Editing Codex Astartes (section)

==Chapter Organisation==
[[File:Codex_Astartes.PNG|300px|right|thumb|SPEHHS BOOK SHEYS DIS BAD!]]
{{Topquote|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|So, I accepted the book and gave it a five out of ten "it was OK" review.]]|Rogal Dorn}}

{{Topquote|But NO! You succeeded because you were trained by the book. The holy codex of our OH SO WONDERFUL I COULD SHIT MY '''POWER PANTS''' Spiritual Liege|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Marneus Calgar's true thoughts on the Codex Astartes]]}}
Under the Codex Astartes, the Space Marine legions were to be split into groups of 1000 fighting men called a [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapter]]. While many people assume this means a chapter is composed of 1000 men, this is a bit misleading because that number does not include the chapter's upper echelons, support structure, auxiliary units (now including Scouts), dreadnought-interred veterans, the Librarius, honor guard, or other specialists (Techmarines, Apothecaries, Chaplains, pilots, permanent shipboard crews etc); this means that a chapter will commonly have upwards of 1100 space marines while still being codex compliant (1000 Brothers and Sergeants on the line, the rest officers and specialists) and many chapters will have large units of mortal retainers (including thousands of Voidship crew in their fleet, hell thousands to tens of thousands for a single ship isn't uncommon, so Chapters with big fleets pretty much have massive naval infantrymen just be default though of course the number doesn't hold a candle to [[Imperial Navy]] voidsmen) to serve as auxiliary forces. It's not uncommon for a chapter to have tens of thousands of soldiers to call upon, though only a minority of them will actually be Adeptus Astartes. It's important to note that the Chapter was already an existing subunit within the pre-Heresy legions, and those were organized much as they were in the Codex. Astartes chapters maintain a [[Fortress-Monastery]] that serves as their home and may maintain other garrisons as well. Fleet-based chapters are addressed below.

It should be noted, however, that the numbers of Veterans in a Chapter is not limited. Most Veterans choose to stick with their parent Battle Company. Considering how the training pipeline goes from the Scouts and through each Reserve Company, some might suggest the Space Marine Chapters treat the Battle Companies as a final training and test and then make those who pass into Veterans to circumvent the recruitment limitations. That they have not change recruitment practices and rates despite their numerical limitations is at least a little suspicious and confusing. Then there's the Imperial Fists recruiting from countless worlds plus Terra yet somehow have only a thousand Marines.

By the 42nd Millennium, the reawakened Guilliman has set about redrafting the Codex Astartes to accommodate the inclusion of Primaris Marines, who do not form the same sorts of squads as their traditional brothers. However he has not massively changed the organisational units of "Chapter" and/or "Company". With the new codex, the space marine company is still 100 men on paper, but can be organised in a far more flexible arrangement of squads and can accommodate additional squads drawn from reserve companies. It also means that whole Companies (or even Chapters) of Primaris Marines can be formed without the need to makes exceptions for them.

The 1st Company is composed of [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]], and only marines who have served in the first company are allowed to wear [[Power_Armour#Terminator_Armour|terminator armor]].

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Companies are Battle Companies. Guilliman's reorganisation allows companies to be composed of as many as twenty squads of five men in which there will always be least six Battle line squads, at least two Fire Support squads, and least two Close Support squads. They train together, and when a Space Marine Company deploys as a single unit it will be one of these.

The 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Companies are Reserve Companies and more specialized than the first five companies. The 6th and 7th Companies are composed entirely of Battleline squads (whose Tactical Marines also specialize in using [[Bike Squad|bikes]] and [[Land Speeder]]s, respectively), the 8th Company of Close Support squads and the 9th Company entirely of Fire Support squads. Additionally, Primaris Marines in reserve companies may also be seconded to Battle Companies as '''Vanguard Marines'''.

Originally, the 10th Company was composed entirely of [[Scout]] Marines, who were eventually promoted to other companies after a certain number of years. It's worthy of note that the 10th company was typically the largest in the chapter, containing 100 neophytes in addition to veterans seconded to the company for training. Additionally, the 10th company's 100 man limit was often uncapped so as to keep the chapter's flow of new marines steady in times of great loss. With the recent revisions to the Codex, Guilliman has ordered that all [[Primaris Marines]] train in '''Vanguard Tactics''' during their time in the Scout Company and can later revert to the squad organisation as required, whereas a regular Tactical Marine might never don his Scout uniform ever again (except in the old [[Deathwatch (RPG)|Deathwatch RPG]]). Consequently it now retains 10 squads' worth of fully initiated Vanguard Marines whose roles can be changed as needed, while the Scouts no longer seem to be counted towards the nominal 100-marine limit at all and just assigned where necessary and recruited however the Chapter deems fit. Given the [[Great Rift|current circumstances]] this is a sensible move.

