On May 27th, 2020, the Special Weapons and Tactics army reopened for the third time in just one month. Three years of SWAT also means three years of their unique brand of active warfare. Let us look back on their rich history and celebrate their role in keeping warfare alive.
Designed by Gabi
The second era of the Special Weapons and Tactics in the CPPS era ended with a merge into the Doritos. The merge did not last long. After SWAT Creator Ganger90, and SWAT Legend Sweater received numerous disappointed direct messages, they reopened the army. However, in less than a month, the Water Vikings raided the agents. Three months after the WV raids, SWAT successfully acquired one of Lime Green Army‘s servers.
The Eagre Foray
Near the end of August, SWAT defended two servers from the Water Vikings. Ultimately, full war broke out in September and went on until October. Aubz, a SWAT Leader in Training at the time, mentions how this occurred at the peak of the COVID-19 era. Both armies were neck and neck, having at least two battles a day. While the Vikings ended up winning, it set the stage for a warmongering SWAT, unafraid to face opponents on the battlefield. They unsuccessfully attempted to transfer their servers to another army, and WV dropped a force treaty to put an end to the dragged out conflict. The final score of the war was 18-1-6 in the Vikings’ favor.
Pjayo, leader of the Water Vikings at that time, claims that Ganger’s refusal to surrender became the biggest hurdle in the Vikings’ race to victory. Without the failed transfer, this war may have dragged on even longer than it did, possibly bringing more armies into the fold. It is impressive that within four months, the Special Weapons and Tactics managed to start a full fledged war with an established army in the community. The Water Vikings versus SWAT saga continues to this day.
Battle of Fiesta, September 19, 2020
The Death Of Flash
Peace never seems to last long for this army. In December, the Templars declared war on SWAT. In the same month, SWAT declared war on the Pizza Federation, resulting in two wars happening at once. Furthermore, the Army of Club Penguin declared war on the Special Weapons and Tactics as well. That brings us to three armies all fighting the Special Weapons and Tactics.
Eventually, the knights abandoned the war to focus on more pressing issues. Meanwhile, the Pizzaiolos and the Clovers Defenders continued their crusade. While SWAT faced off both on the battlefield, their main focus settled on their arch nemesis, the Clovers. Both armies historically fought each other for their self declared capital Mammoth.
Mare, one of the SWAT leaders at the time, noted that the “Serving Weapons and Toppings War” (the conflict between PZF and SWAT) ended due to the death of Adobe Flash Player. The ACP war was lackluster as well, with Coolguy (SWAT leader at the time, now an ACP leader), stating the following:
SWAT didn’t really get a chance to fight or even prove itself as a worthy opponent to ACP because of [SWAT’s] unwillingness to fight at the time so we weren’t seen as such.
However CSY, former leader of ACP and current advisor, remembers the war fondly, stating,
Flash Nemesis War, December 2022
SWAT And Operation: Temploria
The aftermath of this war saw a series of practice battles and tournaments for SWAT. In July they declared war on TCP. This was their second conflict with the Templars, but certainly not the last. After ten days of invasions and defenses, SWAT was declared victorious in “Operation: Temploria.” TCP was expelled from the Club Penguin Army Network due to egregious behavior from their staff, leading to SWAT’s victory. When asked to reflect on this war, Lego, current leader of SWAT, noted,
The immense rise in our AUSIA division stood out to me, garnering sizes of 36 penguins and obtaining many victories. Apart from size, the ‘tandem leadership’ between myself and Firestar08 proved to be incredibly fast and effective — especially at AUSIAs. Me personally, I think the war could have gone either way. I like to look back at this war and how intense and fun it was to lead. We would have continued winning AUSIAs and had other armies preparing to join in their own war against the Templars.
On being asked what he thought the result would have been without interference from CPAN, Legoman states that SWAT would have emerged victorious, becoming “the ultimate underdog story at the time.” Nicky, the current TCP leader, noted that TCP would win the UK/US battles while SWAT would win the AUSIA ones. The prowess of SWAT’s AUSIA division continues to this day, and while their US division may be lacklustre in comparison they are able to hold their own across all timezones.
Battle of Ice Shelf, July 8, 2021
SWAT In World War VIII
SWAT declare war on the Wet Army Penguins in October. However, both armies never actually invaded each other. Mare characterized this as a casual war just for fun. But she also confirmed that SWAT was actually trying to avoid war. The Special Weapons and Tactics believed no one could invade them if they were in a one-versus-one conflict. WAP creator Pandor also confirms this. He claims that they did intend to invade SWAT, but it would not have been war.
This move from SWAT came in the midst of the war between the Project: Vengeance alliance and the Western Bloc. SWAT was a part of the Western Bloc alliance, alongside the Silver Empire and the Water Vikings. Following a leak of WAP’s staff chat, it was deemed fit for other armies to declare war on SWAT.
