Space Marine Special Forces
The Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marine Chapters, train their warriors to fight and win in many different situations. A given Space Marine can operate Special Weapons, Heavy Weapons, A Rhino, Predator Tank, Land Speeder, or even assume command of a Squad, Section or Company if the need were to arise. The Space Marine is a well rounded trooper capable of taking on nearly any general combat role.
There are some duties, however, that a basic Space Marine could more than likely handle adequately, but may require a highly trained and experienced specialist to get the job done most efficiently. That is where the Space Marine Special Forces comes in. The SMSF is not a true Chapter. It's members are drawn from the Scout Companies of every Chapter. Only about 30% of these recruits make it through the training. The rest either die trying, or are returned to their Chapters to finish their training as a Marine. (Not that a Marine isn't skilled, but the
SMSF requires their specialists to be the best of the best.)
The SMSF is organized similar to a Chapter, but with a few exceptions. The number of troops fluctuates from between eight hundred and two thousand at any given time. The rank and file are filled in ten full Companies. These are arranged as follows. Company 1 is the Veteran Company. It contains squads of all four types. Companies 2 through 5 are the fighting Companies. They each contain one type of Squad. Companies 6 through 9 are advanced training Companies. They are mirrors of 2, 3, 4 & 5, but exist as the training grounds for the Special Forces squads. Company 10 is the "Fresh Meat" Company. It contains all new recruits. It is here that they begin the rigorous training excersise routines that are required of members of the SMSF. They will be tested on combat and mental apptitudes and placed into the different squad types before they are moved on to advanced training.
The Special Forces serves a similar role for the Space Marines as Aspect Warriors do for Eldar armies. They are specially trained and equipped to fulfill a more defined combat role. They are still somewhat flexible, but are best suited to their particular task.
There are four different Squad Types in the SMSF. They are:
Raptor Squad (Companies 1, 2 & 6)
Raptors are Heavily Armed, Flying Attack Troopers.
Skipper Sqaud (Companies 1, 3 & 7)
Skippers are Warp Jumping Fast Assault Soldiers.
Mole Squad (Companies 1, 4 & 8)
Moles are tough, burrowing tank hunters.
Rampart Squad (Companies 1, 5 & 9)
Ramparts are stalwart, thickly armoured defenders.
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