There is a fair amount of leeway given to what roles the reserve companies can maintain. The 7th company, for instance, is given the moniker of "tactical reserve." Some chapters field these companies as bodies to replace losses from the battle companies. Some use them to train landspeeder pilots (the Codex states the entire company should be able to ride landspeeders.). Some chapters, such as the [[Salamanders]], use the 7th company to train fighter pilots for their Air Force. Others, typically those suffering from heavy losses, use it in place of the tech auxillera for tank crews. Still others keep weapon specialists, such as dedicated plasma-gunners, on hand to replace battle company soldiers as need demands.

===Marine roles===

Among the tenets of the Codex, Guilliman outlined the roles of various Marines to be used in Chapters. They include the following:

====Battle Line====
*'''[[Tactical Squad|Tactical]] Squad''': The backbone of a Battle Company, Tactical Marines are those who are flexible in combat, relying on both ranged weapons and melee weapons in combat. Note that due to the order of the Companies, they usually have served as both Assault and Devastator Marines, so they definitely know the basics of both, granting the majority of the chapter great theoretical tactical flexibility. Ironically, due to their wargear, they’d actually be more like a step up from how neophytes fight and so would make a much more logical role as the first post-graduation position of a newly minted Space Marine than Devastator or Assault, both of whom are the opposite of all the neophyte’s training to this point.
*'''[[Intercessor]] Squad''': Those Primaris Marines who are armed uniformly with some version of Bolt Rifle, either the standard version, the more mobile Auto Bolt Rifle, or the longer-ranged Stalker bolt rifle. Their role on the battlefield is to set up lines of fire and advance on and secure objectives much in a similar way to Tactical Squads; although they lack their little brothers' overall flexibility due to their exclusive use of Bolt Rifle variants, it is said that a combination of these units with other squads is invaluable to a commander. They may be equipped with [[Combi-weapon|Combi Grenade Launchers]]. The Sergeant may take Chainswords, Power Weapons and/or Hand Flamers.
*'''[[Infiltrator]] Squad:''' Recon Primaris Marines wearing a slightly lighter armament, but are expected to perform extended operations behind enemy lines. All Primaris Marines can revert to Vanguard Marines at any time, though Primaris Marines from the reserve companies often get seconded to frontline companies in this way.

