Creator's note: This group is open membership to all players, and players may freely submit characters who are members of this group without any special permission. If there are any questions about the group, please contact Sulaco.

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Name: Hybrid Youth Vanguard

Common Nicknames used by non-members: "Guardians", "Snitch Club", "Mini-White", etc.

Category: Student political activism and civil security, with low-armament paramilitary characteristics. Classified as a youth subculture or ideological clique by many.

Ideology: Militantly pro-Ministry, with heavy emphasis on Neo-Son'gun, Uni-Juche and Hybrid Nationalism politicial philosophies.

Activities: Propaganda distribution, book-burning events, organizing marches, parades, rallies, physical training events, and other general "vigilant citizen" activities. In some cases the Vanguard's activities have resembled outright vigilante activity (such as patrolling the MidCity and burning down or destroying the property of "anti-Unity" outer classers, or provoking fights with purebreds in order to justify brutalizing them in "self defense"), though are always kept from going to such any extreme that the Ministry would intervene with. The Vanguard is also known to organize watch groups throughout their schools and communities in order to expose UniClass religious believers, homosexuals, criminals, dissidents, and other "enemies of the people". Purebred critics of the Hybrid Youth Vanguard have often described them as nothing more than a gang of Ministry-tolerated jackbooted youth thugs.

History & Present Status: The Hybrid Youth Vanguard has existed since roughly 25 ECE as sort of a student activist/paramilitary organization founded under the principle of jugendsturm; a "youth assault" movement which would theoretically wage a desperate insurgency against Colonial occupiers if the Einheit Civil Militia and the Ministry were to somehow fall. Of course, this was when Einheit City's survival was uncertain, and the fear of a Colony or alliance of Colonies managing to invade and occupy Einheit City was still a very common and legitimate concern for the UniClass.

Because the ECM was founded as a theoretically apolitical city-state paramilitary that allowed both hybrids and purebreds to serve in it, the ECM was considered too moderate for the likes of most Vanguard members, who instead viewed the Ministry as Einheit City’s more ideal defenders, and sought to emulate them in whatever legal ways possible. But the Ministry's recruiting standards were far higher than the vast majority of hybrids could meet, which resulted in a large number of young UniClassers with no legal outlet for their burning sense of duty. Thus, the Hybrid Youth Vanguard was founded by an elite of highschool and college-aged students and athletes, bound together by reverence for the Ministry, burning contempt for enemies of Unity, and a desire to do something about it.

Since it was an independently-organized movement composed mostly of young UniClassers with no official training aside from government-sanctioned weapons safety and marksmanship classes, and voluntary martial arts school, the Vanguard saw only limited action, usually in the form of Vanguard members dangerously attempted to foil the occasional Colonial saboteurs or domestic collaborators while the Ministry or ECM were too distant to respond in time. For the most part, the Vanguard operated in a home front support role, working alongside other UniClass volunteer groups to provide evacuation assistance, first aid, basic firefighting, and other efforts in the wake of Colonial bombings and missile attacks.

However, along with these community-supporting deeds, the Hybrid Youth Vanguard aggressively established itself as an unofficial extension of the Ministry’s network of informants and collaborators, encouraging its members to not only scrutinize and spy upon neighbors and classmates, but their own families for any signs of dissent or anti-Ministry words or actions. This massive body of loyal informants resulted in an increase in Ministry detainments of individuals whose activities or character were found suspicious by Vanguard youths, and was arguably one of the key factors contributing to the the heavy UniClass purges the Ministry engaged in after Operation Boreas. Even then, the genocide of the Colonies wrought by Operation Boreas didn't slow down the Vanguard in the slightest. Fearing that the UniClass would become weak, complacent, and unpatriotic in the comfort of this new peace, the Hybrid Youth Vanguard has continued its practices of organizing community fitness events, propaganda marches, street justice, and civil spying just the same.

Because the Vanguard strictly obeys UniClass weapon laws, and also because its members are mostly just teenagers, the group generally avoids biting off more than it can chew; they avoid reckless vigilante acts on the more professional and organized outer class threats, such as heavily armed insurgent groups, and instead simply reports to the Ministry if anything that serious is uncovered. There are, of course, those occasional situations where force used by an armed UniClass civilian would be considered the right decision... And Vanguardians won't shy away from the opportunity to do just that, especially if they believe a fellow UniClasser or UniClass interests are in immediate danger. Recognizing that it can't always be everywhere all the time, the Ministry tolerates this to some degree, as it would tolerate any other UniClasser using force to defend themselves, other UniClassers, or UniClass property when Ministry troops aren't present.

Most often, members of the Vanguard can be seen in large groups patrolling in certain MidCity sectors armed with batons, tasers, knives and the occasional licensed firearm wielded by a senior, legal-aged member. For the most part they roam areas that UniClassers are known to travel or do business, accosting, intimidating, or generally aggravating nearby purebreds; anything that would give them reason to damage property or beat up a purebred in "self defense".

Killings committed by Vanguard members are rare, but not unheard of, and are always under the aforementioned "self defense" pretext.

Nominally, it is illegal for UniClassers to go around picking fights with the outer class due to the improper image it sets, and at varying degrees in the past this law was enforced. Yet in the present time the Ministry generally turns a blind eye to the Hybrid Youth Vanguard's street justice-like activities, since the Ministry knows that for the most part the Vanguard is simply bruising the faces and smashing the windows of purebreds who were probably asking for it anyways, and that if the Vanguard ever stumbled upon any real threats to Unity, the groups leaders would be quick to take a step back and call the city's real guardians.