The leaked image from Wet Army Penguins staff chat
Soon, the Templars also declared war on SWAT and their allies this same month. The knights revived the Red Dawn Alliance along with other armies, resulting in the conflicts evolving into a full blown World War. The war continued to drag out, with no end in sight and disagreements on who had won which battles. A surprise peace treaty ended the war, with part of the treaty being that there were no winners declared. Nicky said that it was tough to execute a war with SWAT due to TCP not being allowed on the CPAN map. The knights fought against their rivals despite not having a map to go off of.
SWAT was creative in their attempt to avoid entering the World War. While it may not have worked out, it certainly set a precedent for future SWAT conflicts. The peace treaty, in retrospect, is not all that surprising. If SWAT was able to negotiate a peace treaty with ACP, who’s to say they can’t negotiate a peace treaty with any other army? The SWAT-WAP war incident, along with the circumstances of the World War, soon led to a reform that abolished the 1v1 rule.
World War VIII Peace Treaty
SWAT’s Return
From December 2021 to August 2022, there was a lull in their wars. In the midst of what Lego paraphrased as “low maxes” and hype, they held a “SWAT Return Event” in May 2022. This brought back the return of the excitement of past SWAT events and prepared troops for an exciting future. Summers are exciting times in the army community, with many troops on summer vacation and having more time to attend events. SWAT ended up becoming a major army again and earned the number two spot on a Top Ten in early August. The Special Weapons and Tactics appeared to be simply rebuilding, but in reality they were preparing for more war.
Four Versus SWAT, Part One
While the majority of the summer was peaceful for SWAT, the end of August saw tensions boil over. The Templars, Ice Warriors, Help Force, and Water Vikings all declared war on SWAT. Both sides of the conflict dropped expose posts against each other. Ultimately, SWAT lost the war despite putting up a formidable performance.
In a last ditch effort to avoid defeat at the hands of the Amogus Army alliance, SWAT had their proxy, the Strawhats, declare a 1v1 war on them. They intended to have SWAT “surrender” all of their land to them. The CPA Administration saw this as an attempt by SWAT to transfer their servers. The Strawhats’ “war” was nullified and the Amogus Army alliance won. This attempt to avoid a loss harkens back to both the Eagre Foray and WAP “war.” The word loss does not appear in SWAT’s vocabulary, but even with loopholes SWAT was unable to avoid the inevitable.
Battle of Mustafar, September 3, 2022
Regrouping and Growing
Following the force treaty, SWAT used their newfound downtime to grow. They held practice battles and fun events, and invaded free-land on the CPA Map as it became available. Sweater, a leader at the time, remembers how SWAT was looking to expand further. He pointed out that they earned the highest max size in the Community Pride Parade without the use of allies. Lego characterized this time as unique. He enjoyed leading division battles along with recruiting. The Special Weapons and Tactics regained major status during this month as well. Lego did also note this time to be “lackadaisical” due to a lack of conflict. This would not last long, however, as SWAT actively seeks out war.
Four Versus SWAT, Part Two
Four armies declare war on the Special Weapons and Tactics in December 2022. The Templars and the Help Force declared war again, with the Dark Vikings and the Clovers joining in. It is important to note that just before this, the Special Weapons and Tactics and ACP were briefly allies. Unfortunately, their historic rivalry proved too tough to overcome. SWAT continued to crave war with ACP despite their peace treaty.
Numerous issues arose during this war, with a loophole regarding capitol invasions and force treaties exploited by both SWAT and TCP, TCP raiding SWAT’s server. Moreover, DV and TCP made attempts to force treaty SWAT amidst issues with judges. Regardless, ACP and SWAT signed a treaty to end the war in January 2023. Calgo commented on this treaty, stating,
While DV and TCP opted to force treaty SWAT, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of one of my predecessors, CSY who had set an example for others to strive for a mutual treaty rather than opting for a force treaty which can be very destructive to the community and wars. While regular treaties are more of a hassle to do since both sides have to be in agreement, I think its important for us to put more of an effort into finding common ground with our enemies. We will always continue to strive to reach mutual treaties so long as they are an option.
SWAT ended forcing the Templars into a treaty after a CPA investigation found TCP to be multi-logging. This war forced the CPA Administration to close the loophole with free land invasions; SWAT was able to drag out the conflict and avoid having their capitol invaded by adding more free-land to their empire, which forced their enemies to invade those lands before setting their sights on the capitol. If CPA hadn’t stepped in, the community could have seen this war fought until all free land on the map was claimed. Regardless, the treaty negotiations between SWAT and ACP continued the precedent set in 2020 by CSY, showing that even historic enemies can find common ground.
Battle of Fiesta, December 22, 2022
Land Conquests
In February 2023, SWAT declared war on the Rebel Penguin Federation for the sole reason of taking their land. Despite their best efforts, SWAT ended up losing every single battle to RPF. The loss did not deter SWAT as they continued to invade other free land servers. Both armies came to a treaty agreement, but peace did not last for SWAT. Less than one month later, the Penguins of Madagascar, led by former SWAT leaders, would go to war with their former army.
