User blog comment:Firefist553/Strenght of the commanders./@comment-3345720-20110208041614

..seriously, give me a break; this is really giving me a headache. I may sound annoying, but everyone needs to know this! I will repeat the EXACT words by Oda in SBS 59 pg. 96.

'''R: About the Whitebeard Pirates, if there are pirates from the "Whitebeard ally groups", is there a possibility of one of them becoming a commander of the real Whitebeard Pirates itself? Or are the commanders all from the real Whitebeard Pirates from the beginning? P.N. amanuts'''

'''O: Ok, I'll explain a little about the Whitebeard Pirates. First, captain Whitebeard and the 16 commanders. All 16 commanders, despite numbers and ages have the same strength. All the same. Whitebeard Pirates are just split in 16 groups. The 43 ally pirate ships are not any part of the Whitebeard Pirates and are usually all just scattered everywhere living their own little lives. Yet they are loyal to Whitebeard, and help him in desperate times. They are like that. In Ace's case, the Spade Pirates were destroyed, and all the members joined the Whitebeard Pirates, so he was able to become a commander.'''

you see? Words directly from Oda; a reliable source. If you disagree,directly go up to Oda and ask him.