Galaxy Garrison (Legendary Defender)

“	Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astroexplorers.	”
—Commander Iverson expounding on the Garrison's true purpose, "The Rise of Voltron"

Galaxy Garrison
Political Information
Type of government	International Military Coalition
Societal information
Capital	Earth
Historical Information
Formed from	Various Earth Nations

The Galaxy Garrison is a military organization with the purpose of training promising young individuals to become the next generation of astroexplorers. While multiple bases exist, the primary focus of the show is one located located in a desert climate on a futuristic Earth, where Lance, Hunk, and Pidge attended under the direction of Iverson. Previously, Keith was also cadet there before he was expelled.

Following the disappearance of Shiro, Samuel Holt, and Matthew Holt during the Kerberos mission, the Garrison was responsible for publicly claiming that the spacecraft had crashed while conducting their own clandestine investigation into alien transmissions detected nearby. When Shiro returned on Earth a year later inside a Galra escape pod, only to escape Garrison quarantine shortly after, it kickstarted a secret research program to study the alien technology.

Another year later, Sam Holt returned to Earth with a copy of the Castle of Lion's database and the news that the remaining factions of the Galra Empire were likely to target humanity in the near future. He then worked with the existing Garrison researchers to bolster Earth's defenses by integrating Galra and Altean technology into human technology, resulting in the creation of the MFE Fighters and the IGF Atlas.

When Sendak's faction, the Fires of Purification attacked Earth, the Garrison was the only location that able to resist the Galra thanks to a particle barrier erected at the last moment. The base remained the sole point of defiance until the arrival of the Paladins.

Uniforms by Rank

At the Garrison, rank can be discerned by an individual's uniform. (Note that this list isn't necessarily the current rank of the characters mentioned, just what uniforms they're wearing).

In ascending order, this is a rough guide to the structure of command:

Junior cadet (formerly, Hunk, Lance, Pidge, etc.)

• Junior cadets wear an orange and white coat with a mandarin collar. The coat has black piping and zips up at the front. Coats have one gold stripe.

Senior cadet (R. Kinkade, J. Griffin, N. Rizavi)

• Senior cadets wear an orange and white coat with a mandarin collar. The coat has blacking piping and zips up at the front. Coats have two gold stripes and a gold badge on the right shoulder.

Junior Officer (Adam, formerly Shiro)

• Junior officers have grey/green coats with a mandarin collar and pockets. The coat has black piping and zips up at the front. Coats have two gold stripes.

Senior Officer/Commander (formerly M. Iverson, Veronica, Sablan etc)

• Senior officers/Commanders have grey/green coats with a mandarin collar and pockets. Senior officers' coats generally still have a zip and may have a darker band across the chest, whereas commanders' coats button up near the right breast pocket. Both coats have three gold stripes and a red crescent shape to represent the Garrison. Commander Sablan also has a white sash and a medal of distinction.

ATLAS Crew (Curtis, Sam Holt, Shiro etc.)

• ATLAS crew members wear an orange and white coat with a mandarin collar. The coat has black piping and buttons up near the right breast pocket. Coast have grey cuffs, at least three gold stripes, plus a gold crescent shape to represent the ATLAS.

Admiral (Sanda)

• Admirals have grey/green coats with a mandarin collar and pockets. The coat has black piping and buttons up near the right breast pocket. Coats have four gold stripes, plus black shoulder boards, a red crescent to represent the Garrison, and a gold tassel.

Members

• Faculty/Staff
  • Commander Iverson, M.
  • Admiral Sanda (former defector; officially KIA)
  • Commander Sablan
  • Commander/Captain Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane
  • Dos Santos, J.
  • Ryu, K.
  • Hedrick, T.
  • Mr. Harris
  • Professor Montgomery
  • Commander Samuel Holt
  • Curtis
    • MFE Pilots
      • Ryan Kinkade
      • James Griffin
      • Ina Leifsdottir
      • Nadia Rizavi

• Students/Graduates
  • Hunk (formerly AWOL)
  • Keith (formerly AWOL)
  • Lance (formerly AWOL)
  • Katie "Pidge" Holt/Pidge Gunderson (formerly AWOL)
  • Matthew Holt

Gallery

• Season 1
• Season 7

Flight training simulator.

I'm betting Iverson is a dog person. Team Voltron are cat people. No wonder they never got along.

Nothing suspicous here. Nope. Not even the blond dude.

Lance, Hunk and Pidge in their Garrison uniforms.

Those faculty names are actually one of a series of in-joke references to the show's production staff.

The Garrison at the time of Keith's enrollment.

The Calypso, first ship to carry _human astronauts to the moons of Jupiter.

Decorations in the officer’s lounge.

The Joint Chiefs meet to debrief Sam after his return.

Altean vs Galran pods.

Launch lifts from the underground hangars.

Garrison scientists studying the crystal from Sam’s pod.

The Garrison, one year after Sam’s return.

Communications room.

Admiral Sanda’s office.

The Holts in their personal quarters.

The Holts prepare to set the world on fire.

The Kerberos shuttle which…we’ve never heard a name for, have we?

Map of the Garrison grounds and protected areas.

Garrison defense turrets against the Galra.

Garrison control crew watch as Adam’s flight is slaughtered.

Tunnels below the Garrison, left over from WWIII.

More underground train left over from WWIII.

Garrison students welcome Veronica back from the dead.

Veronica returns to base with a crowd.

Garrison staff check in with Lance’s family.

The micro swarm.

The sum total of Garrison staff.

Sam gives a speech to the remaining Garrison staff and refugees.

Garrison students listening to Sam’s speech.

Refugees and Garrison engineers listening to Sam’s speech.

Memorial wall.

Data center for the Castle of Lions archives.

Garrison commissary.

Trivia/Notes

“	Those Garrison chefs sure know how to genetically manufacture a delicious vegetable.	”
—Sam Holt, "Tears of the Balmera"

• Galaxy Garrison seems to combine aspects of a military academy, NASA, and national intelligence agencies.
• It's interesting to note how Pidge was able to infiltrate the Garrison, fake her medical records, and thoroughly convince Iverson that she was not the girl who made an absolute mockery of his security. Either Galaxy Garrison's security is cut-rate or Pidge is the most badass spy known to humankind. Either way, it's something to laugh at the whole time.
• The Garrison's base being located in the desert is reminiscent of how the Sonoran Desert of Arizona was used as a simulation ground for extraterrestrial environments leading up to the first moon landing by NASA, as the harsh and parched climate of the Grand Canyon State was the closest thing on Earth to the lunar environment to test the suits used by Neal Armstrong's crew.
• The Galaxy Garrison is one of the few elements of the Voltron franchise that was taken from Armored Fleet DaiRugger XV that has been a constant in most Voltron continuities.
  • One of the exterior buildings of the Fuji Space School from Beast King GoLion appears to be the inspiration for the exterior of the Garrison.