General Vander was Republic chief of operations for Ord Mantell, commanding all its military forces during the Separatist War. He promoted Sergeant Meteor of the famous Havoc Squad to the rank of lieutenant for disabling the stolen ZR-57. He tasked the newly-promoted lieutenant with rebuilding the squad after defection of Commander Harron Tavus and his men to the Sith Empire. He also assigned recently-demoted sergeant Aric Jorgan as Havoc's first new member, claiming that was all he could do for the soldier whose career had been tainted by the betrayal of his comrades. Later, he contacted Jorgan, offering him to return to his previous post at Ord Mantell Infantry Command, but the Cathar refused politely, stating that his goal for a while was to capture and punish Tavus.