By: Steven Crouch (TB-1181)

On Monday, July 28th, 2008 the Dune Sea Garrison arrived at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona to show support for their favorite Star Wars author: Karen Traviss. Fresh off her weekend stint at this year’sSan Diego Comi-Con, Karen arrived in Arizona for the first leg of a very short tour aimed at supporting hernew novel. This new novel, which is based on the Star Wars Clone Wars animated movie, is sure to please fans both young and old as Karen expands on the universe we’ve all come to love so much.

Karen’s visit at Changing Hands Bookstore was kicked off with an introduction from a store employee who announced that because of the Garrison’s participation in the evening’s signing, they would be donating money on behalf of the Dune Sea Garrison to a charity focused on children’s reading. This was a great surprise to our members as our focus was to support Karen with photo opportunities for store visitors, but we were very happy to hear the news.While in the store, fans got to mingle with members of the Dune Sea Garrison and children throughout the store went from Trooper to Trooper asking for autographs as Karen spoke to a packed room of attendees. Karen spoke about a broad range of topics surrounding the new novel, it’s characters, as well as insights into various characters’ thoughts during the Clone Wars. Afterwards, Karen signed autographs while visiting with her fans and posed for pictures with Clone Troopers and Mandalorians alike.

It is always a pleasure when Karen visits our portion of the galaxy and we hope to see her again real soon. We are also pleased at the support our friends at Changing Hands Bookstore continue to show us. Thanks to all!

Click to see more pictures from the book signing.

By: Tristan Moriuchi (TK-9285)

The Dune Sea Garrison was privileged to work with Lucasfilm, Ltd., Cartoon Network, and the R2 Builder’s Club to bring the Star Wars universe to Phoenix’s 2009 NBA All-Star Jam Session. Members were invited to pose for pictures and help to promote Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series so that a new generation of fans may discover the magic and inspiration of the Star Wars universe.

Members of the DSG did a great job of representing the 501st Legion with high caliber costumes and stunning personalities in armor. Coverage included a photo area, as well as providing security around the booth area. A number of Troopers were also invited to attend the Celebrity Dunk Contest for additional security measures. A number of people made it out for multiple shifts and kept going despite exhaustion and dehydration. Ian Hetzel managed to make it out to every event while other members like Will Rogers, Dustin Dial, Mike Culp, and Jeff Gilliam drove for at least 2 hours to keep the numbers up. All participants of this event should be congratulated as this singular event has raised $2,800 towards the Children’s Miracle Network. Thank you all for your support and hard work. This week has truly been a pleasure and there will hopefully be many more like it to come.

As the series played in the background fans were able to grab pictures with R2-D2, Stormtroopers, and Clone Troopers. Other activities included jump basketball shots, trialof the new game computer game Fusion Fall, and even Jedi Training with a visiting 501st Legion member, Shawn “Obi-Shawn” Crosby, (from Los Angeles, California) who taught classes on a broken ankle! His dedication is truly admirable. Another noted accomplishment is from Tiny Panganiban and Dave Littleton, their R2 units and dedication to the event was nothing short of amazing, especially their perfect attendance. Also, up and coming R2 Builder Jeff should be mentioned as he managed to fill in for the builders when they needed a breather. It is no surprise that they needed a break; this event lasted 6 days with shifts ranging from 4 hours late into the night to 12 hours all day! Also, Dan Glitch and his girlfriend Randi were extremely generous with their time and drove from Nevada to help fill the lack of Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker’s available to Arizona. Thanks from the DSG go out to all of you for the tremendous efforts.

For more awesome hightlights from this event, visit the following links:

PlanetOrange.net
Astromech.net

By: Steven Crouch (TB-1181)

Fans visiting the official Star Wars website can now get a deeper glimpse into the Dune Sea Garrison. The DSG is currently featured on StarWars.com’s Know A Legion section – a periodical that showcases different garrisons within the 501st Legion.Check out the article here!

While over at StarWars.com, fans can also get a glimpse of team “Shock and Awe” from the Stormtrooper Olympics, which was hosted earlier this year at Celebration IV!

View the Stormtrooper Olympics video!