Second Vanguard

The Second Vanguard was a military force commanded by Redmond Venter. Initially formed in the aftermath of the Second Mamore Insurrection, the Second Vanguard was tasked by leadership within the and with augmenting independence movements throughout the recovering and frontier space. Venter oversaw the unit's formation and training, incorporating many former veterans like himself as key officers. Merging his experiences as a special operations officer during the and as a guerrilla commander on Mamore, Venter created a flexible commando force that could move quickly from colony to colony to augment local militia forces and independent governments. The Second Vanguard quickly gained a reputation for its lethal effectiveness. Utilizing local Insurrectionist equipment and captured UNSC equipment the Second Vanguard made effective use of mobile warfare tactics to harass and outmaneuver their enemies. Venter and his operatives did not shy away from brutal attacks on both military and civilian targets, though they were also criticized by other Insurrectionist elements for often diverting from standard rebel dogma of populism and ethnic separatism. Soldiers of the unit were often accused of being more loyal to Venter than to the Insurrection itself. The Second Vanguard was also known for taking in young war orphans, who Venter and his officers subsequently trained as child soldiers. Those who survived their initial years under Venter's command often went on to become members of his elite Bloodhounds.
At the eve of the the Second Vanguard was dispatched to seize control of the pro-rebel administration on and turn the world into an Insurrectionist stronghold. The Vanguard militarized the colony in preparation for an expected UNSC offensive, but their defenses crumbled beneath the overwhelmingly superior invasion force. Most of the Second Vanguard died on Talitsa with Venter, though a handful of survivors escaped the planet under the command of Venter's adopted son, Simon Venter. These soldiers were subsequently absorbed into the reformed Kru'desh Legion and fought with distinction during the Archangel Campaign.