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==Recruitment and Training==
[[Image:T40k-3-soldier.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Catachan]] Guardswoman{{Fn|22}}]]
On [[Catachan]], every day is a battle to survive, requiring skill and courage only dreamed of on other worlds. Even [[Space Marines]] are said to avoid this hellish place. Catachan is home to the single deadliest creature in the galaxy, and some of its wildlife has even been released on other worlds to dissuade invasion. Every animal species on the planet is carnivorous, and every plant species is poisonous, even the slightest scratch can prove fatal as necrotic bacteria swarm in to putrefy it. 50% of the planet's [[human]] population does not survive infancy, and 50% of the remainder does not live past the age of ten. To survive, children often learn to shoot before they can walk, and must be deadly fighters in their own right by the time most humans have learned to spell. Those Catachans who reach adulthood are natural survivors, invariably some of the hardiest and deadliest souls in the [[Imperium]]. Due to the fact they must constantly fight for supremacy on the most lethal of Death Worlds, the Catachans have become naturally superior to any normal Human, and trained well beyond the capabilities of any [[Munitorum]] jungle warfare school.{{Fn|7b}}{{Fn|15}}{{Fn|23}}{{Fn|24}}{{Fn|26}}
In time, their skill at surviving on Catachan came to the notice of the Munitorum, which realised that the Catachans would make excellent [[Astra Militarum]] troops dedicated to service in some of the galaxy's most hostile planetary environments, and the first regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters were raised. The Jungle Fighter's elite warriors are Catachan's only resource; since the planet offers no source of sustenance and only death, the planet's inhabitants are dependent on food and supplies shipped from off-planet, in return for the Jungle Fighters' service in the [[Imperial Guard]]. This arrangement has stood for thousands of years, and though the Catachans bleed more than most for the Imperium, they would have it no other way. Indeed, most Catachans claim that even the most suicidal of military engagements are as nothing to spending a day in the lethal jungles of their homeworld. This gung-ho enthusiasm is often mistaken for bravado by Guardsmen from other regiments. The fact remains however, that Catachan Jungle Fighters are the most uncomplaining, determined and valorous soldiers of the Imperial Guard, whether assigned to drudgerous garrison duties or a hopeless assault upon an impregnable fortress.{{Fn|7b}}{{Fn|9}}{{Fn|18a}}
*The [[Tyrannic Wars]]
*The [[Slaughter on Dawnbreak]]
*The [[Harvest of Chogros]]{{Fn|5024}}
*The [[Pandorax Campaign]]
*During the [[Third War for Armageddon]], [[Commissar Yarrick]] rightly assumed that due to the Catachan's upbringing on one of the harshest Death Worlds in the galaxy, they would be more than capable of taking on the [[Feral Orks]] in the region, even on home ground. In fact, many a Catachan fighter even described patrolling the steaming, Ork-infested jungles as akin to paid leave. During this time, the Jungle Fighters assisted the [[Armageddon Ork Hunters]], developing a fierce rivalry.{{Fn|8}}{{Fn|25}}
*{{Endn|21}}: [[Dawn of War 2: Retribution]]
*{{Endn|22}}: [[Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition)]], pg. 20
*{{Endn|23}}: [[White Dwarf 292 (UK)]], pgs. 103-108 - ''Chapter Approved: Creature Feature'' (see also [https://web.archive.org/web/2007052007431620070525083602/http://uk.games-workshop.com:80/warhammer40000/creature-feature/63/ GW Online: Warhammer 40,000Games Workshop: Creature Feature 63] ''(archived page, dated 20 May 2007, last accessed via Wayback Machine 17 August 2025)''*{{Endn|24}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070525083602/http://uk.games-workshop.com:80/warhammer40000/creature-feature/36/ GW Online: Warhammer 40,000: Creature Feature 36] ''(archived saved archive pagewithout images, dated 25 20 May 2007, last accessed via Wayback Machine 17 August 30 January 2025)'')*{{Endn|24}}: [[Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition)]], pg. 23
*{{Endn|25}}: [http://web.archive.org/web/20030823051036/http://www.armageddon3.com:80/English/Campaign/Troops/catachans.html Third War For Armageddon - Imperial Forces: Catachan Jungle Fighters] ''(archived page, dated 23 August 2003, last accessed via Wayback Machine 17 August 2025)''
*{{Endn|26}}: [[White Dwarf 286 (US)]], pgs. 104-106
*{{Endn|48}}: [[Codex: Militarum Tempestus (6th Edition)]], pgs. 39-40
*{{Endn|49}}: [[The Nature of Prayer (Short Story)]] — [[Galaxy of Horrors (Anthology)]], pg. 404
===Uncited===
*[[Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition Rulebook]] (E-Book) - ''Time of Ending''
