You may or may not be familiar with Vanguard, but if there's one thing you should know about it is that it is the lifeblood of TAW. Without it, there would be no new games coming in and fewer opportunities for new leadership to rise up.
VG originated simply because TAW wanted a way to bring games in. Over the years, Vanguard has changed a lot. They've added new staff, changed policies and procedures, and even changed who they work under. VG used to be considered a division, not an entirely separate corps as it is now. It reported directly to the Commander in Chief, skipping over Army Command. They've somewhat recently added the DC and DO positions to VG to help out because it's a pretty big job for just two guys to handle.
The current system Vanguard uses, as opposed to its original system, doesn't just allow for new games to start up with excellent chances. It also allows new leadership to form and gain valuable experience while working with VG staff. The original system required a person who was at least Division Officer rank in another game to start the game in question or it wouldn't be attempted, period. The term "spin-up leader" didn't really exist back then either. Now, however, people who have no experience can be turned into spin-up leaders, which VG trains about how TAW operates and how to be the best possible leader they can be.
Vanguard has also been where TAW has found that some policies just had to be changed. For instance, there used to be an entirely separate Army Command for MMOs. There have also been many instances where a game would normally be turned down because it didn't match up perfectly with current policies, but with an open mind and willingness to try new things, VG was able to see that game prosper. There's no telling for sure where VG is going, but it can only be good places.
To everyone involved with Vanguard, specifically Kingcheese and Wardy, thank you for all your hard work in keeping TAW going!