Clone Trooper
this was the term used to describe the clones of Jango Fett, which were developed by the Kaminoans for Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Whatever their original mission, the clones were first used in the Battle of Geonosis, to create the Army of the Republic and augment the forces of the Jedi Knights in combating Count Dooku and his droid armies. The clone troopers were the forerunners of the Imperial stormtrooper, wearing a twenty-piece set of white body armor modeled after the armor of the Mandalorian Shocktroopers. The original design of this armor was done by the Kaminoans, who did not account for the human body's ability to sit. Thus, clone troopers had to stand most of the time, for sitting was uncomfortable. These 1.78-meter-tall clones, growth-accelerated to mature twice as fast as a normal human and genetically altered to be strong, loyal, and obedient, were developed by Ko Sai and trained by Jango Fett himself. The Kaminoan cloning facility was able to produce these clones rapidly and with high quality, with a success rate of 193 viable clones out of each batch of 200. The remaining seven could often be reconditioned, and the defects were researched and bred out of future generations. Each clone trooper's identification number was coded into his DNA, allowing for specific individuals to be identified, if needed. A chip implanted in their neck provided additional identification information. The use of clone troopers produced an unexpected benefit on the combat field, in that their similar genome allowed for the development of specific treatments which could be carried in quantity and used without fear of allergy. The consistent training routines and utter loyalty and dedication of the clone troopers allowed Republic commanders to plan strategies ahead of time, since they could always count on the actions of their troopers. Another benefit to having cloned soldiers was during medical procedures, especially those with near-fatal injuries. Skin and organs could be grown from the Jango Fett DNA, ensuring that there was no rejection of implanted or replaced body parts. Additionally, because the clones were nearly identical internally as well as externally, there was little variation to the size and location of muscles, blood vessels, and other parts. This allowed surgeons to simply repair a trooper's body without having to worry about minute variations. Because of their enhanced development, clone troopers had about half the normal lifespan of a human, assuming that they survived combat. They proved to be invaluable resources during the struggle on Geonosis, fearlessly attacking the droid armies of the Trade Federation and the Geonosians and eventually overtaking them to win the battle for the Republic. The fact that the clone troopers were humans, and not mindless droids, allowed them to operate for brief periods of autonomy, especially when a commanding officer was wounded or killed. At the height of the Clone Wars, Republic records indicated that the average clone trooper was accounting for the destruction of over 200 battle droids. The white helmets of the initial, Phase One clone troopers were striped with colors to indicate a trooper's rank above the standard military soldier: yellow for Commanders, red for Captains, blue for Lieutenants, and green for Sergeants. Note that Star Wars: Episode II - Incredible Cross-Sections indicates that the colors represented roles instead of rank: yellow indicated aircrew officers, blue indicated military police, and red indicated infantry officers.