Scout Marines - Scout Marines: Scout Marines are the newest 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, Space Marine 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.The 10th Company of a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter usually consists entirely of Scout Squads along with the Chapter's force of equally reconnaissance-focused Vanguard Marines.Each squad consists of a Scout Sergeant and up to nine Space Marine Scouts. There is no theoretical limit of how many Scout Squads there may be in the company. However, in practice, there are rarely more than ten. A Scout's squad number is shown on the right shoulder plate in white. Scouts do not show any company badge, colour or number. The 10th Company does not have a battle standard or a company banner.Scouts are essentially Space Marines who wear a lighter version of the standard Space Marine Power Armour similar but not identical to Astra Militarum Carapace Armour. This Scout Armour is not as strong a defence as standard Power Armour but it is far less restrictive to movement and almost completely silent in operation. This makes it an ideal uniform for troops whose primary goal on the battlefield is to avoid detection.Scouts are employed in all kinds of reconnaissance, infiltration and other subterfuge. They are rightly valued for their ability to strike deep behind enemy lines without being seen and for the resultant confusion and terror this can cause.Scout Marines are physically the same as other Space Marines but in many Chapters the 10th Company has a vital role as a training battalion and new recruits are inducted into the Scout Company before graduating to the Battle and Reserve Companies of the Chapter. In other Chapters the individual companies have a responsibility for this training and the 10th Company includes many Astartes with solar decades of experience.More lightly armed and armoured than their more experienced Battle-Brothers, Space Marine Scouts chiefly fight as skirmishers, relying on stealth rather than brute force to accomplish missions. Scouts operate independently from the main Space Marine force, their duties including infiltrating enemy positions and clearing the way for the Chapter's advance.Operating deep within hostile territory, Scouts reconnoitre the enemy's movements, set ambushes for the unwary, sabotage supply lines and destroy communication centres in daring commando raids. Striking in silence, the Scouts' goal is to accomplish their mission and vanish before the enemy has the chance to retaliate.When first inducted into a Space Marine Chapter, a Neophyte joins the ranks of the 10th Company as a Scout. He is placed under the tutelage of a Sergeant who will lead him on the field of battle and instruct him in what it truly means to wage war as one of the Adeptus Astartes. Only once he has proven himself worthy of his Chapter by excelling in the ranks of the 10th Company will a Scout be deemed ready to join the main ranks of Battle-Brothers as a full Initiate.A new recruit has much to learn and must endure many long solar months of gruelling training regimes before he takes to the field of battle. Not only must he master the many biologically-engineered enhancements that are at work within his body, he must also learn the litanies of battle that fortify him and become skilled in wielding his wargear.Not all recruits survive their training, for no quarter can be asked or given when forging humanity's finest warriors, but those that emerge are well prepared for their first taste of battle as a Space Marine Scout.Throughout his service as a Scout, the recruit is instructed by his Sergeant, his actions guided, watched over and judged as he strikes the foe with Bolter and blade. The Scout will grow proficient with many other firearms, learning how to snipe the foe with long-range rifles and how to demolish enemy battle tanks with heavy weaponry.Whilst acting as part of an infiltration force, a Scout will become skilled at every aspect of war. He will learn that to be a Space Marine is to be death incarnate, no matter the terrain, the nature of the foe, or the weapons arrayed against him.A Scout Squad is armed with a variety of different weapons. Bolters, Sniper Rifles, and Combat Shotguns are all commonly employed but the most favoured armament is a Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife combination. Scout Sergeants invariably carry a Chainsword, which is almost as much a badge of their rank as a weapon. Scout Squads also have access to a number of different heavy weapons and one of the Scouts within the squad may be armed with a Heavy Bolter, Autocannon or Missile Launcher.These are normally only used if the mission requires it. In most circumstances and missions the Scouts prefer to sacrifice firepower for stealth and speed. The whole squad will also usually carry grenades of which the most common types are Frag Grenades (wide area, fragmentation blast) or Krak Grenades (tightly focused, armour-piercing blast).Other grenade types are occasionally used on special missions but are generally restricted to officers and squad leaders. Scout Squads are also trained to fight as Scout Bike Squads. This provides a highly mobile support for Scout Marines operating behind enemy lines.