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I've been wondering about the Guard. It's been almost a year since I've been introduced into Warhammer 40K, and I've started my first army being the Guard and I've picked up the Soul Drinkers Omnibus and the books following it. In the second book, The Bleeding Chalice, the Nurgle Sorcerer ( I am assuming he is) Teturact plants a seed of disease onto the agri-world Septiam Torus. With the disease he wipes the planet and raises them from the dead. After a first assault regiments of Elysians were wiped out, a second assualt of the Septiam City commences with the help of the Jouryan XVII and the XXIII Stratix penal legion. This siege features a Leman Russ squadron gunner part of an armored group used to support the troops. We'll my question is how does a Guardsmen escape the horrors of being a ground trooper and instead becomes a Leman Russ Crewman? Also how do you guys feel about Ben Counter?

Well, I would think that while it depends on the world the regiment comes from I don't think it generally happens. The Imperial Guard can't really afford to waste time training a trooper to become a tank crewmen when they already have tank crewmen and need troopers to hold the line. The only time I could see this happen is if the IG armored groups were low on crewmen because they were able to repair the tanks but the crew died. In this case I could see them accepting volunteers from the infantry though they would have to be very desperate.

Another thing to note is that Imperial Guard regiments are exclusively devoted to one aspect of warfare. One will be a drop regiment, one would be armored, another would be light infantry etc. It would be hard for a tank commander to request replacements from an infantry commander since they are separate entities, technically speaking. Especially so if the regiments are from differing worlds. But, it's possible that they'd do it in a prolonged campaign if the need for tanks was great enough to justify the transfer of personnel.

Also, being in a Leman Russ tank isn't all that great. They are smelly, hot and cramped. Not to mention the nasty stuff that can happen to you if you face off against the Tau.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Well, I would think that while it depends on the world the regiment comes from I don't think it generally happens. The Imperial Guard can't really afford to waste time training a trooper to become a tank crewmen when they already have tank crewmen and need troopers to hold the line. The only time I could see this happen is if the IG armored groups were low on crewmen because they were able to repair the tanks but the crew died. In this case I could see them accepting volunteers from the infantry though they would have to be very desperate.

Another thing to note is that Imperial Guard regiments are exclusively devoted to one aspect of warfare. One will be a drop regiment, one would be armored, another would be light infantry etc. It would be hard for a tank commander to request replacements from an infantry commander since they are separate entities, technically speaking. Especially so if the regiments are from differing worlds. But, it's possible that they'd do it in a prolonged campaign if the need for tanks was great enough to justify the transfer of personnel.

Also, being in a Leman Russ tank isn't all that great. They are smelly, hot and cramped. Not to mention the nasty stuff that can happen to you if you face off against the Tau.

Yea, in the old tau codex read what happens to the crew when the tau shoot them haha.

In the first world war they used to search the records of taining troopers and look for anything that might make them useful elsewhere. For example men who worked at the train station knew morse code and generally ended up in the communications area. Same with sappers in ww2. I reckon its the same for guard. If they have tallent they get taken away to do a more specialised task.

This siege features a Leman Russ squadron gunner part of an armored group used to support the troops. We'll my question is how does a Guardsmen escape the horrors of being a ground trooper and instead becomes a Leman Russ Crewman?

He probably began his Guard career as a Leman Russ gunner. The IG is more than just ground-pounding infantry, after all. It's every kind of a terrestrial military force (airplanes, boats, helos, tanks, infantry, Military Intelligence, cooks, doctors, etc. etc. etc.) that requires a completely separate organization (the Imperial Navy) to move from planet to planet.

Maybe I should have worded it a little better, although I am grateful for the replies, the question was more of how is one taken into the armor companies? I'm pretty sure you can't just be like " Hey I'm going to operate a Leman Russ". You get what I'm saying?
I've seen before that when a Tau weapon hit a Leman Russ, it sucked the crew out of the tiny hole...

Your homeworld receives an order from the Administratum "Your tithe this century is 10 regiments of Leman Russ Armoured Companies for the Imperial Guard of the Holy God-Emperor of Mankind."

They build the tanks, they train the crews, they raise the regiments, and then they ship them off-world, never to be seen again, as part of their tithe.

Probably buy looking through the records of men coming into the guard.

For example under occupation someone might put "tractor driver" and then the poor bugger who sifts through them stamps them with possible tank crew training.

Because part of being in a tank means being able to do all the roles with ease and taking care of/repairing the vehicle, so applicants have to have a general idea of what to do. It may seem likely that the very men who make them end up driving them after say 4 years of working the tank production line.

Like any answer with the imperial guard in general its "each world is different and will have its own method of doing things".

For my regiment only the rich and wealthy get the honour of command and tank crews.

No one maintains or takes care of vehicles outside of rote memorization. There are no "shade tree mechanics" in the Imperium (because that is Tech-Heresy and will have you turned into a servitor).

People who are in possession of a piece of farm equipment are taught the basic Rites of Maintenance and various prayers and liturgies that they are to use as needed, but if the machine requires actual repairs, they must obtain the services of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

So it is with the sacred machines of war that the Imperial Guard uses. A crew might be told how to change the hydraulic fluid, change the battery and slip the track back onto the wheel... but that's about it, and all of these tasks are going to involve lots of chanting, candles and incense. Anything more significant is going to required the Tech-Priests to get involved.

