You're thinking of the wrong text on page 48. Here's the question:
how do you know which squad is Shrike's?
What you'd expect to find is a rule stating that independent characters can be joined to squads before deployment begins. But you won't find any such sentence in the rulebook. Instead, what you find is this:
Alternatively an independent character may begin the game already with a unit, by being deployed in coherency with them.
Now, that
might mean "An independent character can join a unit before deployment, but if so, must be deployed in coherency with the unit it has joined." But it might mean this:
Let's assume I want to join Shrike to Assault Squad A. Assault Squad A, by itself, does not have Infiltrate.
If the technicality reading is true, here's what happens:
- Me: Okay, I'm joining Shrike to Assault Squad A, and they're going to Infiltrate, so they won't be deployed during normal deployment.
- Rules: Sorry, you can't just declare Shrike joined to Assault Squad A. He can only become joined to them, if after deployment he happens to be in coherency with them.
- Me: Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to join Shrike to Assault Squad A, and then they'll Infiltrate.
- Rules: Sorry, Assault Squad A doesn't have Infiltrate until Shrike has joined them.
- Me: Oh, okay. Well, during normal deployment, I'll place Assault Squad A here, in my deployment zone.
- Rules: Okay.
- Me: Okay, also during normal deployment, I'll place Shrike here, in my deployment zone, within 2" of Assault Squad A. Now they're deployed in coherency, right?
- Rules: Yup!
- Me: Okay, so that means Shrike has joined Assault Squad A, right?
- Rules: Yup!
- Me: Okay, so that means Assault Squad A is "Shrike's squad" within the meaning of his special rule, right?
- Rules: Yup!
- Me: Okay, so now that they're joined, they're going to Infiltrate.
- Rules: Sorry, you already deployed them. You can't deploy normally and then Infiltrate, you have to declare that a unit is Infiltrating before normal deployment begins.
- Me: But ... but ... but there's no way for Shrike to join the squad before normal deployment begins!
- Rules: Nope!
- Me: But ... but ... that means there's no way for Shrike to give Infiltrate to his squad before normal deployment begins!
- Rules: Sure does!
- Me: But ... but ... that means Shrike can only give Infiltrate to a squad after it's too late for them to use it!
- Rules: Now you're getting it!
- Me: But ... but ... that means Shrike's special rule is useless!
- Rules: Hey, don't blame me. I didn't write these rules!
Like we've said, it's a totally lame technicality, and in my opinion any opponent worth his salt should be ashamed to take advantage of it ... but do you understand the technicality now?