
A Barc Trooper
In the fictional
Star
Wars universe,
BARC Troopers are an elite
group of
Republic clone scouts.
BARC
Troopers, (BARC stands for Biker Advanced Reconnaissance Commando)
are specially trained clone commandos and scouts. During the height
of
The Clone
Wars, BARC Troopers were dispatched to such planets as
Kashyyyk. Following
the execution of
Order
66 and the rise of the Empire, it is largely the elite,
camouflaged BARC Troopers of the Republic that evolved into the
less-advanced
Scout troopers of the
Galactic Empire.
Like the
later Imperial Scouts, the BARC Troopers are primarily dispatched
on ground-based mission. They wore lighter armor, and their gear
incorporated comlinks, breathing gear, and macrobinocular lenses.
They generally used lighter, more portable weapons than Imperial
Scouts.
However, unlike the lightly armed and armored Speeder
Bikes used by the Empire in later years, the BARC Troopers, who
primarily saw action on Kashyyyk, the
Wookiee homeworld, used the fast, highly agile BARC
Speeder Bike, which was both better armored and better armed than
later Bikes used by the Empire, though it lacked the saddlebags
mounted to the side. Presumably, the Emperor decided to cut back
costs by using less expensive bikes, or is another example of the
relatively low regard placed on soldiers lives.
Another
difference is that while Imperial Scouts, like all other
stormtroopers, wore white armor over a black body-glove, the BARC
Troopers wore camouflage-colored armor, in tones of green and
brown. An exception to this was on the planet of Saleucami, where
the BARC troopers donned typical white armor with an unusual,
beak-like structure affixed to the front of their helmet.