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[[File: Sternguard Veteran.jpg|right|thumbnail| An [[Ultramarine]] [[Sternguard Veteran]].^{{Fn|1}}]]The '''Sternguard''' are members of the [[First_Company#Veteran_Company|1st Company]] of a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]]. Their primary role is to cover a fighting retreat by the rest of a Space Marine force, holding the enemy at bay with their superior training and ranged weaponry.{{Fn|2}}

While every member of a Chapter's 1st Company are proficient in all manner of weaponry, Sternguard Veterans prefer ranged combat more than over close-quarter fighting.^{{Fn|1 }} Though occasionally armed with heavier weapons, such as [[Lascannon]]s or [[Heavy Flamer]]s, Sternguard Veterans prefer to use their [[Bolter]]s, meticulously modified with enhanced scopes and specialised ammunition.^{{Fn|1 }} Sternguard Squads deploy wherever the battleline is most fierce, facing down the most impossible odds with icy calm and precise bursts of bolter fire. They are the image of what every Space Marine aspires to become, and the pinnacle of any Chapter's fighting force.^{{Fn|1 }} Though there is friendly rivalry with their counterpart [[Vanguard Veteran]]s, such competition does not get in the way of their bonds in battle, and each will fight to the death for the other.^{{Fn|2}}

All Sternguard Veterans are equipped with extra kinds of specialised ammunition for use in battle. In addition to standard Bolter rounds they have access to:^{{Fn|2}}*[[Bolter|Dragonfire Bolt]]s: These hollow shells explode with superheated gas, allowing them to bypass cover with ease.*[[Bolter|Hellfire Round]]s: Replacing the bolt's explosive charge with bio-needles of mutagenic acid, these were originally designed to combat [[Tyranids]].*[[Bolter|Kraken BoltPattern Penetrator Rounds]]s: Modified with an [[adamantine ]] core and more propellant, Kraken Bolts have a longer range and better armour penetration.*[[Bolter|Vengeance Round]]s: Employ Employing unstable flux core technology which makes them hazardous to use, but superior at penetrating [[power armour]]. These these were originally designed to combat [[Traitor Marines]].

*^{{Endn|1}}:[http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1620032&utm_source=TGN&_requestid=64648 GW Website Sternguard Veteran] (accessed 2008.12.23)*^{{Endn|2}}:[[Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition)]], ppg. 63