Star Wars Encyclopedia(Picture only)
• "Aftermath" Episode Guide | The Bad Batch onStarWars.com(backup link)(Picture only)
• "Scarif and Other Planets in the Outer Rim" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Hot Toys Television Masterpiece Series(Sixth Scale Figure:#022: 501st Battalion Clone Trooper) (backup link)
• Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
• Star Wars: Legion(New Edition) —Commander & Padawan Ahsoka Tano Character Expansion
• 501st Legion in theDatabank(backup link)(Indirect mention only)

Notes and references[]