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In another thread it was suggested that space marines no longer fit for normal duties might be assigned to the armoury to act as crew. They could possibly be used to pilot fliers too.
If a marine isn't near death, then wouldn't they be given augmetics etc and sent out to fight until they die or would they be able to be downgraded to being a driver, pilot etc?

Lots of Black Library books have long time veteran astartes. They either stay at their post or occupy mentor/honorific function for their chapter/company until they get bored and join some impossible suicide mission.

After all only in death does duty trully end.

From what Ive seen lots of retired marines go into training. They mention it in a few Heresy books.

On this note, how old is old for a marine? I mean, regular humans can live hundreds of years if they play their cards right. Ciaphas Cain is over two hundred and he hardly seems middle aged. Would a marine have to be 1000 years old before he was unfit for duty? seems pretty likely that most would be killed before they reached an advanced age.

They send them back to the factory for analysis to see what went wrong in the 'manufacturing process' - why they would survive for that long...

If a astartes has a pulse he is still a useful asset...if a weak pulse..he is in a dreadnought...if no pulse, his genes serve the chapter, there is no retirement for the tools of the emperor.

A marine can often do something for the Chapter even if he's no longer fit for ground combat or extended deployments. He could serve as commander on a space vessel. He could be one of the marines serving as honor guard for Chapter allies like Navigator or Rogue Trader Houses. Or maybe just become one of the guys that stay at home watching the fort. One of the Captains usually does this anyway together with parts of the reserve companies.

If there's a chance that he can still die honorably in combat he's not too old.

Dante is still alive and kicking, so it might be a matter of choice.

If I recall correctly, the Grey Knights had a "retired" marine in a non-combat role back home until he's asked to pick up a sword again, which he does. Of course, the GK isn't exactly your generic chapter.

jayko657 wrote:
Dante is still alive and kicking, so it might be a matter of choice.

If I recall correctly, the Grey Knights had a "retired" marine in a non-combat role back home until he's asked to pick up a sword again, which he does. Of course, the GK isn't exactly your generic chapter.

It is in the book "The Emperor's gift", the veterant take care of the Grey Knight's cemetery where they keep statues of every GK dead.

 Flo wrote:

jayko657 wrote:
Dante is still alive and kicking, so it might be a matter of choice.

If I recall correctly, the Grey Knights had a "retired" marine in a non-combat role back home until he's asked to pick up a sword again, which he does. Of course, the GK isn't exactly your generic chapter.

It is in the book "The Emperor's gift", the veterant take care of the Grey Knight's cemetery where they keep statues of every GK dead.

There we go! Couldn't think of the book right off the top of my head!

From what I've seen, Marines who are getting too old to continue serving in the Veteran squads generally get re-assigned to the Tenth Company as Scout Sergeants.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
From what I've seen, Marines who are getting too old to continue serving in the Veteran squads generally get re-assigned to the Tenth Company as Scout Sergeants.

Perhaps as trainers, but not as squad sergeants. If they can't fight well enough in power armour, then they'd be no good in carapace, especially when they're supposed to keep the new recruits alive. Telion is there by choice, I assume he served as a regular marine at some point before opting to go back to the scouts.
It was suggested in another thread that scout sergeants are drawn from veterans from the first company, marines who've seen it all and can pass that knowledge on, maybe that's why the 1st and 10th companies both have the colour white, because the 1st provides the 10th with mentors.

They don't get old. They just get slow, and slow is dead.

If they're wounded. Euthanized, if augmetic's can't be fitted.
Only hero's get interred in dreads.
Though there are rumour's of BA successor's being used in ritual's if they aren't combat effective.

They do retire actually. In the book The Emperor's Gift they clearly state that when a Grey Knight retires he may tend to the graves of dead Grey Knights and prepare the burials.

even a old marine who is too injured for front line duty, will often have alot of experience so can be used in training, and pass on skills hard earned in combat.

maybe not as a scout seargent but there will be others involved in training.
also as garrison troops as the chapter monastery, its lighter but important duty.

there are plenty of non front line duties that need a trustworthy and proven member of the chapter to furfil.

 Reality-Torrent wrote:
They do retire actually. In the book The Emperor's Gift they clearly state that when a Grey Knight retires he may tend to the graves of dead Grey Knights and prepare the burials.

What a pile of dren. Who wrote that?

I thought Marines were clinically immortal, or close to it?

And it really could vary by chapter...

Bharring wrote:
I thought Marines were clinically immortal, or close to it?

That's just a myth perpetuated by some Sphes Muarin fans, who wants their favourite faction to be even more special snowflake like.

Forget about immortality, it's a useless gimmick.

 Redcruisair wrote:

Bharring wrote:
I thought Marines were clinically immortal, or close to it?

That's just a myth perpetuated by some Sphes Muarin fans, who wants their favourite faction to be even more special snowflake like.

Forget about immortality, it's a useless gimmick.

Actually, it has already been proven in a different thread that, through genetic engineering, it is possible to make someone biologically immortal. Let me go find a link.
The end result of the link I'm about to go hunting for was that it is possible and there is plenty of evidence supporting it, but we don't have any irrefutable proof beyond an Astartes living 10k years without being in a Dreadnought.