====Fire Support====
*'''[[Devastator Squad]]''': Devastator Marines can be summed up in three words: Blow shit up. The purpose of the Devastator is to provide artillery strikes and heavy weapons fire in battle, and hunt tanks. Once a Scout earns his Black Carapace and Power Armor, he will be attached to a Devastator Squad, allowing him to gain battlefield experience by watching the conflict from afar with the added perk of allowing a new marine to bond with his armor while learning its strengths by lugging heavy weapons around. Unlike [[Sisters of Battle]], the Devastator title refers to organization rather than weapon skill. Devastator squads will contain both heavy weapons and bolter marines who act as spotters and loaders; likewise, the heavy weapon marines in tactical squads are tactical marines, not devastators.
**'''Devastator [[Centurion Squad]]:''' Devastators trained to wear Centurion Warsuits, allowing them to carry considerably more firepower than any other marine short of a dreadnought. Centurion squads are organised in combat squads of three rather than five, which means that the reorganization of the codex to accommodate more variety actually means leftover soldiers can bulk up other Demi-squads without interfering with the 100 man standard.
*'''[[Hellblaster]] Squad:''' Primaris Marines who show a particular talent for marksmanship are elevated to the position of Hellblaster, which makes them a sort of elite promotion rather than Devastators who are often newbies. The reason for this is because the Plasma Incinerators they wield are very rare and difficult to maintain, and so are be entrusted to the care of a warrior who can put them to best use. Their role is to provide dedicated anti-armor firepower without sacrificing mobility in the process, and assault and heavy variants of the Plasma Incinerator also exist for greater effectiveness against massed light infantry and vehicles, respectively.
*'''[[Aggressor]] Squad:''' Primaris marines equipped with Mk X Gravis Armour, Auto Boltstorm Gauntlets and Flame Gauntlets (essentially power fists with built-in bolters or flamers, respectively). in the case of the former, they may also use shoulder-mounted grenade launchers to further supplement their firepower. Aggressors fulfill a similar role to Centurions and are also organised into combat squads of three, but are somewhat more lightly armed in exchange for superior maneuverability. Their role is to provide close-range anti-infantry fire support to an advancing force as they move in for the kill.
*'''[[Eliminator]] Squad''': Marksmen Vanguard Marines wearing stripped-down Phobos Armour, with a Shrike Pattern Bolt Sniper Rifle with special ammunition or Las-fusils for AT work. Their duty is to hunt for targets of opportunity while being extra stealthy.
*'''[[Suppressor]] Squad:''' Come with Omnis Pattern Armour, a lighter variant of Gravis Armour equipped with various jump packs, grav chutes and shock absorbers. Unlike Inceptor Marines, they aren't meant to crash onto the battlefield from low orbit and cause havoc but are instead intended to maneuver themselves into position and lay down withering fire with their Accelerator Autocannons.
*'''[[Eradicator]] Squad:''' Come with Melta Rifles for medium range anti armor support and are equipped with Gravis Armor. Can exchange their Melta Rifles for the Heavy Melta Rifle variant, and one in three per squad can carry a Multi-Melta.
*'''Heavy Intercessor Squad:''' Equipped with Gravis Armor and carry either Heavy Bolt Rifles, shorter ranged and less powerful but faster firing Hellstorm Bolt Rifles or more powerful, slower and longer ranged Executor Bolt Rifles. One in every five Heavy Intercessor can carry a corresponding Heavy Bolter variant. Standard Heavy Bolt Rifle squads carry normal Heavy Bolters, Hellstorm Bolt Rifle Squads carry Hellstorm Heavy Bolters and Executor Bolt Rifle Squads carry Executor Heavy Bolters.
*'''[[Desolation Squad]]''': The Desolation squads carry oversized [[Castellan Launcher]]s capable of rapid fire anti-infantry work, with each marine also getting either Super-frag or Super-krak missile tubes attached to the Castellan for yet more Dakka. The Sergeants instead get the [[Vengor Launcher]], which retains the rapid fire rotary anti infantry missile and exchanges the super-frag/super-krak tubes for an indirect fire generalist missile.
*'''[[Infernus]] Squad''': Equipped with [[Pyreblaster]]s, these squads conduct close fire support with their improved flamers and clear out infestations of enemy infantry, hordes of creatures or other nasty stuff that needs a good burning. Each Infernus also carries a bolt pistol by default just in case.

====Close Support====
*'''[[Assault Squad]]''': Assault Marines are those who specialize in melee combat, using [[Chainsword|Chain]] and [[Power weapon]]s alike to fuck up the enemies of the [[Imperium of Man]]. In addition, they also usually take to the field wearing jump packs, which allows them to deepstrike onto the battlefield, move quickly from point to point, and even execute a jet-fueled charge of awesomeness into the enemy. This is the next stop in a new Marine's career when he graduates from the Devastator squads (Blood Angels start as Assault and become Devastators, a relatively common approved Codex variation; see below for details), helping to familiarize him with any weapons he hasn't used yet and putting him through the crushing psychological stress of hand-to-hand combat under something resembling optimal conditions. Assault marines can also use bikes, attack bikes, landspeeders, drop pods, Rhinos, and Razorbacks.
**'''Assault Centurion Squad:''' Assault Marines trained to use the Centurion warsuits for siege breaking and trench clearing.
*'''[[Inceptor]] Squads:''' Primaris marines who fulfill an analogue to the Assault squad role, though their function is less about engaging the enemy at close quarters and more to act as the spearhead unit that will arrive in advance of the main force and secure the drop zone. Their Assault Bolters and Plasma Exterminators are surprisingly powerful for their size, allowing Inceptors to perform deadly hit-and-run attacks.
*'''[[Reiver]] Squad:''' Primaris specialists in shock and awe tactics, who fill a role somewhere between Assault Squad and Scouts. Their mission profile is to create confusion and terror by attacking from unexpected angles; to do this they can either infiltrate onto the battlefield or glide in silently on grav chutes. In battle, they can choose to wield either a paired combat blade and heavy bolt pistol for melee use or a bolt carbine for close-quarters firefights.
*'''[[Incursor]] Squad:''' Vanguard marines clad in lightweight Phobos Armor made for flushing out hidden positions and close combat. Their special Occulus Bolt Carbines and Multi-Spectrum Arrays allow them to detect enemies in any circumstance, while their haywire mines can cripple vehicles. Curiously, these are the only marines that seem to know how to dual-wield their knives effectively enough to be standard issue.
*'''[[Bike_Squad#Primaris_Outriders|Outrider]] Squad:''' Primaris Bikers, armed with bike-mounted frontal twin bolters, bolt pistols and astartes chainswords.
*'''Assault Intercessor Squad:''' Primaris marines equipped with Chainswords and Heavy Bolt pistols. The Sergeant may take the same weapons as an Intercessor sergeant, as well as Plasma Pistols and Thunder Hammers.

