Raptors - Chapter Combat Doctrine: The Raptors are known for shunning the glory of close quarter combat favoured by many other Chapters for the simple expediency of the far more efficient clean kill from afar with ranged weapons.Like their parent Chapter, the Raven Guard, the Raptors make extensive use of their Scout Marines dispersed throughout their taskforces, and maintain a sizable contingent of Land Speeders of all types as well as a core of diverse armoured vehicles.They prefer to employ these assets, along with their close support assault units, in precision strikes to overwhelm an enemy at strategically crucial junctures in battle after determining the most effective pressure point at which to break the enemy.Flexibility and willingness to adapt to their specific tactical situation represents the core of the Raptors' combat doctrine. As they prepare to engage their opponents, these Space Marines are always careful to identify all of their assets and utilise them to the fullest means possible.These often include assets that are not identified within the constraints of the Codex Astartes. Even when operating well within the strictures of that tome, these battle-brothers may choose to take measures that others of the Adeptus Astartes might consider dishonourable.For members of the Raptors Chapter, the only important standard is success. Honour and glory are noble notions, but a clear victory is worth far more than any amount of either. Most of the distinctive combat tactics that the Raptors employ are tied into this notion.Many Space Marine Chapters exhibit a clear cultural disdain for the use of concealment, secrecy, espionage, and counter-intelligence. The Raptors know, however, that such tactics provide a limited number of countermeasures to overcome those who would use such deception against members of the Adeptus Astartes.However, the Raptors Chapter enthusiastically and consistently applies these techniques throughout its battles. Deceiving their opponents as to the timing, nature, and objectives of an attack can often grant the Space Marines a significant tactical advantage.Similarly, by expertly scouting a region prior to launching an attack, the Raptors are often able to insert their forces without their opponents realising the number or nature of the opposing forces. However, such insertions are entirely dependent upon the reliability and accuracy of their initial reconnaissance work. This requires extensive dependence upon their Scout Marine units, which exceeds the level of dependence characteristic of many other Space Marine Chapters.When engaged in scouting missions, the Chapter's battle-brothers typically focus on both gathering intelligence and on countering the opposition's efforts. Just as they work to penetrate the fog of war, they may also deliver false -- but credible -- information. Consequently, at the same time as the Space Marines penetrate directly to the most vulnerable points of their opponent's strategy, those opponents are unable to locate the heart of the Raptors' forces. This stratagem has often enabled the Raptors to effectively engage opponents that enjoy an even greater numerical advantage than is typical for Imperial Space Marine forces.In keeping with their willingness to make use of every available resource, the Raptors Chapter often takes direct charge of any Astra Militarum units available in a given theatre. Rather than deferring to the organisation's intrinsic leadership, these Space Marines deploy their members among the merely Human forces and then take a direct hand in their disposition and tactics.During the course of an engagement, there are two favoured elements to any plan that these battle-brothers are likely to enact. The first is a supreme reliance upon their marksmanship. It is unclear if enhanced marksmanship is an innate element in the Raptors' gene-seed or simply a consequence of their training. In either case, these Space Marines are highly-skilled sharpshooters even by the exceptionally high standards of the Adeptus Astartes.The second core strategy is the use of the hit-and-run tactic. The Raptors Chapter is exceptionally well-equipped with Assault Bikes, Land Speeders, and Jump Packs. Whenever possible, these Space Marines favour the use of guerrilla tactics and ambushes to deplete enemy forces prior to a more traditional battleline engagement.Millennia of refining their techniques has enhanced the Raptors' abilities to the point that these battle-brothers are often able to decimate enemy forces through precision surgical strikes, minimising the enemy forces present in future conflicts.When these tactics are considered in combination with their extraordinary marksmanship, it is not surprising that some have likened the Chapter to Space Marine assassins. To accommodate this tendency, the Raptors keep an atypically sizable contingent of all types of Land Speeders as part of their Armoury.In keeping with the value that these Space Marines place upon independent thought, each of the Raptors' companies operates on a largely independent basis. It is only in reaction to a particularly dire threat that multiple companies gather to cooperate. For the last few standard millennia, they have fought across the breadth of the Imperium, wherever they have been needed.