Your powers are weak, old man.
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Master Kota was a military genius, but felt that clone soldiers were unfit for battle. Instead, he relied on his own militia.
—PROXY's description of the militia
I never trusted the Clone soldiers during the Clone Wars and restored for forming my own militia. The volunteer corps helped me raise my own force and ultimately spared me from Order 66.
—Kota's description to Ahsoka Tano.
Rahm Kota's Militia was a unique militia and military unit that was composed of battle-hardened soldiers that fought during the Clone Wars under the command of Rahm Kota for the Galactic Republic. During the Clone Wars, Kota's Militia were part of the Civilian Volunteer Corps and were officially designated as the 1st Republic Volunteer Regiment. The militia was made up of civilian volunteers from the Republic, mercenary groups, and even Separatist prisoners of war who fought under Kota's command during the war. Kota himself distrusted the Clone troopers and thus formed his own militia instead. During the war, they served with distinction and were highly decorated.
After Order 66 was exectued and the clones turned on the Jedi Order, Kota survived and his men remained loyal to him and followed him as he waged his own insurgency against the Galactic Empire after the Republic was dissolved. Kota and his militia later joined the United Front and would help rescue Imperial prisoners and stage various raids against the Empire. By the time the Alliance to Restore the Republic was formed, the militia was reorganized as the 1st Assault Battalion of the Alliance Army.
Overview[]
Kota's Militia was a militia composed of highly trained, motivated, and professional soldiers all of who were volunteers from all walks of life. They were originally formed as part of the Civilian Volunteer Corps and were part of the Republic Army and fought as their own independent unit from the Clone Army. Due to Kota's distrust of the Clone Army, he didn't have Clones join his militia and recruited from Republic civilians, hired mercenaries, and Separatist prisoners of war. They wore combat armor and gear reminiscent of the gear worn by soldiers from the Old Republic.
During the Clone Wars, the Militia was armed with DC-15S and DC-15A blaster rifles which were standard for the entire Clone Army. By the time of the United Front insurgency, the Militia used a wide variety of blaster rifles, chain guns, and other weapons usually either leftovers from the Clone Wars, personal weapons, or stolen armaments from raids against the Empire. Both during the Clone Wars and campaigns against the Empire, Kota's Militia fought with distinction and complete loyalty to Kota.
History[]
Clone Wars[]
We mustn't rely purely on the Clones of Kamino. We must also rally our citizens to the cause of defending the Republic.
—Kota
Jedi Master Rahm Kota, founder of the militia.
The militia was first formed in 22 BBY during the early stages of the Clone Wars. After the Confederacy of Independent Systems seceded from the Republic, the Republic Military found itself at a major disadvantage in that the Separatists could produce battle droids faster than the Republic could produce fresh troops for the Clone Army and the Clones were outnumbered during the early to mid stages of the war. Kota suggested forming a unit of the Republic Army composed of non-Clone civilian volunteers leading to the formation of the Civilian Volunteer Corps. He would go on to raise his own militia and was organized as the 1st Republic Volunteer Regiment and was under Kota's command. Kota's distrust of the Clones made it so that relations between the regiment and Clone units was often tense with Kota only being willing to fight alongside them if need be, but did everything he could to avoid relying on them. Most of his troops were more tolerant of the clones than the Jedi Master.
The regiment fought on several battlefields and fronts throughout the Clone Wars from Geonosis to Felucia and the attritional struggle for Ordonia, the original homeworld of Kota himself. Most of Kota's troops were volunteers from the Inner Rim and those from worlds in the Colonies that were still aligned with the Republic. Kota would also recruit Separatist prisoners of war as well with most being humans. While alien recruits existed, they usually volunteered for a way out of the camps and would desert back to the Separatists the moment they had the chance. Towards the end of the war, the regiment was deployed to the Outer Rim Territories to fight in the Outer Rim Sieges which included the Third Battle of Ordonia where the regiment captured the planetary capital and was the most decorated unit that participated in the campaign.
Order 66 and exile []
Following the execution of Order 66, Kota and his men fled into exile after managing to escape from Ordonia. Kota's mistrust in the clones unintentionally saved him as his militia managed to fend them off and he was spared being killed by them, a fate that most of the Jedi Order fell to. Kota's Militia was on Ordonia when Order 66 was carried out and managed to escape the planet by confescating multiple ships from the Ordonian Defense Fleet, mostly three EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, eight CR90 corvettes, and over a dozen starfighters. Afterwards Kota had his men flee deep into the Outer Rim Territories away from the frontlines and would remain in hiding for the nexy few years.
During this period, Kota's Militia would flee to Nar Shaddaa as the planet was neutral and gathered recruits from the world. When the Imperial Navy came to force the world to accept Imperial rule after news of the planet harboring surviving Jedi and other enemies of the Empire reached them in 17 BBY, an insurrection broke out and the militia fought in the planetary uprising along with Kota. The Imperial forces ultimately won due to superior numbers, ships and material, but the militia fought valiently and managed to escape off world and gained new recruits. A year later Kota's men was contacted by Kleeve, a Devaronian smuggler and officer in the Separatist holdouts. Despite their wartime differences, both men cooperated and merged with Kota's Militia further increasing their numbers and by 14 BBY, Kota began staging raids against the Empire.