The High Guard is the official military force of the Systems Commonwealth in the sci-fi series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.

Its origins can be traced back to a legendary Vedran warrior, General Huascar nax Yoweri, whose campaign of conquest across the Six Galaxies produced the early form of the Commonwealth. The general's personal guard, lieutenants and other retainers and assistants formed the nucleus of the High Guard, which quickly grew to be the Commonwealth's official military.

Initially open to only Vedran members (owing to the Commonwealth's initial form, the Vedran Empire), democratic reforms in the Commonwealth opened the High Guard up to any member race which wished to join.

The High Guard is divided into two branches, the Argosy (navy) and Lancer Corps (marines). The rank structure of the Argosy is modelled on the United States Navy:

• Fleet Admiral
• Admiral
• Vice Admiral
• Rear Admiral, upper half
• Rear Admiral, lower half
• Captain
• Commander
• Lieutenant Commander
• Lieutenant
• Lieutenant junior grade
• Ensign

The Lancer Corps officer ranks are based on the United States Marine Corps (but with some differences to avoid confusion with similarly named Argosy ranks):

• General
• Lieutenant General
• Major General
• Brigadier General
• Colonel
• Lieutenant Colonel
• Major
• Brevet Major
• First Signifer
• Second Signifer

The High Guard operates a massive space fleet, consisting of every type of starship known to military science: deep standoff attack ships, frigates, destroyers, science vessels, couriers, corvettes, Lancer Corps troop transports, and so on.

Complementing the High Guard is the Home Guard, a form of National Guard planetary regiment. Each Commonwealth member world has its own contingent of Home Guard personnel - like the High Guard, broken into Argosy and Lancer Corps divisions.

After the Nietzschean rebellion which laid waste to the Commonwealth, Captain Dylan Hunt attempted to rebuild his government, and a new High Guard was formed. Initially comprised of standing navies and marines from the Restored Commonwealth's member worlds, the new High Guard is gradually inching its way up to the level of the old, though it is expected to take decades (if not centuries) to reach such levels.