Who Are the Advance Guard

When one thinks of the Advance Guard, one should think back to the days of long ago, back when there were still individual country governments and the various Special Operations forces that each had: SEALs, Green Berets, SAS, KSSO, Mossad, and many more. They were given specific orders to conduct counter-terrorism, direct action, hostage rescue, and other similar operations. The members of these teams were the best of the best, the most highly-trained and always cross-trained in other job capacities so as to be able to back each other up in their small units (frequently numbering only four men). The Advance Guard follows along the same strategy: its members are constantly being trained and prepared for any scenario that may arise. When not on a mission, its units are practicing drills, running various scenarios, and preparing so as to be ready for the next mission when it comes along.

An Advance Guard member looks just like any other Starfleet officer or enlistee. Where the Advance Guard member differs is in the performance of his duties: Whereas a Starfleet member will be competent in accomplishing his task, the Advance Guard member will succeed and exceed all expectations because of the superior training.

Anyone can choose to apply for the Advance Guard and start the training process but it is only those few who are able to follow through who become members of our special force. It is these elite individuals we seek and desire for what we must do: protect the Federation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. We expect our members to be ready for battle at a moment's notice. We require our members to be ready to leave for a mission within minutes of getting the call to report.

Being an Advance Guard member is a hard life and comes with a hefty price: the members are often behind enemy lines or otherwise out of contact with family, friends, and all other ties for months on end. While on duty, especially while on mission, there is no communication with the civilian world or even within Starfleet other than the transmissions required to give us our orders. When we complete our assignments, we return to a safe port of call and debrief. Only then will any mail, messages, packages, or other items be forwarded to us. (For this reason, we always recommend telling those you know not to send perishable items. We don't need any stinky cheese getting even stinkier with spoilage.)

At this time, Starfleet is embroiled in the Dominion War and Starfleet is having a hard time getting ahead, especially with the discovery that the Dominion has started establishing cloning sites for new Jem'Hadar soldiers within the Alpha Quadrant. With that increased capacity for replenishment of their forces, Starfleet Command knows that it is only a matter of time before Starfleet and the rest of the Alpha Quadrant must surrender and submit to Dominion rule.

The Advance Guard will not permit this!

So, we have the overall objective to hand decisive victory back to Starfleet. The Advance Guard has been granted the ability to accomplish this task by any means necessary provided that it complies with proper rules of engagement and does not violate any enforceable treaties or other laws.

Most frequently in the past, we have been small and have been assigned to operations within other ships. However, now that Starfleet has a much greater need for our abilities, we have begun amassing our own specialized fleet. The first ship of the fleet is the NCC-74928 USS Dark Fury, commissioned Stardate 50659.3, under the command of Captain John "Sparky" Bevan. We expect to have more ships join our fleet soon but we will do so slowly to keep our operations under wraps and the enemy unaware of our existence (for as long as possible).

Our future shall continue only to grow. While we are small and have limited reach due to our low numbers, that shall change in time. Our goal is to have a comparatively sizable fleet of specialized ships manned by Advance Guard members exclusively. We aim to be the branch to which Starfleet Command turns whenever something must be accomplished to the highest of standards through the most difficult of circumstances. We aim to replace the use of general Starfleet personnel and disband Section 31 entirely.

If you feel that you are up to the challenge of becoming a member, get in touch today and let's see if you are worthy of that title. We look forward to hearing from you.