Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A key thing to remember is that a Scout could spend an indeterminate time in the Scout Company as he waits for a position in another Squad to open up. So its not as clear cut as 10 years as a Scout then 10 as a Dev.

@Sir Samuel Buca

This isn't really a problem. I call my students young even if our age gap is only of 15 years. A 50 years old men will call young a 25 years old. Sometimes, the term «young» refers not only to an age gap, but to a seniority gap from teacher to student or veteran to fresh face.

In the army, I got called kid by a guy who was basically two years older than me, but far more experimented in his trade than me. Cassius might very well call Clagar «young» because he saw him has a 10 years old little boy, to a scout, to a Space Marine, to a commander and in his eyes he will remain the genius, yet unjaded Marine he was. Calgar was also very young to become Chapter Master, or even Captain.

@VictorVonTzeentch

That's indeed a big issue. You could spend a century has a scout if you are a too slow learner or just six months if you master your trade quickly and a position opens itself for you. If you want to use a bit of human logic on it, it takes around 10 years to master a martial art to a reasonnable degree (or 5 if you are a quick study and practice very intensively with good mentorship). So the idea of passing 5 to 10 years in one position isn't to unjustified. In our world, a US Marine training last for about 3 months. Some other elite millitary unit will have training lasting up to six months and other up to three years (but in a lessi intensive manner). These are widely recognise has the best professionnal soldiers in our world. In times past, a knight training and mentorship lasted about 5 to 8 years (from 13 to 20 or so). A Roman Legionnaire training from the Marius era Legion training lasted about 3 months. A Sarmatian knight tutelage lasted for about 3 years for boys (13 to 16) and around 5 for girls (13 to 18). Spartans trained from age 7 to 14 in fitness (and brutality) only and mastered combat from age 14 to 18 so around 4 years of formal millitary training. These are all considered some of the greatest warriors and soldiers of all time and none of them even spend 10 years of actual drilling and training. It would be very surprising that Space Marines would spend that much time learning a single martial skill (or set of skills). They are fast learner and they have incredibly competent trainers in great quantity.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
Don't get me started on Dante, some sources have him as CM for 1100 years, so who knows how old he is?

No one alive for sure, except maybe a few really old dreadnoughts. Dante is a legend in his own lifetime - or as Cohen the (90+) Barbarian says a lifetime in his own legend.

If combat wounds, explosions and anti-tank weapons don't claim them a marine does live many times the age of a normal man, but he's still not immortal. 400 for the legendary UM Chaplain Cassius is already exceptional, and he's a cyborg held together only by his hate of the Tyranids that crippled him. A "normal" marine wouldn't have survived, or been restored to combat capable. He'd have been given the Emperor's Peace also known as a shot in the head so the Apothecary can recover the Chapter's due, his geneseed.

There is a fluff piece on the banner of Macragge, detailing it and it’s history. It was handed to The Primarch by the Emperor, and currently bears the names of all 77 chapter masters. If we assume a 10,000 year gap from the great crusade to now, we get an average time of service of a UM chapter master to be about 130 years.

Now this is just a single point of data, and GW is notorious for not actually crunching the numbers as long as they sound cool. But food for thought.

Chapter Master is a dangerous trade, a high value target for the enemy.

It is especially risky since CMs tend to seek out melee.