Number One on Top Ten
April 4th, 2023, was a historic day for this Special Weapons and Tactics era. In the midst of their war with POM, SWAT achieved number one on the Top Ten Armies list for the first time in their private server history. The last time they reached number one was over seven years ago during the original Club Penguin Armies era. Lego explained what he believes lead SWAT to earn number one, stating,
“It was without a doubt the culmination of efforts of all our troops, staff, and HCOM team putting in the work to help us beat POM. We had also managed to host 12 events that week, which definitely gave us an advantage in TT. It also showed the sheer tenacity of troops being willing to attend almost 2 events a day for the entire week – which is no easy feat. Every single person who attended made that victory possible and it was honestly an incredible moment in SWAT history.”
SWAT earning #1
The war with POM ended with the signing of the Pact of Women’s History treaty. Sweater, a current POM leader, characterised the war as a POM loss but officially a tie due to judging issues. This was not the first time judges belayed the SWAT war machine; a similar issue arose during the World War. Lego has been vocal regarding judging reforms, releasing a thoughtful post after the war ended regarding what he thought could remedy the situation. The main points he made were revamping the judging guidelines and properly training Judges-In-Training.
Following this post and an army board meeting, Mare was hired as Head Judge. With SWAT often using judges for practice battles and wars, it’s no surprise that they would be the ones to spearhead reforms in an effort to improve the current system. Better judging will lead to more SWAT warfare, creating more battles that JITs can attend and learn from.
Neo Crusade
Ten days after SWAT hit number one on the Top Ten, the Templars and SWAT simultaneously declared war on each other. This was the fifth time these two armies would face on the battlefield under the pretense of war. Lego characterized the war as enjoyable but exhausting. The army was coming straight from their war with POM which saw multiple events a day. The initial declaration from TCP stated that they wanted a maximum of twenty battles, so Lego knew this war would be short and fun. The skills of SWAT’s AUSIA division increased, but after about a week of the “Crusade for Nicky’s Mom,” SWAT proposed a treaty. With exams coming up, it was in everyone’s best interest to stop to the fighting.
This series of wars showed how SWAT can manage having multiple battles in one day, a rare feat among army warfare. Most troops would experience burn out if expected to log on multiple times a day, but the Special Weapons and Tactics’s troops appear to be battle-hardened and ready to wage war any time, any day.
Battle of Cairo, April 22
Bloodbath Barrage
Currently, Special Weapons and Tactics is at war against the Dark Vikings. The People’s Imperial Confederation, Napalm Corps, Dark Pirates, and POM have joined them to form the Sapphire Concordat alliance. The DV war has been ongoing since May 22nd. Lego feels that SWAT’s performance is exceptional in this conflict. The alliance earned clean sweeps in the battles where the Dark Vikings showed up. He also notes that the enthusiasm and drive from SWAT’s troops and staff members is impressive.
Cabin, the leader of Napalm Corps, claims that “SWAT has been one of the most significant and impactful armies in the Sapphire Concordat alliance. Without their help, the alliance would not be as victorious as it is right now.” Sweater commented that the Special Weapons and Tactics has been “popping off” but appears to be in a bit of a decline due to real life obligations. He noted, however, that they have faced this situation before and always seem to bounce back so, “nobody should worry.” The previous situation referenced seems to be the last TCP war treaty.
Many in the community thought that SWAT would fight two wars again when ACP declared war on May 28th. A potential third adversary, the Elite Guardians, also scheduled two invasions of SWAT’s land without declaring war. SWAT surprisingly responded by withdrawing from the map and choosing to focus solely on the Dark Vikings. While they claim to not be worried about the CPA Map, their past warfare techniques say otherwise. In 2023, they have not gone more than a month without warring, whether to gain land or prove morality.
Sapphire Concordat versus Dark Vikings, May 2023
Final Thoughts
SWAT celebrated their three year anniversary on May 27th. Needless to say, they achieved a lot in these three years. Thanks to SWAT, the army community rarely experiences peace, keeping it alive to this day. One could argue that a name change is in order — Special Warfare and Tactics has a nice ring to it. This army continues to reignite old feuds and rivalries, specifically with TCP, ACP, and WV.
It is clear that SWAT is a force to reckon with when it comes to warfare. This army is not afraid to give it their all, even when the odds are stacked against them. SWAT refuses to back down, engaging in treaty negotiations only when they feel that they have exhausted all other options. The potential of losing a war does not phase their leaders. In fact, they seem to thrive in the face of adversity, scheduling multiple wars and battles. Sometimes they engage in more than one battle a day.
The influence of this army extends beyond their own borders. They have likely battled nearly every other army in this community. SWAT was historic during the original Club Penguin army era, and continue to leave their mark and expand their legacy today. Their warmongering energy is a weapon to be afraid of whilst having respect for. Have you ever faced SWAT in a battle? How do you think they’ve contributed to the community? Let us know in the comments below!