====Others====
*'''[[Scout|Scout Squad]]''': Scout Marines are Neophyte Space Marines who are charged with scouting terrain and enemy positions, in addition to demolitions and what we would today call special forces operations. A risky job, but this has the effect of ensuring that the more cautious ones survive while the reckless and foolish are weeded out.

*'''[[Veteran Squad]]''': Veteran Marines are those who have been through several centuries of combat, allowing them access to all the cool toys in the Chapter's armory. They're hopefully experienced and cool-headed enough not to, say, [[Dakka|super-glue the relic blade of the founder to the codpiece of their armor to skullfuck the enemies of mankind.]] A Chapter's first company veterans get to wear [[Terminator]] armor (the Crux Terminatus is a cross between a medal and authorization papers) but they sometimes stay with normally-sized power armor which is instead slowly turned into Artificer armor by all the bling and enhancements. Power-armored Veterans are divided into two subgroups: Vanguard (who focus on close quarters combat) and Sternguard (who focus on bolter drills and other forms of ranged warfare).

*'''[[Bladeguard Veteran]] Squad''': Veteran Primaris Marines with Storm Shields, Heavy Bolt Pistols and Master Crafted Power Swords. The Sergeant may exchange his Heavy Bolt Pistol for a Plasma Pistol or a Neo-[[Volkite]] Pistol.

The first and tenth companies '''very''' rarely take to the field as single formations; instead the veterans are seconded to other companies, often serving as commanding officers and sergeants to other squads, so as to spread their experience and skill as widely as possible. The same is also said of Scouts, who are attached to other companies as auxiliary units so that they can learn their trades alongside their more experienced brothers, which was in fact the standard operating procedure as putting all scouts together was only done in major battles in desperate situations where the entire chapter was at war before the reforms dispersed the scouts by default to all companies and made the Tenth Company into a full vanguard company. Now, Vanguard squads are far more likely to be dispersed and if the Vanguard Company is working as one there is a direly critical objective to infiltrate which will likely draw most of the Chapter anyway. If the Veteran Company is fighting all together shit has officially hit the fan.

On top of listed equipment pretty much every marine not in Terminator or Gravis armor carries multiple frag and krak [[Grenades & Explosives|grenades]] and their combat knives.

A very common codex variant is to keep a company's veterans attached to their parent company permanently, acting as an additional squad in a company and assisting the captain and his command staff where necessary, filling the role of Champion, Standard Bearer and any other administrative positions as the Command Squad. These men are very seldom counted as part of the 100 man structure of the company and are instead counted among the command staff. More rarely the Veterans will supplant one of the tactical squads, particularly when they act autonomously from the Captain and form the line of battle, instead of as a command squad - or in an even greater deviation from the codex, are added as an extra squad that is counted amongst the company's order of battle. This organization is used by the [[Space Sharks]], [[Iron Hands]] (and most of their successors due to the ancient Clan-Company tradition), [[Iron Snakes]], [[Executioners]], and [[Dark Angels]] (and their successors, as their first and second companies are the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] and they have... special duties, see below and their articles) among others.

===Ranks===

The Codex Astartes formalized and simplified the ranks among the Adeptus Astartes, eliminating some ranks like "commander" while adding some more. They include:

