Imperial elites

[Melissia]

No, I assure you that Schola trained Stormtroopers really ARE the best :P

They aren't random adults conscripted into duty and then they get lucky enough to survive long enough to become elite. They are trained from near-infancy as soldiers, and they get experience in combat before a most stormtrooper "equivalents" ever see their first military action.

[L192837465]

Remember that there are many Storm trooper equivalents - aka Kasrkins. These Stormtrooper type soldiers receive the same training and equipment as inquisitorial Stormtroopers. Perhaps even better because they have been forged in combat before they can even earn the elite Stormtrooper status. Since they have been included in the IG codex, I would also think they are more common than many would estimate.

If we go from US Army figures - 570,000 with 4,000 being special ops that would be slightly under 1% would be Storm troopers. I am thinking the US Army Rangers as being veterans. In the BRB under the IG description there is a statement saying there are several million guardsman for every SM. Assuming that is 5,000,000 well, 5,000,000* 1,000,000 = 5,000,000,000,000. Do the 1% thing and you have 50,000,000,000 Stormtroopers... just in the IG.

Thats right, 50 TRILLION Stormtroopers.

Truely, the Hammer of the Emperor.

Uh, that's 50 Billion. With a B. Sorry.

[Fellend]

No, I assure you that Schola trained Stormtroopers really ARE the best :P

They aren't random adults conscripted into duty and then they get lucky enough to survive long enough to become elite. They are trained from near-infancy as soldiers, and they get experience in combat before a most stormtrooper "equivalents" ever see their first military action.

And still they get whopped by one marine. tsk tsk tsk *Goes to read marinewank*

[Melissia]

Everything does in the hands of a ****ty writer. Which are most BL writers.

[DarkLink]

To be fair, a Marine is just like a Stormtrooper (trained from an extremely young age in the art of war), except the Marine has far, far, far better weapons and armor, plus a whole bunch of bio-enhancements.

[Melissia]

Marines don't start their training as young as Stormtroopers do.

[murrburger]

What ever happened to Legio Metallica (Ride the Lightning!)?

I really wish GW would expand the fluff on the Titan Legions/Mechanicus/Ecclesiarchy.

Those organisations are already far more interesting than SM. Oh, look, now they have three different types of Veterans.

1. Veterans that drop-pod in cause hell, then die.
2. Veterans that carry Captain level gear, hop out of a Land Raider and obliterate whatever is standing in front of them.
3. Veterans who suck and have wasted their lives. (The rest)

[Nabterayl]

Marines don't start their training as young as Stormtroopers do.

There's no way to be sure of that. Schola take orphans, not just those orphaned as infants. For instance, Ibram Gaunt entered at the age of what, ten? Roughly the same time as marine initiates begin their training - but while a ten-year-old marine initiate is training to be a soldier, a ten-year-old schola pupil is just going to school.

[Fellend]

As far as I know most chapter recruit from the teens, so the body is more or less fully grown and ready to adopt the modifications.

[Nabterayl]

Yes, that's correct. 10 is the earliest I've ever heard of marines recruiting.