Welcome to the thirty-eighth edition of the “Higher Command Life Stories” column. In this week’s edition, we spoke with Leonardo, who currently serves as the Second-in-Command in Elite Guardians.
Designed by Legoman
Leonardo joined the army community in December 2017 after being recruited to Elite Guardians by Cookky2. Although he knew about the existence of armies, he had never joined any before due to not fully understanding the concept. He stayed in EGCP until the first half of 2019, achieving the rank of Colonel (Second-in-Command). Following that, Leonardo decided to take a break from the army community until September 2019, when he returned as Fourth-in-Command. He served in the army for a few months before leaving the community, once again at the end of the year. Following his departure from the community, the army soon followed as they shut down in January 2020.
ACP vs EGCP – Legends Cup XIII
When the Guardians revived in mid-2023, word about its revival soon got out. In the summer, Leonard came back to Club Penguin armies and chose to reenlist in the Elite Guardians, showing his loyalty to the army. Since then, he has held the rank of Colonel and served as an Expeditionary Commander, which is equivalent to an AUSIA Leader. As the Higher Command of EGCP, his main responsibility is taking care of the army’s AUSIA division along with the “Interviewing Soldiers” segment.
Leonardo has been with Elite Guardians for some time now and has witnessed several significant moments. When asked, he stated that his favorite moments were the 2018 Christmas Chaos finals and the semi-finals of Legends Cup XIII. He mentioned that the first event showed a great sense of unity, while the latter one brought together three different generations of EGCP, despite losing.
2018 Christmas Chaos Finals
Club Penguin Armies reached out to Leonardo to find out more about his journey in the army and his feelings about it.
In your opinion, what is the best part of being an HCOM?
Personally, I think it’s the pride of being where I am and that I’ve earned this rank, and having the recognition of my army mates
Leonardo, do you have any plans and goals related to EGCP?
Honestly, looking at my career within the EGCP, I’ve achieved almost all my goals, I’ve won all the main individual awards in the EGCP, as well as having participated in and won the 3 tournaments that the EGCP has, I was soldier of the year in 2018 and minister of recruitment in the main golden age of the EGCP, but I think I’d like to assist and see someone from the new generation of the EGCP one day surpass me
Is there anyone who inspired you to get this far during your journey?
The only possible answer to this question is: Cookky2, I see him as a great friend and advisor, as well as feeling enormous gratitude for him having recruited me to EGCP, I made my best friends thanks to EGCP, I can say that he was a person who changed my life drastically, he was an example as a leader and member of EGCP for me, I am eternally grateful to him, Cookky2 for me was an example of loyalty and discipline in the EGCP for me, he is my inspiration
What are your feelings about the entire journey? Are you happy you got the chance to join the armies?
I think the feeling I have today, looking back on my entire journey as an EGCP member, is “man, it was beautiful every moment”. I didn’t imagine that I would have the chance to officially return to the EGCP after returning to Japan in 2020, the day when I will retire from the EGCP is near probably. I’m 19 and the responsibilities of adult life are calling me, both at work and in my studies, to have been able to leave a legacy is something that also makes me happy
Do you have any advice for those who want to be an HCOM one day?
Never give up, work hard and be loyal to your army, in my first stint I ended up being demoted 3 times, but I never got discouraged or thought about leaving the EGCP, I regained my space within the high ranks, I went through all the EGCP ranks without skipping any rank to reach Colonel (2ic) being the first EGCP soldier in history to achieve this feat
During his time in armies, Leonardo has achieved a lot. He has shown remarkable loyalty and incredible dedication to Elite Guardians. It is visible that he enjoys being a High Commanding member and has made a lot of good memories during his time there. Will we witness Leonardo becoming an EGCP leader one day? Do you think he will achieve more in the near future? We, at Club Penguin Armies, wish Leonardo the best of luck in the future!