Five-O-First...The 501st Legion:

1) History:

Formed by South Carolina residents Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in 1997, The 501st Legion is an international Star Wars costuming organization specializing in "Bad guy" costumes from the Dark Side in the Star Wars universe. Its sister organization is called "The Rebel Legion".

The 501st Legion sprung out from the creating of a Star Wars fan site where Albin and his friends posted pictures of themselves in Stormtrooper armor - soon visitors from all over the world started to send in their own pictures in Stormtrooper gear to be posted on the website, and soon, the snowball really started to roll. The 501st Legion has truly grown through the years, and boasts over 4200 active members in 40 countries as of August 4, 2008, with a 15% female membership.

The 501st is split into garrisons, outposts, and squads with the garrison being the largest 'group'. Costumes of the same type and function also has its own detachments.

2) A worldwide organization:

Now you can find major Garrisons in countries such as the US, UK, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. Then we have outposts present in Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Republic of Djibouti, The Netherlands, Hong Kong China, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Korea, Malaysia/Brunei, Monaco, Argentina, Hawaii, Taiwan and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia just to name a few.

The latest Imperial Intelligence also tell about the soon establishment of an  outpost in mainland China! I am really looking forward to a future troop in China!!

    Please head over to 501stlegion.org to find your closest garrison or outpost!

3) Mission:

While the 501st was initially founded to unite costumers with a passion for Star Wars , one of our real-world missions is to bring good to our communities through volunteer charity work. The 501st is always looking for opportunities to brighten the lives of the less fortunate and to bring awareness to positive causes on both a local and global scale.

Some of the charity groups that The 501st Legion has proudly worked with include:

• - ASK, The Association for the Support of Children with Cancer
• - Belgian Federation Against Cancer
• - The Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation
• - Half a World Away Foundation
• - International Child Abuse Network
• - Make-a-Wish Foundation
• - MS Foundation
• - Red Cross
• - Ronald McDonald House
• - The Salvation Army
• - Special Olympics
• ...and more

For more information about the The 501st Legion and our charity work, please visit 501stlegion.org

3) Joining The 501st Legion:

The approved LFL disclaimer:

"The 501st Legion is a worldwide Star Wars costuming organization comprised of and operated by Star Wars fans. While it is not sponsored by Lucasfilm Ltd., it is Lucasfilm's preferred Imperial costuming group. Star Wars, its characters, costumes, and all associated items are the intellectual property of Lucasfilm. 2009 Lucasfilm Ltd. & All rights reserved. Used under authorization."

The 501st Legion is a non-political and non-profitable professional Star Wars costuming organization with a set of clear guidelines of operation. To uphold the professionalism of the organization, and to keep the general quality of the costumes on a high level, everyone who want to join the organization has to go through a 'approvement process'. In general:

To be able to join the organization, you must be at least 18 years old, and own a professional quality costume representing a documented villainous character from the Star Wars films or Expanded Universe. Then you'll have to complete an application form, and send in photos of your costume to be approved by the local Garrison Membership Liason (GML), or Legion Membership Officer (LMO).

Please go into 501stlegion.org to find YOUR local Garrison or Outpost recruitment office!