Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20140829002738/@comment-11188061-20140902070025

Not really. The thing is, Hunters are not like Jedi, who only those 'chosen few' who can wield the Force can become a Jedi. Everyone has the potential to become a Hunter, and in a time of war where humanity are literally facing extinction, we must assume that nearly the entire populace have been trained in Aura one way or another, so technically even the lousiest of foot soldier, as long as they have their Auras unlocked, count as 'Hunters'. In this case, it simply does not make sense that Hunters are treated as an independent organization, because everyone is a Hunter.

On the other hand, it is possible that before Dust is discovered, only very few people have unlocked their Auras. Therefore these few gifted individuals are being treated with special privelege and power, and yes, can be independent (However, it's far likelier than these special individuals will seize power over the common people rather than just stand meekly and battle monsters, because you know, power). It is only until Dust is discovered that unlocking Aura suddenly become much easier, and Dust enhances Aura warriors beyond imagination that they finally beat back the Grimm.

But again, we should not put absolutes to define Hunters. Statements such as 'The Hunters are definitely an independent organization' is wrong, because in the modern world nothing is absolute. The board game Team RWBY play is canon, so we have to believe that Vacuo at least have Hunters as their standard military unit. For Atlas, it will be the Androids. For Yang's side, it will be the Grimm (Tamer or just the Grimm? We can't be sure, but they should be playing as 4 Kingdoms, since when Jaune tried to join they said that they're already 'maxed out' on players), and Blake/Vytal is... unknown. Maybe they're a unique Kingdom who uses propoganda/education to achieve victory? That will be insanely cool.

Point: there are independent Hunter organizations, and there are Hunter soldiers as well.