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So could a company commander be chosen to serve in the Deathwatch or would they be to valuable to release from the chapter.
Reason I ask is in running a Deathwatch list but painted up as Scythes of the emperor to represent the veteran first company who have plenty of experience fighting xenos and also have veterans who have returned from the Deathwatch. I want to include in the fluff the fact that the company Captain has served in the Deathwatch and still wears the Deathwatch shoulder pad.

Perfectly reasonable. Either because he's so much of a badass at killing Xenos they want him as a veteran or even as a watch commander.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Perfectly reasonable. Either because he's so much of a badass at killing Xenos they want him as a veteran or even as a watch commander.

Yeah I didn't actually think of getting him to be a watch master actually that makes sense

He could have served in the research before becoming captain. He could have been present3d with the bit of armour as a r3lic gift after a particularly impressive feat on the battlefield. He could have nicked it from a fallen deathwatch guy because it was shiny and he couldn't help himself.

Lots of.reasons for a.captain to wear a deathwatch pad

we know for a fact that Uriel Ventris served a period in the death watch. we also know that he later accompanied the death watch on a mission well acting as company commander. it was in gross violation of the codex but it happened

Well in the case of the Scythes, after losing their homeworld they could quite likely have found themselves with more Captains than companies - they could have packed the excess off to the Deathwatch to keep them busy till their companies could be rebuilt.

Or maybe a particular Captain was traumatised - say, by watching his company be eaten by Tyranids - and found to be unsuitable for command duties (but still a good warrior), Chapter Master doesn't want to give him the dishonour of demotion so packs him off to the Deathwatch instead.. when his tour was up he was found to have returned to something close to his original self and was restored to his command.

Reasons for joining Deathwatch are varied, for some it's a punishment while for others it's a privilege, depends on the chapter and the individual. Forge that narrative.

Dunno how it's nowadays, but if memory serves me right atleast in the older fluff everyone who joins Deathwatch for the first time does so as a regular trooper, or atleast something close to that. You know, to learn the ropes and to emphasise its uber elite nature.

Quite possible, I'd say. Its unlikely that he'd get any special rank while serving in the DW, and he'd probably serve the DW as a battle brother or maybe squad sergeant, at least to begin with - I don't think the DW would just say "Oh, you're a captain back home? Sure, take command of this company!"

It's a valuable experience, I'm sure I have read that marines who serve the deathwatch (in some chapters, at least) are often earmarked for leadership roles, so they can make more use of their experience, passing it on to subordinates.

So I don't see any real problems with sending a high-ranking marine off to do a few tours with the DW.