The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial stormtrooper armor, Sith Lords, clone troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe.

[2] Formed in South Carolina by residents Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in August 1997, the Legion now has over 14,000 active members worldwide, with over 26,000 approved costumes.

[5] In 1997, Albin Johnson set up a GeoCities website called "Detention Block 2551" as a place to post photos of himself and his friend Tom Crews in their homemade Stormtrooper costumes.

This evolved quickly into the current red, black, and white logo with the phrase, "Vader's Fist" to express the force with which the 501st led.

Within weeks of launching the sites, Albin was fielding email requests from people across the country and around the world looking to be featured on his website in their own homemade Stormtrooper armor.

The Legion ranks swelled, and regional subdivisions called Garrisons, Squads, and Outposts were created to facilitate the organization of events and appearances on a local level.

Early events attended (or "trooped") by the Legion were mostly science-fiction and comic book conventions or related to the release of the Star Wars movies in theaters and on video.

At this watershed moment for the club, Lucas and Johnson discussed the future of the rapidly growing Legion, and an unofficial partnership was born.

Lucasfilm would grant the Legion a limited use of their copyrighted characters, as long as members of the 501st promised never to use their costumes for personal profit and that they represent the franchise in a positive and respectful manner.

[6] In 2004, author Timothy Zahn, with Lucasfilm's approval, honored the costuming group by incorporating the 501st Legion Elite Stormtrooper Unit into his Star Wars novel Survivor's Quest.

Although not mentioned in the film itself, all of the licensed support material and merchandising for the film make this reference, including Hasbro's 501st Legion action figures, the DK Publishing Star Wars Visual Dictionary books, and the Star Wars: Battlefront II game.

The 501st Legion is an all-volunteer organization formed for the purpose of bringing together costume enthusiasts from around the world under a collective identity.

[7] Membership requirements for applicants include being at least 18 years of age and have a documented ownership of at least one qualifying high-quality costume of a Star Wars villain.

[8] To maintain membership they must troop at least one local unit or Legion-level event per year and abide by the 501st Legion Code of Conduct.

The founder of the 501st Legion, Albin Johnson, decided that "Desert Troopers would be labeled "TD" and came from specialized training schools for their missions, Snowtroopers would be "TS", Biker Scouts would [become] "TB.

It provides a safe environment for children of different age groups who share a love of Star Wars and costuming to connect with one another online.

As a worldwide organization that fields dozens of appearance requests daily, the Legion has set up local units to better handle tasks like event coordination, promotion, recruitment, and discipline.

The LCO appoints an administrative staff to assist with club operations, which may include but are not limited to formulating policies, moderating the Legion Council, and organizing partnerships with outside parties.

The LMBO ensures that all merchandise projects adhere to rules and guidelines that govern the use of images, pricing, and distribution.

The GML is responsible for reviewing and processing applications for membership and maintaining Garrison member information in the Legion database.

A DL has the following responsibilities: Verify membership status in the Legion with the approved costume, and grant the appropriate access for active Legion members in good standing to detachments areas; monitor and moderate the Detachment forums, appointing additional moderators as needed; ensure that the Detachment Web site is properly maintained and the content therein is accurate and up to date; participate on the Legion forums and advise other DLs and GMLs as needed; maintain contact with the LMO and report any issue or controversy related to costuming.

The 501st Legion has been called in frequently to support many Star Wars events at public libraries, aimed at encouraging literacy among younger fans of the franchise.

At informal events (such as local science fiction conventions), members often display their creativity with genre mash-ups of their costumes.

At HeroesCon, their table is generally set up near the similarly-themed, Star Trek-based Klingon Assault Group, and the two have a friendly rivalry to see who can solicit the most donations for charity.

[32] In the Blast-a-Trooper game, fans fire foam darts at Imperial characters in exchange for a donation to charity.

Legion units are often invited to appear on stage with symphonies and school bands who perform the music of John Williams.

A couple of them also featured in the background in a redwood forest similar to one on the Endor moon during tests of the Ewok log swing from Return of the Jedi alongside another ILM alumnus and honorary 501st member, Grant Imahara, as Han and Kari Byron as Leia.

In September 2016, the 501st Legion announced their commitment to a first-of-its kind international endowment in a unique partnership with Make-A-Wish.

If an event host does not have a charity of choice, Legion members frequently direct the donations to the Endowment Fund.