In many respects, the Vanguard is identical to many youth gangs throughout history, with its key difference being that its activities are tolerated by the powers that be.


Membership: Members of the Hybrid Youth League are all UniClass hybrids between the ages of 13 and 21, enrolled in highschool, college, or some other legitimate UniClass educational instution. Membership is usually gained through recommendation by an existing Vanguard member, who can vouch for the prospective candidate's loyalty to the Ministry and Unity. In reflecting the rest of the UniClass' firm views on equal gender rights, the Hybrid Youth Vanguard never tolerates any form of sexism in its ranks, hence it there are just as many female members as there are males in all of its rank levels.

It's practically unheard of for anyone over the age of 21 to remain a member of the Vanguard, due to its obvious nature as a youth organization. By that age many members fade away from the organization, finding less time and energy for Vanguard life due to work and other needs of adult life.

Organizational Structure: The Hybrid Youth Vanguard is a grassroots movement composed of several Chapters, one for almost every UniClass school district or college campus, as well as a few in hybrid communities of the MidCity. Leaders of each chapter are usually decided simply on a competitive basis of whoever is the most athletic, cunning, and experienced enough to seize leadership. Despite this somewhat chaotic seeming lack of official organization, cooperation between different regional Chapters is high due to the shared ideology and goals.

In-fighting within Chapters or the organization itself does occur from time to time, though almost never any way that would require Ministry intervention. At the worst, one can expect a few nonlethal brawls resulting from the usual disputes that arise in any youth subculture.

Uniforms & Equipment: Members of the Vanguard generally wear military-styled uniforms, though of clearly different styles from the Ministry, so that they are not easily mistaken for Ministry personnel, since being accused of impersonating an Einheit City Minister is a serious crime. Typically, members will wear urban camouflage uniforms, military-styled caps or berets, utility belts, combat boots, and other clearly martial clothing items. Regardless of what an individual member's outfit might consist of, while conducting any kind of Vanguard functions or activities, ALL members must wear an armband which has the Hybrid Youth Vanguard's symbol; a red, sharp-clawed fist clenching a hammer.

The Hybrid Youth Vanguard adheres VERY strictly to Einheit City weapon laws, and is extremely careful to not test the Ministry on this matter, as much as they would prefer to be more lethally armed. Every Vanguard member is issued a combat knife bearing the Vanguard's symbol on the hilt, both as a token of membership, and as a self-defense weapon.

Because 16 is the normal age that a UniClass citizen may obtain a firearm license, many of the younger members are armed similarly to how one might expect a smalltime street gang to be; stun weapons, pepper spray, and improvised melee weapons. Members aged 16 and older on the other hand usually possess some kind of licensed handgun or equivalent weapon. A few under-16 members who have undergone special government-approved weapon safety courses and been granted waivers do, however, legally possess firearms.

Relationship To The Ministry: The Ministry's stance towards the Hybrid Youth Vanguard is one of careful ambiguity, neither clearly condemning nor supporting the Vanguard's activities, but merely granting silent approval to what it views as a good-intentioned but ultimately immature and ameteurish subculture of hybrid juvenilles who are too driven by emotional zeal for the Unity idea to be capable of serving it in the coldly efficient manner that the Ministry itself does.

Among the UniClass civilians, opinions are mixed. Up until recently the Vanguard was widely viewed as another good, community-minded and productive organization for young hybrids to be a part of. Though in recent months, its activities have bordered on disruptive or unwelcome due to their somewhat noisy or intimidatingly militaristic politicial demonstrations, especially to hybrids who are so used to the Toride being a fairly tranquil place where even the Ministry, for all its might, tends to be a more silently omnipresent force, coldly observing from unseen places and acting with swift, silent efficiency when needed. Technically, the Vanguard's activities in the Toride are legal, though there has been growing debate in the civilian sector about whether or not there's such a thing as too much enthusiasm. Since it is a grassroots organization independant of the Ministry or other government bodies, public debate about the Vanguard is much more possible than would be about the Ministry itself, which has led to it being a common topic in many UniClass media forums.

Individually, members of the Ministry tend to view the Vanguard as young ameteurs who have the right intentions, but imperfect and possibly immature execution of those intentions. Even the youngest, most rookie Minister would know to carry him or herself with reserve and strict bearing, not needing to rattle sabres or wave a flag to make their presence known in order to establish an aura of authority... Whereas the Hybrid Youth Vanguard tends to do what most Ministers would consider "trying too hard".

This is part of the reason why very few members of the Vanguard have been elligible for Ministry recruitment. Many of its members who are of normal recruiting age joined the Vanguard specifically because they were turned down by Ministry recruits, which is where the Vanguard's notorious aggressive pomp and loud enthusiasm is thought to come from; young, nationalistic hybrids seeking some kind of emotional compensation for not making the Ministry cut, and needing a clique of likeminded individuals for friendship and support.

A few members, however, may have actually been eligible for Ministry recruitment, but never had the courage to actually join, and end up channeling their pro-Unity fury with the Vanguard to perhaps block out the hidden sense of regret or shame they feel over not being bold enough to join the Ministry.

The Ministry as a whole, in any official context, simply lets the Vanguard exist and operate so long as they do not overstep their boundaries, and does not issue any statements either way about them.