I believem this is the thread right here: [urlhttp://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/60/337137.page#2312284[/url]

 Squidmanlolz wrote:
On this note, how old is old for a marine? I mean, regular humans can live hundreds of years if they play their cards right. Ciaphas Cain is over two hundred and he hardly seems middle aged. Would a marine have to be 1000 years old before he was unfit for duty? seems pretty likely that most would be killed before they reached an advanced age.

400-600 years old. Of course the probability of a marine surviving to this point is incredibly small. So yeah, practically no marine will ever get to this point.

It is not disclosed how Dante is, but he's been chapter master of the Blood Angels for 1100 years. So he could be pushing 1500.

Logan is 700 years old IIRC.

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Squidmanlolz wrote:
On this note, how old is old for a marine? I mean, regular humans can live hundreds of years if they play their cards right. Ciaphas Cain is over two hundred and he hardly seems middle aged. Would a marine have to be 1000 years old before he was unfit for duty? seems pretty likely that most would be killed before they reached an advanced age.

400-600 years old. Of course the probability of a marine surviving to this point is incredibly small. So yeah, practically no marine will ever get to this point.

It is not disclosed how Dante is, but he's been chapter master of the Blood Angels for 1100 years. So he could be pushing 1500.

Logan is 700 years old IIRC.

The Salamanders did find a veteran of the Heresy who had atrophied due to being stuck in a ship for 10,000 years, and he was still barely alive. And in Pandorax there is one of the original GK(~10,000 years old as well) who started killing things the instant he woke up.
Though, to be fair, the first wasn't exactly in combat (which is why he was atrophied I suppose), and the second is a psyker, with other psykers helping set up the whole hibernation thing.

That Salamander atrophied because he ran out of food and so he just sat there for thousands of years. And he could still talk, sort of.

With food he could have probably been functional at the very least.

 Grey Templar wrote:
That Salamander atrophied because he ran out of food and so he just sat there for thousands of years. And he could still talk, sort of.

With food he could have probably been functional at the very least.

Dieting gone wrong...or horribly right. Knowing humanity, someone has probaly tried something along those lines at least once...But I digress, back on topic I go!

Assuming a marine does manage to live that long without having his head blown off or some other fatal wound, it's more likely that he'll be mentally worn out rather than physical. Injuries aside, it seems that most grandpa marines are just as fit if not more fit for combat than their younger brothers.

jayko657 wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
That Salamander atrophied because he ran out of food and so he just sat there for thousands of years. And he could still talk, sort of.

With food he could have probably been functional at the very least.

Dieting gone wrong...or horribly right. Knowing humanity, someone has probaly tried something along those lines at least once...But I digress, back on topic I go!

Assuming a marine does manage to live that long without having his head blown off or some other fatal wound, it's more likely that he'll be mentally worn out rather than physical. Injuries aside, it seems that most grandpa marines are just as fit if not more fit for combat than their younger brothers.

This is entirely theoretical (as immortality has not been forced into humanity), but as Space Marines must generate new neurons given that they're still sane at around a millennia of life. So, given enough time, an Astartes would effectively reincarnate in that all original tissue in the brain would have died and been replaced, thus likely obliterating all of his original memories. Meaning he'd effectively be a new person.

 Wyzilla wrote:
This is entirely theoretical (as immortality has not been forced into humanity), but as Space Marines must generate new neurons given that they're still sane at around a millennia of life. So, given enough time, an Astartes would effectively reincarnate in that all original tissue in the brain would have died and been replaced, thus likely obliterating all of his original memories. Meaning he'd effectively be a new person.

That's assuming their minds can take the time to begin with. Dante is said to be very tired of it all and hanging on only because he thinks he'll have to defend the Emperor in the last battle. And why shouldn't he be tired? If there's anyone alive from when he was recruited they're a dreadnought now. He's a living legend, stuck in his own future.

Many would undoubtedly choose to die in some heroic fashion rather than face the fact they no longer remember what their first squad looked like.

jayko657 wrote:
Dante is still alive and kicking, so it might be a matter of choice.

If I recall correctly, the Grey Knights had a "retired" marine in a non-combat role back home until he's asked to pick up a sword again, which he does. Of course, the GK isn't exactly your generic chapter.

Dante is also a bit of an anomaly. Some book, he reveals himself without the mask on and he looked very much like a fresh recruit still, no signs of aging at all. One of the things with the Blood Angels gene seed is they tend to live dramatically longer than most other marines in terms of age. Part of the reason their armor is so much more ornate than other chapters stems from their longevity, so there's a bit of vanity (and just sheer combating boredom) that comes with their artificing. Mentions that in the newest codex.

So, the TL;DR of it all is basically no one really knows because we've never been explicitly told, and probably never will be.

They retire and keep bees.

Maybe THEY drive the rhinos???

 greyknight12 wrote:
Maybe THEY drive the rhinos???

There, two birds one stone

Grey Knight Librarians who get too old for campaigning become Librarians full time and look after all the bad mojo books.
A Dark Angel with too many bionics to be effective is told that while he can't be a member of the Deathwing anymore he can still serve by being a driver. Presumably as an old marine who's degenerated to a certain point could do that job as well.