Welcome to the twenty-seventh edition of the column “Higher Command Life Stories”. In this post, we shall be getting to know Yellow, who is currently a Second in Command in the Elite Guardians of Club Penguin.
Yellow joined the army community in the latter half of 2016, enlisting in the Nachos after being recruited by Cookky2. However, her involvement and activity within the army became minimal after a point, as she would just attend the events considered important. Gradually, she went on to join the Elite Guardians in November 2017, as a Sixth in Command. Given her active participation and initiatives taken, she was promoted to Marechal (Marshal) – the first Higher Command rank in the army by the time of February 2018. As a Higher Command, she helped out the Elite Guardians in the planning process for their battle against the Templars and the war against the Underground Mafias Army, whilst also taking part in World War VII in their war against the Rebel Penguin Federation. Soon after this, she would formally retire from her position but would attend the important events, still rooting for the Guardians’ success.
In April 2023, she was approached by Edu14463 and Cookky2 once again to rejoin the soon-to-be-revived Elite Guardians, as a Second in Command (Colonel/Coronel in Portuguese), which she would go on to accept in the month of July, due to time constraints in April. She currently leads the International Division of Elite Guardians and represents the Bushido (AUSIA) Division within the army. After the Guardians’ return in May this year, she has assisted the army in organizing and preparing for their war against the Army of Club Penguin and has been consistent in leading the Bushido division since their reopening.
Apart from this, Yellow has also received an “Honorable Mention” on the army’s official website, for her immense contribution to the army and the support that she has shown to them over the years. In her own words, this is what she has to say about the highlight of her army career –
My highlight was not recruiting during my career, rather it was a strategist and planner, as well as someone who would be friendly to the new troops. I made a thing to return to EGCP more active than before, and to contribute far more than what I did before. I wanted to work to create glory for EGCP.
We, at Club Penguin Armies had the opportunity to have a conversation with Yellow and get to know more about her.
You have been HCOM at Elite Guardians for quite some time now. How does it feel to be a Higher Command of the army?
I consider being a part of EGCP’s high command an honor. I have been friends with many of the members of EGCP for YEARS, and have been a part of the army since 2017. I never quite reached the rank of where I am at now, during my initial time, and my activity greatly dwindled after 2018, so I was merely a veteran at that time. I actually enjoyed returning as someone in my early adulthood, as I am far more mature than what I once was, and I love being able to take such a high role in the internet family.
Historically, the 2ics of EGCP have been somewhat of a pseudo-leader of sorts, the rank is a bit honorific and the ones who held the rank have held some high positions and roles in the army (namely the likes of Guta and Cobra, who never formally led, but they are remembered as EGCP legends despite being 2ics). It is no different now, but perhaps it is even greater with our detailed High Summit/Supreme Court system. I have two roles as HCOM here: leading the International Division (therefore, I manage all non-Portuguese speaking troops and I manage our AUSIA division, the Bushido division) and serving as a Ministress of State. I was elected the former position because I am quite fluent in English and fairly fluent in Spanish, so I was put in charge to manage the direct internal affairs outside of the primary division. In the case of the latter role, I serve as EGCP’s co-diplomat alongside the Chancellor, Lass. I am meant to be the backup in case Lass is unable to fulfill his duties as the head diplomat, and I attend diplomatic discussions between other armies alongside Lass.
These are roles I enjoy quite a bit. Since our return, the high command + leadership truly became a HUGE team effort, with everyone taking a massive role in the direction and management of the army. It does not feel like the leaders are doing every single thing, since the HCOM are also helping. I truly enjoy having the position of HCOM in the army, because I can help make our family much stronger and help push our army towards the right direction. I am sure many other HCOM will tell you the same, as my colleague Leonardo holds the same rank and very similar duties to me.
Teaching at UEGCP is quite fun too :p
What have been some of the most memorable days/times in your army career so far?
