Band of the Red Hand Debate

[Andreas]

No, the band isn't involved there. It is the Legion. I think some things are messed up here... We have the legion of the dragon, commanded by bashere armed with shields and crossbows(3 crossbows per shooter, and two reloaders IIRC) and we have the band, a unit with ordinary horses, pikes and bows controlled by Mat currently in Murandy under Talmanes command, figthing for Mat who fights for Rand, and they are ordinary troops with better morale and better commander then other troops. Pikes and bows have been combined before, but Mat has more structure. It is important to make a difference between the Legion and the Band. The Legion is devoted to rand, the band to mat (and the two rivers men to perrin). The band has both archers and crossbows(but not many enough in mat eyes.). You see the difference? The Band is ordinary troops with another way of orginazation, while the Legion is a troop type never seen since the trolloc wars.

Edit: And IMO, the band isn't one of the best troops, they just have the best commander in the world. Right now, I would say they would perform poorly. When Mat left, soldiers deseted them.