Universal Army [UARM] is a corporation that is enjoying its fifth year in EVE. Founded by Mervaid in November of 2003, Universal Army has always intended to exist as a fun, friendly environment, with as little pressures placed upon its members as humanly possible.

Prior to December 2004 Universal Army was headquartered in a 0.3 system in Domain called Ruchy. We had a quiet existence and spent most of our time running missions or mining. Many of our pilots grew tired of the same old grind and wished to move to a more hazardous environment with close access to 0.0 space. So, in the December of 2004, Universal Army moved to a 0.2 system in Derelik called Dysa. Universal Army has kept a presence in this area ever since.

When we first arrived in Dysa, the system we chose was riddled with pirates, most notable of these were a group flying under the banner of The Lost Souls [TLS]. Veteran pilots with a taste for grief, TLS caused us a lot of strife in the first six months of us being there, but Merv(aid) insisted that we stand our ground, and sure enough, even though we were heavily outnumbered and outgunned, as the second half of 2005 drifted by, the pirate organizations that plagued us slowly vacated the area. During this time Universal Army also pioneered an intelligence network of like-minded corporations who would share information on hostile entities and rally together to defend our home and each other.

Between that time and now we have been a part of many adventures...

In the early months of 2006, Universal Army approached many of its allies and created an alliance. This alliance, known as Assembly of Ancients [AoA], grew rapidly and within a few months we had gained sovereignty in two systems in Providence and boasted a population of almost 800 pilots. Aligning with Ushra'Khan and assisting in their fight against the well known Amarr role playing alliance called CVA, we drew just a little more attention to ourselves than we were really capable of handling. As a result, between March and August of 2006 we were subject to numerous mercenary organizations declaring continuous war against us. Fighting these enemies was not an issue for most of the corporations in AoA and it wasn't the constant bombardment that caused its collapse. Moreso it was the constant bickering amongst a small group of egotistical CEOs, clashing with Universal Army's simple and effective leadership style. A constant barrage of bureaucratic suggestions were met with common sense realities, but we were unable to convey our message and eventually decided to step down as Executors. Universal Army remained in AoA for approximately one month after stepping down before Tactical Enterprise Group Ltd. [TEGL], one of the corporations within Assembly of Ancients, placed an unreasonable ultimatum on us, and in particular myself (Mattduk), forcing Mervaid to either kick me from UARM or the corporation would be expelled. In response to this Universal Army decided to leave the alliance and proceeded to engage TEGL with a 'Kill on Sight' policy. A series of small skirmishes followed resulting in zero losses for UARM and the destruction of a Large Caldari Control tower belonging to TEGL. Shortly after TEGL split and formed a new organization named Maelstrom Crew [MCREW]. The one remaining corporation in AoA disbanded the alliance and moved on to other areas of New Eden.

After leaving AoA we were faced with a big decision on what to do next. We were approached by an alliance which operated in nearby 0.0 space and asked to join up. A poll was taken and the the decision was made to join Curse Coalition [CC]. This was a great learning period for most of us, as we were now part of a purely PVP organization operating out of, as the name suggests, Curse. Curse is a hell hole. Always has been and always will be. It is an NPC controlled area of 0.0 space in the south of New Eden. The nature of such a region attracts many different organizations, and since NPC stations are available to all, most of these organizations are hostile to each other. Or at least they were until the 'NAP fests' of 2008.

We enjoyed great success as members of CC and we forged many friendships that still exist today. Before the end of 2006, three corporations in CC, Original Black Plague, Armored Assassins and Snipers Inc, attempted a coup against the executors, Tyrell Corp [TYC]. Ultimately, the coup was unsuccessful, but this didn't prevent the alliance's demise. During the coup a wedge formed between those attempting the coup and those who supported TYC. UARM chose to side with TYC and successfully defeated the internal threat. With just two corporations remaining, TYC decided to close CC and both UARM and TYC joined -V- alliance.

At the time of joining -V- they were under heavy siege from Red Alliance [RA] and RA's allies. Unfortunately we joined as -V- were breathing their last breath and one by one they lost our outpost systems and folded. Universal Army then returned to Dysa and spent most of 2007 as a stand-alone corporation, surviving more war declarations and pirate harrassment, unscathed.

In August of 2007, UARM were approached by TYC once again, with a view to joining their new alliance, Interdiction [SPYDR]. UARM jumped at this opportunity and moved back to Curse as a new member of SPYDR. As members of SPYDR we played an integral role in both the planning and execution of Interdiction style deployments, acting primarily on behalf of our new allies, the Band of Brothers [BOB]. Carrier jumping deep behind enemy lines, SPYDR would deploy recon style gangs and disrupt, as much as possible, enemy activities taking place away from their front lines. Industrial movements and other isk generating abilities of individuals of Goonswarm [OHGOD] were hampered, as were their supply routes to the front lines of their war against BOB. Jump bridge networks were heavily bosltered during this time, and eventually, with the game mechanics jump bridges provided stacked against us, the enemy traffic dried up.

Being a part of SPYDR brought back some fond memories of flying with the pilots of CC. Many of us can quite honestly say that flying alongside these individuals is the most memorable and stastifying experience one could ask for. Unfortunately, for all parties involved, by early 2008 we realised that TYC was being run by 3 pilots who rarely played EVE. This was a matter of concern for the UARM management team and on more than one occasion I butted heads with 2 of these individuals. This ultimately led to the expulsion of UARM and one other corporation (Joyriders [JOY]) from SPYDR. Interdiction subsequently moved to Delve to become BOB pets, proper. This caused great unhappiness for many pilots, both in UARM and TYC as it meant we wouldn't be able to fly together any more. Universal Army decided, after this, to stay in Curse, and with the new arrival of Ushra'khan [UK] to the area continued to roam and camp gates together.

In July of 2008 Factional Warfare arrived as a new game mechanic and UK temporarily left Curse for Empire to pursue their RP enemies. We also vacated curse in order to increase our corporation standing towards the Minmatar Republic so as to be able to enlist with the Tribal Liberation Force.

After 3 weeks of solid mission running we finally attained the requisite standings, and on July 19th, 2008 UARM enlisted with the Tribal Liberation Force and have been enjoying the activities of factional warfare ever since.

Author: Mattduk, CEO - Universal Army