To answer the second question, it’s hard to describe how many memorable moments I’ve had in EGCP. I guess the most memorable was when Cookky recruited me back in late 2016 to Nachos, where I became close with him, and met the likes of Masami. Later, in 2017, I felt honored to become a part of EGCP as a high mod. We had a lot of funny moments over the years, like our several antics as kids, the insane voice chats we had, and various others. My promotion to Marechal (Marshal, the old 4ic rank) was a pivotal point, and taking part in the Templars war of 2018 and absolutely destroying them, as well as World War VII when we destroyed RPF, were also highlights back from the original days. By then, my activity began to dwindle, unfortunately, but I still sporadically came back and enjoyed many of the stupid things we would do at night in the army, the tournaments, and wars haha.
In recent times, being one of the primary strategists and leading the Bushido division (and sometimes our main division) against ACP was awesome. Our first AUSIA victory towards the end of the war, and the subsequent turning of the tides in AUSIA also was amazing, and I still consider that a really fun and awesome time as well.
There are countless of others, but, in terms of armies itself, these can be considered some major highlights.
Has this experience of being a member of Higher Command changed you in any way as a person?
Being apart of the high command does change you a bit, and it did for me back in 2018 prior to my retirement, and it still does now. It really teaches you to be on top of things and manage time better. I would say I definitely changed more from being apart of EGCP and friends with many of the others rather than being apart of the high command itself. But, ultimately, it teaches you responsibility.
According to you, what has been the best part about being an HCOM?
The best part of being apart of the high command is well, being apart of it! Like I mentioned before, the roles I currently take part in are roles I feel absolutely fit me, and I love making decisions, representing the army, and overall helping to find the right direction of our army. Interacting with troops in general is also one of the best things that comes with this army, and it is especially apparent as I teach at the University of EGCP, teaching EGCP History. The feeling and knowing that you are guiding the community/family that you are apart of, as well as leading it (in some degree) is amazing. This is my family, and being able to help grow it and perfect it, is probably the best part of it.
What are your plans personally with the army, and what do you wish to achieve for/in the army?
I have many plans for the future of this army. First and foremost, I’d like to continue the development of the International Division. It has been quite a task to develop the division to where it is, and I’d like to help bring in better foreign representation in our army, as the foreigners who have stayed in our army, historically and currently, have been some of the most dedicated and have risen to done great things in this army. Secondly, I’d like to continue to perfect the Bushido division. In my eyes, other than ACP’s AUSIA, we have the best-trained AUSIA in the entire community. You can take a look at our event results, we know how to use AUSIA size to battle and create formations. That being said, I’d like to continue to grow it and perfect it even more. Bushido is also quite a task to develop, but we have been seeing success over the months following the ACP war, and we hope to continue to grow it. I’d also love to continue to forge strong friendships and alliances with other armies. EGCP is new and still has to learn the ropes of all the changes in the community (because even after being a couple of months back, we still have tons to learn!). I hope to bring EGCP back to glory in the sense that we are that lovable army that we once were. Lastly, I’d like to perfect UEGCP in order to train and educate a new generation of mods/hcom/leaders in order to bring our army to victory.
What would your advice be to the people who are working towards getting HCOM?
To the people that are working to become HCOM, I’d advise these things.
1. Really know your army; interact with people and better understand your army’s culture.
2. Understand the history of your army; it is important for you to know the origins of the very community you’re in, so you can learn from them.
3. Manage your time; it is impossible to live 24/7 in this community (and I’d really hope you wouldn’t even want to), but an important skill to learn is to have a sense of organization with time.
4. Learn skills; this is an absolute. Pick up skills that comes with becoming a leader. Here at EGCP, it is a team effort, and therefore, HCOM act like leaders at times because of our high summit/supreme court. It is important for you to develop your expertise and interests, alongside skills. This will help you beome a great HCOM, and hopefully, an excellent leader.
Throughout her time here, Yellow has not only proven her loyalty toward the Elite Guardians but is someone who many look up to. Having been with the army since its inception, she is the epitome of dedication and commitment. Her work ethic and diligence make her who she is, and we cannot wait to see all that she has yet to do and achieve for herself and her army. From the whole of Club Penguin Armies, we wish Yellow and the Elite Guardians, the very best in all of their future endeavors.