*'''[[Chapter Master]]''': The grand poobah of the Chapter. He is the one who gives Marine companies their assignments and is under no obligation to recognize any external authority save for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], though most Chapter masters will recognize and honor (if not obey) the authority of the Inquisition and the Administratum. A chapter master is not merely the commander-in-chief of the chapter; he is also expected to be an administrator, a paragon of martial skill, a councilor, a tactician, a strategist and often even an admiral or a planetary governor as the chapter master will typically have ultimate authority over the chapter's homeworld (or home fleet in the case of crusading chapters). Needless to say, chapter masters are some of the most formidable individuals in the galaxy, rivaled only by the greatest heroes and monsters of other races. Some Chapters (especially the [[Iron Hands]] and most of their successors who use the Clan-Company system) don't have Chapter Masters and have the company Captains jointly rule through council, though they may elect one among their number as Chapter Master either temporarily or permanently.
*'''[[Brother-Captain|Captain]]''': Captains are the commanders of Companies, overseeing their Marines from the front line instead of the back. Captains are usually promoted from the senior Sergeant in the Company (though with the advent of Lieutenants this might have changed). The most senior is the First Captain. Each Company Captain also holds a Chapter-level position of authority, supervising his Chapter's fleet, vehicle pool, recruits, or territory.
**The First Captain holds the title of '''Regent''' and commands the Veteran First Company as well as being the regent of the Chapter's Home World or Fleet and the heir apparent to the Chapter Master. Most likely of all the Captains to wear Terminator armour as he is leading the squads that get to have it in the first place. Some chapters have the Chapter Master be the First Captain and directly lead the First Company (found in the [[Salamanders]] and [[Crimson Fists]]).
**The Captain of the Second Company is the '''Master of the Watch'''. Charged with maintaining discipline, they serve as the prosecution during trials within the Chapter and handle other cases involving a lack in discipline but which are not quite heretical. Their main responsibility lies in the logistics of defense for the chapter's Fortress-Monastery/main base of operations. In fleet-bound chapters these responsibilities are often rolled into the title of Master of the Fleet.
**The Captain of the Third Company is the '''Master of the Arsenal'''. They oversee the Chapter's stockpile of weapons, munitions, and vehicles of war, maintaining both number and quality of such. Likely works closely alongside the Master of the Forge.
**The Captain of the Fourth Company is the '''Master of the Fleet''', charged with taking care of the Chapter's Fleet. It would seem logical that this position is more important in fleet-based Chapters as ships are even more key to the Chapter's function. The Master of the Fleet can give up his duty and simply be Fourth Captain if one more qualified than them is available for the duty of naval command (all captains can theoretically do this, but the Master of the Fleet is where this exception is most frequently found). Some Chapters have dedicated separate Masters of the Fleet and give the Fourth Company Captain a different role entirely.
**The Captain of the Fifth Company is the '''Master of the Marches'''. They have the duty of overseeing the Chapter's deployment and fighting strength; when a Chapter is rebuilding, they have the final say when the Chapter is ready. Their duties require an immense amount of time and effort; it is not uncommon for a Master of the Marches to spend all of his time on incoming data, which does not seem like the thing a seven foot superhuman should spend his time on. The Chapter Masters probably don't trust a newbie or mortal to handle something this important.
**The Captain of the Sixth Company is the '''Master of the Rites'''. They perform and oversee the rites, rituals and other formal occasions inherent to the Chapter; as such their duty (and the size of it) differs between the various Chapters. In many cases they work closely with the Chapter's Chaplains. The precise differences between Master of Rites and the Master of Sanctity vary greatly between chapters, generally with both holding special significance under different spheres.
**The Captain of the Seventh Company is the '''Chief Victualler'''. They are tasked with maintaining the logistics within the Chapter and with outside forces, ensuring supplies that the Chapter cannot make for itself are procured and that there is enough raw material for the things the Chapter can produce. They also make sure that the various ships and bases of the Chapter have ample supplies. Synonymous with Quartermaster.
**The Captain of the Eight Company is the '''Lord Executioner'''. Unlike his brethren, the Lord Executioner serves as a weapon for the Chapter, to be bloody in battle and destroy the Chapter's enemies in close range.
**The Captain of the Ninth Company is the '''Master of Relics'''. Their duties are twofold: to tend to the various relics that the Chapter has and to engage in long-ranged warfare both in sieges and firefights. Rumor that this duty also includes warding any and all Blood Ravens from the armory is unconfirmed.
**The Captain of the Tenth Company is the '''Master of the Recruits'''. They oversee the recruiting, indoctrination, training and deployment of the Chapter's Neophytes and Scouts.
**It should be noted that Chapters tend to have different roles for their Captains. The most common variant is among the [[Dark Angels]] and their successors within the Unforgiven having [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] First and Second Companies with different roles for the Captains of those companies. Another common variant is to have one or more Captains to be designated as '''Siege Captain''', specializing in taking and holding fortifications. This may be in addition or in full replacement of their normal roles as captain.

