To all members of the Bast Alpha Garrison,

Today, September 19, 2009 marks 1 year for the approval of the Bast Alpha Garrison of the 501st Legion. Let me begin by saying how extremely proud I am to be a part of Bast Alpha. It is hard for me to believe, it is now 3 years since Louisiana started as a squad. Now, we are 42 members strong and about to be approved for full garrison status.

We have accomplished so much, we have a great group of people and I only see Bast Alpha continuing on to a great future with plenty of good times ahead.

I am honored you all had the faith in my abilities to lead and represent Bast Alpha. I want to thank my command staff for their excellent work and dedication to their postions.

I want to thank all of our members, and their family and friends, for their time and efforts toward Bast Alpha, attending trooping events, making donations for various events, and helping each other with costume construction and repairs and in times of personal need.

We will continue to join in support of our fellow Star Wars groups, the Red Stick Rebellion and the Rebel Dagobah Base.

In closing, I look forward to the future, trooping with my old friends, and to the many new friends we make along the way.

Here's to the Bast Alpha Garrison!

Gary "Vader1" Breaux
SL-1190
Commanding Officer
Bast Alpha Garrison
501st Legion

Welcome to the new website for the Bast Alpha Squad of the 501st Legion - Vader's Fist. The 501's mission statement is

"...The Legion is a volunteer club formed for the express purpose of bringing together costume enthusiasts and giving them a collective identity within which to operate. The Legion's aims are to celebrate the Star Wars movies through the wearing of costumes, to promote the quality and improvement of costumes and props, and most importantly to contribute to the local community through charity and volunteer work..."

To Celebrate
Star Wars fans come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, but no matter how diverse they may seem, common bonds become evident when people come together to celebrate their passion for George Lucas's modern mythology. Some fans are content to collect action figures...other fans want to be action figures. Nothing professes your fandom quite like building your own detailed costume replica of a classic Star Wars villain, and there's nothing quite like the feeling that comes from bringing the characters of Star Wars into the real world and sharing the magic with others.

To Promote
A truly engaging Star Wars experience only occurs through a convincing appearance. To this end, the 501st constantly strives to improve the quality and accuracy of its member's costumes. Our goal is to appear as if our characters have just stepped off the big screen and into this world.

To Contribute
While our organization was founded to simply provide a collective identity for costuming fans with similar interests, the 501st is proud to put its resources to good use through fundraising, charity work, and volunteerism. Read more about our charity work here.

If you would like to inquire about 501st appearances, please click the "Request an Apperance" button on the right-side of the page.

By a vote of 97% the 501st Legion council has voted that the Louisiana's Bast Alpha Squad will become a garrison!!

This is truly an exciting day for all of the Bast Alpha's members and the 501st Legion!