Scout Marines

In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, Space Marine Scouts are the new recruits in a Space Marine Chapter. Their duties are to infiltrate the enemy positions or to fight as lightly armed skirmishers ahead of the rest of the Chapter. Operating behind enemy lines, Scouts set ambushes for their foes, spy out the enemy's movements, and gather what information they can about their opponent's plans. Sometimes Scouts will covertly attack an enemy camp, capturing a commander for interrogation or alternatively sabotaging equipment and supplies. Striking fast and hard, the Scouts usually accomplish their mission and leave before the enemy has the chance to respond.

Rites and Initiations
Every Chapter of Space Marines must recruit new warriors into its ranks in order to survive. The process varies from Chapter to Chapter, many recruiting from their own homeworlds. These are often feral worlds, breeding tough, harsh new recruits. Whatever the tradition of a particular Chapter, warriors must always be chosen when they are still young, before their bodies become too mature to accept the many bio-implants. During those years, the warrior is known as Neophyte, or Space Marine Scout - he is neither fully a Space Marine nor entirely human.

A Space Marine Scout has much to learn; not only must he become accustomed to the many biologically engineered enhancements which are at work on his body, but he must learn the litany of battle that will fortify and strengthen him. He will undergo several phases of initiation into the Chapter's own secret cults, and he will get his first chance to fight in battle.

Space Marine Scouts are neither as tough nor as experienced as full Space Marines. Scouts can fight alongside other Space Marines in the main battle-lines, and often do so, during moments of desperation.

Once chosen from the ranks of aspirants, a human warrior must undergo the ritual trials unique to his Chapter. Once accepted, the genetic implantation and induction begins. The warrior has taken his first steps to becoming a full fledged Space Marine. The Scout is then placed under tutelage of a sergeant who will oversee his induction and training and also lead the Scouts in battle. Not yet ready to join a company, the young Scouts live alongside their brothers in the 10th Company halls where they will sleep and train, learning the history of their Chapter. Only after a Scout has proven himself in combat will his sergeant judge him worthy of the title of Space Marine, and declare him ready to join one of the companies.

10th Company
In the majority of Chapters it is the responsibility of the 10th Company to train recruits. As such, the officers and sergeants of the 10th Company are often amongst the most experienced members of the Chapter, usually having passed through the ranks of 1st Company and forgone promotion to a higher office. Though all of the Chapter's Scout squads come under the 10th Company, it is very rarely fielded as a tactical unit. Instead its squads are detached to other reserve or battle companies for deployment in the field.

The Codex Astartes places no limit on the number of Scout squads that may comprise the 10th Company, although in practice few Chapters will ever have more than 10 squads at any one time. Most will have significantly fewer, depending on the suitablity of aspirants and casualty levels.

Chapters without a Scout Company
Some Chapters, the Black Templars being the most well-known, do not use a specialised company to train their recruits, rather the recruit, or Neophyte is "apprenticed" to a fully-fledged Battle Brother, or Initiate. Another notable exception is the Space Wolves, who place their successful recruits together in units called Blood Claws. Space Wolves do use Scouts, but these are experienced warriors who prefer solitude, rather than young, inexperienced recruits.

Tactics and Training
A Space Marine must be fully versed in every conceivable aspect of warfare, even those he will not practice as a warrior. Thus, Scouts learn the art of subterfuge, approaching the foe unseen and striking before his presence is detected. Such tactics are rarely practiced by the reserve and battle companies, as the Codex Astartes dictates a very direct form of warfare.

Scouts usually perform reconnaissance missions in advance of the main force of Space Marines, gathering information, hunting down enemy formations and relaying intelligence back to their leaders.

Specialist Equipment
Space Marine Scouts are issued all manner of specialised equipment. In many cases these items are crafted by the Chapter's tech adepts for specific roles or missions, and enable the Scout to carry out his mission with increased efficiency.

Each Scout wears a tight-beam squad comm-link, which is used to transmit encrypted data to the other members of the squad without the risk of enemy interception. The squad's leader has a long-range link that he uses to communicate with other units.

A Scout's armour is constructed of plates of the same ceramite material that typify power armour. However, it is lighter and not powered. this allows scouts to move through cover faster and does not risk a suit of power armor on a new space marine. Instead, his fatigues are woven from a carbon/titanium composite that is capable of stopping the most powerful of small arms fire.

Scout Camouflage
Space Marines rarely use any form of camouflage, for their entire combat doctrine states that they are best deployed as shock troops, their very presence filling the enemy with terror.

There are instances when a Chapter may utilise patterns approved by the Codex Astartes, and in most cases this is in relation to the role of Scouts. As ever, Scouts must be well versed in every aspect of war, and so an understanding of concealment and the use of camouflage is essential.

Weaponry
As a Space Marine whose training is not yet complete, a Scout doesn't have access to many of the more formidable weaponry that their more experienced battle brothers can boast. They have no special weapons, and are limited to three heavy weapons; the sniper rifle, heavy bolter, and missile launcher.