*'''Lieutenant:''' with the unveiling of Cawl's new Primaris Marines came a slight reorganisation of codex companies and delegation of officers duties. Each space marine company now has two lieutenants subservient to its captain, though their exact duties can vary from chapter to chapter; for example, Salamanders lieutenants are [[This Guy|ceremonial bodyguards]] for their Captain, whilst Iron Hands lieutenants are [[That Guy|naysmiths]] charged with arguing against their Captain's battle plans in order to ensure his logic is free from human error. Their main function is to act as an executive to their Captain and take command of the demi-companies when the company splits (one per demi-company), allowing specialist officers such as Chaplains and Librarians to actually focus on their roles rather than taking command themselves, which makes sense considering specialist officers trained for a particular duty may be no more qualified to command than any other battle brother.
**As with Captains, there is no actual requirement for Lieutenants to be Primaris Marines, and as it stands, regular Astartes lieutenants are more flexible thanks to the wider range of compatible wargear.
*'''Force Commander''': Not a rank but a title given to the commander of a task force, either given if more than one company is fighting at the same time in which case it would be the senior captain or if the company has to split up and a junior officer such as a lieutenant takes command of forces aside from his own captain.

*'''[[Brother-Sergeant|Sergeant]]''': Sergeants lead squads of four to nine other Marines depending on the influx of recruits. There are approximately ten sergeants per Codex-approved Company. Often the most senior sergeant will be the commander of a company's "First Squad" ''(usually a Tactical Squad)'' and will likely be next in line for a promotion if the Captain is ever slain, but not always, especially if the newly mandated Lieutenants are available for promotion instead. Members of the Captain's Command Squad may also be Sergeants who get additional duties as required.

*'''[[Veteran Squad|Veteran-Sergeant]]''': Not a "rank" exactly, but more of a recognition of status for those who have been members of a Chapter's First Company; quite frequently these guys get redistributed back to the lower companies to act as squad leaders where their experience will do some good, hence "Veteran Sergeant". These guys will usually get to wear the "Crux Terminatus" even when in power armour to represent the fact that they have earned the right to use Terminator Armour. Note that Veteran Sergeants can serve in the ranks of the Scouts, Devastators, and Assault Marines despite being technically overqualified, in each case helping the new recruits to adapt to Chapter life. In old 3rd Edition rules you could get Captains without terminator honours, which implied that they never passed through the first company but still got command; nowadays a Captain is just one thing. It's also important to remember that the number of Veterans in a Chapter is not limited by the Codex.

*'''Champion''': Champion is actually a number of positions within a chapter, with each company having a champion, the chapter as a whole having a champion, and a champion being drawn from within the ranks of the honour guard to serve as the personal champion of the chapter master (though these last two positions are often held by the same marine). A champion is theoretically the best close quarters fighter in a company, charged with protection of the Captain from all threats. Given that your average Captain is a badass in power armor this may seem redundant, but it's supposed to allow him to focus on coordinating the battle while the Champion tears up anyone who tries to interrupt. One of the biggest dissonances between the crunch and fluff is manifested with the champions: on the tabletop officers are almost universally more formidable than the champions that are supposedly there to protect them. In an ideal scenario, the Chapter has one champion for each Company, one Honour Guard Champion, one Chapter Master's Personal Champion and one Chapter Champion (the Honour Guard Champion and Chapter Master's Champion titles are frequently held concurrently by one Marine) giving a total of 12 or 13 champions for a full strength Chapter.

*'''[[Honour Guard]]''': A veteran's veteran, assumed to be the best of the best. These guys get bunched together and given some of the best gear available to the chapter. The fluff tells us that these guys are peers of Captains in terms of battlefield experience but do not have the command rank to actually issue any orders, though when Honour Guard speak up it's advised that the officers nearby listen carefully. Thankfully the tabletop game is balanced not to give a whole squad full of Captain-equivalent soldiers. Essentially, the Honour Guard acts as the Chapter Master's Command Squad. As noted above, one of the Honour Guard is the Honour Guard Champion.

*'''Standard Bearer''': The Company Standard Bearer, given the title of '''Ancient''' (the old term for Ensign, who was the traditional standard bearer), is charged with carrying and protecting the Company Standard. Also frequently joins the Command Squad. Should a Company Standard Bearer drop the banner and let it fall to the ground, he will essentially forfeit his honor. If the Standard Bearer should be killed and the banner stolen, the entire Company will be dishonored until the banner is reclaimed. Which means that if you steal a Company Standard, you now have nearly one hundred Space Marines who were just trying to kill you, but now you had to go and make it personal. The most elite of these is the Chapter Standard Bearer (often a member of the Honour Guard, but not necessarily), who carries the Chapter banner in war. If the Chapter Ancient isn't among the Honour Guard, then the Honour Guard will have its own Ancient as well. Primaris Bladeguard have [[Primaris Ancient|Bladeguard Ancients]].

