In 1997, a couple Star Wars fans who had made their own costumes got together and formed the 501st Legion - Vaders Fist. A link to the story behind the group exists in the menu to the left. In the ensuing ten years, the group has swelled to over 3500 members (and over 4000 costumes) world wide, all to enjoy and share the joy the movie gave to us, and showcasing the'villianous' characters of the Empire.

This section of the Florida Garrison site is for the Jacksonville area based squad - Squad 7.

About us

Well, first off, who we're not. We're not a bunch of geeks who live in our parents basements into our thirties, and we're not Star Wars egg heads.

What we are is a bunch of dedicated fans, costumists, and all around good samaritans. We go to great length and expense to build and maintain our costumes, and then we do appearances at a variety of events - always at no cost. We are BIG on charity events, especially for children, as the Star Wars saga touches a joyful chord in the hearts of all children (and many of us are - when in costume - the biggest children you might see). The 501st website has many tales of the various charity events we have trooped on behalf of causes such as Make-a-Wish, and the American Cancer Society (just to name a few). We've also done school's, grand openings, movie premiere's and other events in the greater Jacksonville area (and occasionally large events like DragonCon or Star Wars Celebrations).

About The 501st

From Article I of our Legion Charter document:

"...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.