 Psienesis wrote:
No one maintains or takes care of vehicles outside of rote memorization. There are no "shade tree mechanics" in the Imperium (because that is Tech-Heresy and will have you turned into a servitor).

People who are in possession of a piece of farm equipment are taught the basic Rites of Maintenance and various prayers and liturgies that they are to use as needed, but if the machine requires actual repairs, they must obtain the services of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

So it is with the sacred machines of war that the Imperial Guard uses. A crew might be told how to change the hydraulic fluid, change the battery and slip the track back onto the wheel... but that's about it, and all of these tasks are going to involve lots of chanting, candles and incense. Anything more significant is going to required the Tech-Priests to get involved.

Still need a basic idea of how to do it. A lasgun stock maker probably doesnt know the rites to changing the destroyed tracks on your tank. But a tractor farmer might be able to do so. All they need is a basic idea of the task and then its easier. And if a soldier can clean his lasgun, im sure a tank crew can clean their tank without being shot. Or if the turret is jammed im sure they are allowed to use their knowledge to try rectify the situation. I know they cant change the tech and so on but maintaining it and limited repairs is something that is needed (after all i have some GW models that have tools for their tank. OOP though)

So OP its whatever you want really. there is no easy answer for the imperial guard. Best bet, make it up. Are your guys a volunteer force or a conscripted force? Is their homeland so bad that they all live in tanks (weird i know but its 40K) and have to drive them from location to location to escape the sun? Possibilities are endless.

even if 99.999999999999% of the time no normal guard ever "moves on up" from infantry to tanker, there is enough that if you make up a story like:

PFC joe's first mission wasnt going so well, the nids popped a lucky poisened gas shot into the supporting russ, allowing the rest of the nids to close on joes position.

joe in a feat of bravery screams "for the emrpah" as he dons his gas mask and jumps into the still working, but crewless russ.

using the emperors guidance and some technical know how from his civie days, he starts raining death on the Nids from the russ, saving his unit, and being promoted to tanker joe.


something like that anyway

 easysauce wrote:
even if 99.999999999999% of the time no normal guard ever "moves on up" from infantry to tanker, there is enough that if you make up a story like:

PFC joe's first mission wasnt going so well, the nids popped a lucky poisened gas shot into the supporting russ, allowing the rest of the nids to close on joes position.

joe in a feat of bravery screams "for the emrpah" as he dons his gas mask and jumps into the still working, but crewless russ.

using the emperors guidance and some technical know how from his civie days, he starts raining death on the Nids from the russ, saving his unit, and being promoted to tanker joe.


something like that anyway

A guy did that in the pacific. A kamikaze plane was screaming towards his aircraft carrier so he ran into a plane and started to open fire with the tail gun. Technically he didnt do anything as the enemy plane bounced off and landed in the ocean but he got a few medals for that.

So a plausable but cool story.

You could take it a step further and make him a hero of the regiment and so on.

 Psienesis wrote:
No one maintains or takes care of vehicles outside of rote memorization. There are no "shade tree mechanics" in the Imperium (because that is Tech-Heresy and will have you turned into a servitor).

People who are in possession of a piece of farm equipment are taught the basic Rites of Maintenance and various prayers and liturgies that they are to use as needed, but if the machine requires actual repairs, they must obtain the services of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

So it is with the sacred machines of war that the Imperial Guard uses. A crew might be told how to change the hydraulic fluid, change the battery and slip the track back onto the wheel... but that's about it, and all of these tasks are going to involve lots of chanting, candles and incense. Anything more significant is going to required the Tech-Priests to get involved.

So the Mechanicus is just a bunch of contractors?

-STS

Best place to be in the Guard isn't in a tank, it's in an Artillery battery. Sure, you'll be deaf, but that's a small price to pay for being 40+ miles from the battlefield, while all you have to do is load a gun.

There are references in various places about lay members of the AdMech. People who are associated with the cult and knowledgable about machinery, but not full members.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Another thing to note is that Imperial Guard regiments are exclusively devoted to one aspect of warfare. One will be a drop regiment, one would be armored, another would be light infantry etc. It would be hard for a tank commander to request replacements from an infantry commander since they are separate entities, technically speaking. Especially so if the regiments are from differing worlds. But, it's possible that they'd do it in a prolonged campaign if the need for tanks was great enough to justify the transfer of personnel.

Reading through the fluff, there seems to be some 'mixed' regiments as well. Tank and artillery companies are sometimes permanently attached to an infantry regiment. The Cadian 8th probably is the most famous example.
Serving in such a mixed regiment might increase the chances of promotion, but I still doubt it would happen.

 Flinty wrote:
There are references in various places about lay members of the AdMech. People who are associated with the cult and knowledgable about machinery, but not full members.

Sort of like the apprenticeship program that the Admech serve to the Techmarines?

In the book Gunheads the armour regiments get their replacements from the reserves, made up out of decently trained crew from their logistical support regiments. These reserves get rotated onto the front line, picked by the officers in charge, those that dont cut it just get send back to support.
Being born into it the regiment is also a good chance, or being picked when the regiment is raised. It might be an aristocratic cavalry tradition, like in Baneblade. In most cases an infantryman will remain an infantryman, as it will be cheaper to retain that experience instead of losing it and having to retrain the trooper in question, or he gets incredibly lucky and it happens at the end of a campaign when they have time for training between worlds. However its more likely that those experienced survivors will stay to train the next groups that are added to the regiment.