A Few Rough Ideas

[PyronusSouria]

So I want to make an IA, but I want to get all my ideas ragged on first, so I figured I'd lay them out here -_-

 

Name: Imperial Falcons

 

Origins:

A later founding, perhaps the 23rd

Founded to combat rising levels of Chaos activity in somewhere I haven't determined (I don't really know the segmentums or anything)

Probably Ultramarine geneseed

 

Homeworld:

Stannis V

Hive planet

Recruits are selected through a genetic and physical screening program that is mandatory upon reaching 10 years of age

 

Organization:

Non-Codex

8 Battle companies, 1 Elite company and 1 Recruiting company

1st Company Captain acts as Chapter Master. 1st company is the elite company and consists of 90 Sternguard Veterans and 10 Vanguard Veterans

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th companies are battle companies, consisting of 70 tactical marines, 20 devastators and 10 assault marine

10th company is the recruiting company, which consists entirely of scouts.

1st Company Sternguard fight as Task Forces of 6, never as squads of any other size. Several Task Forces may be fighting in one battle however.

The positions of Assault and Devastator Marine are considered equal to Tactical

Certain companies have developed reputations for being better at certain operations, for example 5th Company is a force noted for their excellent ability to conduct siege operations.

Every Tactical Squad has one marine who is a "Medicus", or junior apothecary.

 

Combat Doctrine:

Reorganization of companies and combat doctrine to the above occurred after a devastating war on their home planet.

The reasoning behind this was many of the casualties were caused by the Devastator and Assault companies, as they turned traitor in their entirety.

 

That's about it, I'm sure there's a lot to pick at so feel free :P

[Ecritter]

No reserves!! But why?

 

If someone falls from a battle company, who takes his place ... reserves. Scouts train while in the reserves.

[PyronusSouria]

No reserves!! But why?

 

If someone falls from a battle company, who takes his place ... reserves. Scouts train while in the reserves.

There aren't reserve companies, rather a system of promotion. If a tactical marine dies, a more senior scout from the reserve company is promoted to his spot, and then the recruiting company is responsible for replacing him. The 10th has no shortage of recruits however due to the large population of the Hive World that they are based on. The 10th is usually not at full strength, but since their only operations are recon will small squads they don't need to be at full strength at all times.

 

Also, why is noone else posting? :)

[Ecritter]

No reserves!! But why?

 

If someone falls from a battle company, who takes his place ... reserves. Scouts train while in the reserves.

There aren't reserve companies, rather a system of promotion. If a tactical marine dies, a more senior scout from the reserve company is promoted to his spot, and then the recruiting company is responsible for replacing him. The 10th has no shortage of recruits however due to the large population of the Hive World that they are based on. The 10th is usually not at full strength, but since their only operations are recon will small squads they don't need to be at full strength at all times.

 

Also, why is noone else posting? :)

 

You go against your own statement there, also 1 company of Scout at full strength can't support 9 Combat Companies and your's are not at full strength.

[Shinzaren]

The reserve companies fulfill a more vital role than you are giving them credit for. Let me see if I can dig up my old response to a similar topic. A-ha! Found it.

 

The simple answer is that Reserve is a misnomer. While technically the Battle and Reserve companies are separate, the truth is slightly more convoluted. Fighting forces of Space Marines are almost never drawn wholesale from each company, but are instead assembled from a variety of companies. The 1st will supply Veterans, the battle companies will provide tactical marines and the bulk of the forces, and the "reserve" companies will provide the specialists, ie: Scouts, Devastators, Bikes, Assault Squads, etc. This enables marines to deal with every possible threat. The reserve companies also fulfill another role.

 

If your entire army was fighting all the time, except for your Scouts,(who are still fighting a lot) the attrition from combat means that your battle companies will eventually run out of recruits and will therefore be unable to continue. The reserve companies train marines in combat and as their skills improve, they move to the next phase of training, ensuring a steady supply of brothers that are reaching the pinnacle of their training and becoming tactical marines. It is only through this assembly line of skill training, that tactical squads receive a constant flow of well trained and well rounded brothers. As the marines train first as Scouts, then Devastators, then Assault Marines, and finally Tactical marines; they are given time to perfect each individual skill/weapon set. The only way for tactical marines to truly be tactical is for them to have the combined skill sets of each of the reserve companies, something a chapter that lacks reserves will go without.

 

The purpose of the reserve companies is to further train the new marines into fully rounded marines. They enhance the specialties already taught to them as Scouts. By mastering each specialization, and gaining combat experience with each, they are better prepared to become tactical marines, who are required to fight with all weapons as needed. If the reserve specialists are unavailable for whatever reason, tactical marines will switch over to fill the missing roles. In this way, the skills they learned in each of the specialized companies are put to use, enabling them a huge degree of flexibility. If you take that away, and thrust Scouts directly into Tactical Companies, they will be lacking the specialized skills they would have otherwise honed in the reserves.

 

There are notable exceptions to this, most prevalently the Space Wolves and the Black Templars, who each make up for this shortcoming in their own way. The Wolves specialize in melee combat, and thus place the most emphasis on it, allowing their Blood Claws to master that skill first, and allowing only the most veteran brothers to handle the roles of Devastator. The Templars pass on their skill individually, from Initiate to Neophyte, ensuring that the necessary skills are there. The most reliable, and quite frankly, the most sensible option is the Reserve companies, which the vast majority of Chapters uses. To say that your company has no reserve companies and instead has all their men fighting all the time, in every possible role and position, means that you will eventually run out of men. More importantly, you will run out of the specialized roles which can only be mastered through practice and repetition.

 

Hopefully that helps answer the question of why Reserve companies are so important and useful, if not strictly mandatory. Any proper explanation of recruitment and training can bypass this. It is only a question of why you would do so, when GW has already given you a well planned out training paradigm. Still, the choice is yours