===Other Departments===
Outside of the above mentioned battle ranks, there are other positions within a Chapter:

====Librarium====
A chapter may have any number of [[Librarian]]s, with no Codex-mandated minimum or maximum. The fact that psykers, let alone Astartes psykers, are rare makes the position self-limiting. Can use the standardized Librarian Discipline, Chapter specific disciplines or generic [[Psychic Disciplines]] like Biomancy, Pyromancy, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Technomancy or Divination to name a few.
*'''Chief Librarian''': The head of the Librarium, who assigns [[Librarian]]s to assist in battlefield communications. He is also tasked to determine whether or not his battle-brothers are tainted by [[Chaos]].
*'''Epistolary:''' The highest rank below Chief Librarian, Epistolaries serve as the main communication aides on the battlefield.
*'''Codicier:''' Mid-level Librarians who evaluate reports from campaigns and document them in their Librariums.
*'''Lexicanum:''' Entry-level Librarians responsible for compiling battlefield reports for the Codiciers.
*'''Acolytum:''' Neophytes who have been identified as psykers.
*'''[[Vanguard Librarian]]:''' Primaris Librarian assigned to Vanguard duty. Trained in the special Obscuration discipline.

====Apothecarion====
A chapter may have any number of apothecaries, although the Codex mandates at least 11 (one per Company, plus the Chief Apothecary).

*'''Master of the Apothecarion''': The head of the Apothecarion, who assigns an [[Apothecary]] to each Company. The Apothecarion in turn also takes care of the [[gene-seed]] that Chapters place such holy emphasis on, for good reason: no gene-seed = no new recruits.
*'''[[Apothecary]]''': Responsible for medical care, biological and genetic research, and the critically important harvesting of gene-seed from Battle Brothers and the cultivation of said gene-seed.
*'''[[Primaris_Apothecary#Helix_Adept|Helix Adept]]:''' Apprentice Primaris Apothecaries assigned to [[Infiltrator]] squads.

====The Chaplaincy/Reclusium====
A chapter may have any number of chaplains, although the Codex mandates at ''least'' 11 or 12 if fully staffed (One per Company, plus the Reclusiarch/Master of Sanctity).
*'''Master of Sanctity''': The head of the Chaplaincy and spiritual leader of the Chapter. He assigns [[Chaplain]]s to the Companies to oversee the spiritual health of the Chapter. This position is often but not always held by the chapter's Reclusiarch. Though it might be tempting to compare them to warrior bishops, they're actually atheists (save some Chapters closely aligned to the [[Ecclesiarchy]] or the [[Mechanicus]]), seeing the Emperor as an honored predecessor and the epitome of humanity but not a god.
*'''Reclusiarch''': The Chaplain who oversees the Chapter's Reclusiam (where they keep the relics and other secret historical stuff). Often the job gets rolled up into the Master of Sanctity's job description (particularly if the Chapter is relatively young and has not accrued entire millennia worth of trinkets). It's uncertain what interaction (if any) they have with the Master of Relics; it is quite possible that a Chaplain receives the role if that Captain of the 9th company gets a different position. It is possible that the Reclusiarch looks after the more "holy" and historically significant relics, distributing some of them to Chaplains to carry in battle, while the Master of Relics okays the deployment of precious but combat-worthy stuff like ancient marks of power armour or Heresy-era tanks (Master of the Forge is technically a specialist position, not an authoritative one).
*'''[[Chaplain]]''': Ministers to the psychological stability of their brothers, inspiring them and allied forces in battle and watching for Chaos corruption.
*'''[[Judiciar]]''': Primaris Chaplains in training equipped with Executioner Blades and Tempormortis temporal distortion devices, charged with enforcing the Chapter Master's will.

