MEAN Teams

Mean teams are small, mobile groups of Elite Raiders and the most highly trained, best equipped, and feared fighting force in the verse.

Originally, the Foundation uses the term MEAN to describe a series of all-terrain armored vehicles. However, as the official naming convention spread, many Crimson Blade soldiers begun to describe themselves with the acronym. It was initially a boast, but the Foundation quickly ceased on it as a means of psychological warfare, and in A.Y. 2616, the first official MEAN Teams were created.

The numbers do not correspond with the vehicles, and many teams share numbers with them. On the official registry, a MEAN Team is simply listed as MEAN#(to avoid confusion, as the vehicles usually have a space). Though used on official documents, it is not considered regulation to refer to them as "Mean Team number", which is the most common description.

Mean Teams exist as members of the Elite Raiders, but the school also operates a series of independent teams, some drawn from the blade, others from students. These teams are given the MEAN distinction to help better hide their true nature and purpose, usually black projects and deep-cover assignments.