The Elite Squad was a special forces squad functioning under the Special Operations Brigade of the Galactic Empire's armed forces. It was commanded by Clone Commander CT-9904, known as "Crosshair," and comprised of newly recruited soldiers brought together by Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart. Initially, the squad consisted of Elite Squad Troopers designated ES-01, ES-02, ES-03, and ES-04.
Following Clone Force 99's refusal to kill Saw Gerrera's rebels and their subsequent defection from the Empire, the newly appointed Governor Wilhuff Tarkin deployed Crosshair's Elite Squad to complete the mission. Tarkin aimed to determine if Rampart's enlisted soldiers could succeed where the now-fugitive clones had failed. The troopers successfully ambushed Gerrera's base on Onderon, resulting in the deaths of several insurgents.
However, Gerrera was not present at the camp when the squad arrived. Crosshair commanded the troopers to execute the prisoners. ES-01 refused to obey the order to kill unarmed civilians and was subsequently killed by the commander. The remaining members of the squad followed Crosshair's orders, executing the prisoners while he observed. Despite the loss of ES-01 and their failure to find Gerrera, Tarkin and Rampart considered the mission a successful test of the squad's capabilities.
By the time Hunter was captured, two more Elite Squad troopers had been added to the unit. When the Bad Batch was surrounded inside the Tipoca City Training Facility, Crosshair gave Hunter and his former squadmates an opportunity to rejoin the Empire and ordered the Elite Squad Troopers to stand down. The new members, along with ES-03 and ES-04, disobeyed the order and prepared to execute the Bad Batch. Crosshair quickly eliminated all four of them by firing a ricocheting shot at the mirrors he had installed around the room.
ES-02 was the only member to survive, as she had been dispatched earlier to locate Omega. She returned to find her squad dead and the Bad Batch fighting training droids. She then informed Rampart of Crosshair's failure and evacuated Tipoca City after Rampart instructed her to leave Crosshair to die with the Bad Batch.