====Armoury/Armorium====
A Chapter's armoury consists of any number of [[Techmarine]]s and dedicated vehicle operators who do not formally get assigned to any Company. In practice, techmarines tend to form a distinct clique within their chapters; partly due to their idiosyncrasies, and partly because they have a dual loyalty to Mars.
*'''Master of the Forge''': The head of the Armoury, who assigns [[Techmarine]]s to oversee maintenance of the machine-spirits of the chapter's wargear and motor pool. Their position often overlaps to some degree with the Chapter's Reclusiarch, given that both are responsible for keeping the chapter's relics in good condition; many artifacts will fall under both of their duties. Given that their religious zeal is tempered by the practical mindset of a space marine, Masters of the Forge are some of the only engineers in the galaxy that are actually still innovating to any degree, which really shows when you compare the armories of the modern space marine chapters with their traitorous counterparts.
*'''[[Techmarine]]''': As with the Apothecaries, one per company and the Master of the Forge plus others is a frequent arrangement; otherwise they are deployed as needed to operate advanced war gear or lend technical expertise at battle. When not in the field they repair or produce arms, equipment, vehicles and other supplies along with Chapter Serf Artificers and any Tech Priests assigned to the Chapter.
*All Space Marines are required to familiarise themselves with operation of Rhino tanks at the very least as part of their standard training.
**Drivers of the armoury vehicles are referred to as '''Custodians''' (unrelated to the [[Adeptus Custodes]]), many of whom are assigned when necessary from the squads of the 6th & 7th reserve companies. They are expected to continue their development through the companies and learn ''every'' aspect of war so that vehicle commanders better anticipate the roles of Tactical/Assault/Devastator and provide battlefield support without even being requested - unless they get assigned to the armoury on a more permanent basis, such as being trained to operate larger, more precious vehicles and/or specialising in armoured operations.
**Battlefield support vehicles tend not to be assigned permanent crews but are manned by individuals capable of operating a number of chapter vehicles, helped in part to the ubiquity of the Rhino chassis and the standard training.
*Dreadnoughts are typically assigned back to their original companies and appear sporadically across a chapter's roster, though some chapters assign Dreadnoughts to their own formations instead. The technology to build even the most basic dreadnought is rare and time-consuming even for master artificers, so the number is limited; also the frequency of wakefulness decreases over time and they get used less and less.

====The Fleet====
A chapter is allowed a fleet of as many ships as it can get together, and may assign Marines to these ships as permanent staff in a similar fashion to the Armoury, although the Codex is significantly more flexible on Fleet staff. A chapter can be Codex-compliant without any Marines in their Fleet at all. Ship designations made for Space Marines have a fairly narrow band of marine transport capacity - one to three companies' worth - which does not change significantly between chapters. Therefore while a chapter could theoretically muster a fleet of any size, the practical and political restraints limit a chapter fleet's size. At the top end, the best is a [[Battle Barge]] for each company, another Battle Barge for a flagship and accompanying [[Strike Cruiser]]s, [[Adeptus Astartes Light Cruiser|Light Cruisers]] and [[Adeptus Astartes Escort|Escort]]s, plus whatever orbital defenses of the homeworld and the system fleet and maybe one or two mobile stations. This is stretching it for most chapters, though ancient and politically secure can have more than this and some chapters have different classes of ship as well. The Navy frowns upon Marines having too many [[Lance Weapon|Lance]]-equipped ships in particular. Fleet based Chapters obviously have more than usual, and one powerful vessel, possibly even a Warp-capable Star Fort, serves as the Fortress-Monastery.

*'''Master of the Fleet''': Often the Captain of the 4th company gets this position by default, but as mentioned above in the entry for Fourth Captain it's [[Uriel Ventris|not unheard of for a Captain to step down]] from the position if someone else would be better suited to the role: that person is titled "Lord Admiral" and gets command over the Chapter's fleet assets. It is perfectly reasonable that the Lord Admiral holds a battlefield rank of Battle-Brother or Sergeant, making him probably temporary until the Captain or his replacement wants the job back. As mentioned above, some Chapters (especially fleet-based ones) have this post be straight-up separate from the role of Fourth Company captain and have a dedicated full-time Marine as Master of the Fleet in the Chapter Council while the Fourth Captain gets different special roles.
*'''Lieutenant Commander''': In the days of the Great Crusade, these individuals commanded battalions of five companies, outranking Captains and subservient to Chapter Masters. We know of [[Marines Errant|only one example]] of this rank though it is uncertain whether the title holds the same authority as before. From what we know it now applies to the commander of a vessel, which makes sense since most Space Marine chapters have more ships than Captains, so ''somebody'' has to get the job of commanding them. Often assumed to be just a techmarine or sergeant of whichever squad gets attached to that vessel, or more likely a badass high ranking [[Chapter Serf]] who doesn't need to be superhuman to understand how spaceships operate. 
**With the advent of the company rank of Lieutenant, it is uncertain as to how the Lieutenant Commander actually fits in the new command structure. Is it a superior form of Lieutenant with new duties (which is what the rank itself implies) or is it a Lieutenant who has been officially combined with the Force Commander role (see above) and has his own units set aside from his company that he commands on a full time basis? More likely, considering that Space Marines tend to hold to an army chain of command rather than a naval hierarchy, the rank is probably an honorific title that stands alongside their company rank as with the Lord Admiral. It is also quite possible this is now the same as a old ''naval'' Lieutenant Commander, which was a ''Lieutenant'' serving as the ''Commander'' of a vessel.