Sol Armada was founded in 2015, or 2945 in the Star Citizen timeline. Before we were Sol Armada, we were members of a shoddily-built community created by a numbers-obsessed founder. He recruited tirelessly and indiscriminately. Many incoming recruits balked at the chaos caused by this leader. While there were gradual efforts made to design some sort of structure that could be adhered to, most of those efforts never led anywhere useful. The leader’s vision for the org changed almost weekly. Back then, Star Citizen was not in a play state that we could fully take advantage of as a group, so nearly all we could do was theory-craft about the future of the game and the community.

One day, the leader introduced a new recruit to the community by telling everyone that this new recruit was the new Head of the Security Wing of the org. Cue a reasonable amount of uproar, followed by the leader kicking everyone out who disagreed with his decision, including many of the officers who had helped design the structure of the org. Almost immediately following the mass exile, those who were kicked out formed their own splinter community, which still lives on today as Lagrange Point.

Months passed.

By September of 2015, Lagrange Point had waned in activity to the point that it was considered dormant, and Apollonaut reached out to the old community to find out how things were progressing without the old guard. Unsurprisingly, the leader was still recruiting en-masse, and members expressed concern over the lack of real leadership in the org. Apollonaut gathered a few of the members together, who presented their grievances to the leader. After a series of arguments, the leader stepped down completely from his position and left the community entirely after passing ownership of the org to another officer, who eventually passed it to Apollonaut, who maintains it today.

The community banded together to re-brand the org with the original founder gone. Various members stepped up to assist with efforts to build something better than what had been, and a leadership team was formed. Out of the chaos, Sol Armada found a new identity: new leadership, a new logo, and a freshly invigorated sense of responsibility. An effort to reach out to lost members began in earnest, and many old faces returned to the community as a result.

Among the new leadership team, CrayBacon became an Admiral alongside Apollo, and the duo spent months drafting ideas and documentation assisted by the massive efforts of KooTheGreat and others. Today, the leadership team consists of several trusted Commanders, as well as a set of Lieutenant Officers who assist with events and other clerical duties.

Through eight years of fluctuating activity in Sol Armada, Star Citizen’s gameplay improved to the point that group gameplay is now more than possible. While participating in the new Dynamic Events such as Xenothreat and Siege of Orison, Sol Armada has cemented its position in the wider community as an active and capable crew. Weekly events for mining, salvaging, and capital ship hunting give members the chance to build camaraderie and credits. New officers are brought up the ranks, and the org evolves with the game to support new gameplay as it arrives.