Changes

'''Guardsman''' is the generic term for any member of the [[Imperial Guard]], regardless of rank,{{Fn|2}} but is also synonymous with the [[Imperial Guard Hierarchy|lowest enlisted rank]] of '''Trooper'''.{{Fn|4}} There are untold billions upon billions of Guardsmen in service, such that even the [[Departmento Munitorum]] has no idea of the true number of Guardsmen in existence.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3a}} It has been remarked that if the entirety of the Astra Militarum would form up into a column, it would stretch from [[Terra]] to [[Armageddon]].{{Fn|18}} Every year, trillions of new recruits are [[tithe]]d into the Guard.{{Fn|17}} These are normal men and women of the [[Imperium]], called upon to serve the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] and protect His realm against all threats. That they do so against a [[galaxy]] full of [[Daemon|eldritch horrors]], foul [[xenos]] and other nameless terrors is a heroic testament to their courage.{{Fn|5a}}

{{Mainmain|Imperial Tithe}}

More specific recruitment (or conscription) and training of each Guardsman is based entirely on the customs and traditions of their native homeworld, a result of the [[tithe]] imposed on each [[Planetary Governor]]. Just as there are a million worlds in the Imperium so too are there a million ways one can become a Guardsman; for many it is considered an honour to join the Guard, or at least a way to escape a wretched existence. The result are Guardsmen as wildly different from each other as possibly, from highly-trained professional soldiers to savage gang-fighters and medieval barbarians. If any additional training is required, especially among primitive recruits with little to no knowledge of how to work modern weapons of war, it will be given in transit to their initial deployment.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3a}}{{Fn|5a}}{{Fn|6}}

{{Mainmain|Whiteshields}}

{{Mainmain|Conscript}}

Guardsmen fulfil every conceivable role within the Imperial Guard, from tank crewmen to [[Imperial Guard Sniper|snipers]], [[vox]]-operators to medics. As laid out in the [[Tactica Imperium]], the basic organisational unit most Guardsmen will fight under is the [[Imperial Guard Squad|squad]], a number of which will form into a [[Imperial Guard Platoon|platoon]]. Several platoons will make up a [[Imperial Guard Company|company]] which in turn make up a [[regiment]]. While such standards do exist, they are not uniformly followed for any number of reasons, leading to formations of different names, sizes and compositions.{{Fn|5c}}

'''Medics''' and [[Chiurgeon|Field Chiurgeons]] are Guardsmen trained to give medical treatment to wounded in the field in the heat of combat. They typically operate from [[Company Command Squad]]s.{{Fn|5f}} Medics go by many different names, but all are trained in providing first response and frontline medical care to injured Guardsmen. They are also equally combat capable and will fight shoulder-to-shoulder with their fellow troopers.{{Fn|9}}

As regiments fight gruelling campaigns that last for years on end, eventually they will shrink in size as the number of casualties rises. In many cases an entire company will be reduced to a single squad of the most battle-tested, hardcore Guardsmen blessed with the strength and will to survive the nightmarish battlefields of the [[M41|41st Millennium]]. These [[Hardened Veterans]] are experts in all aspects of warfare, from marksmanship to demolition work, and carry a variety of non-standard weapons and equipment. Some regiments may have whole companies of battle-born killers, having survived the grim realities of warfare relatively unscathed. In many cases however these [[Imperial Guard Squad#Veteran Squad|lone squads]] of hardened survivors will be attached to other regiments, often newly-formed ones, in the hope that their skills will be assimilated by their new parent unit. The [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]]do not contain Hardened Veterans as elite troops, instead their standard soldiers are considered to be the equivalent, having grown up and survived on the galaxy's deadliest planet.{{Fn|5e}}{{Fn|11}}

*{{Mainmain|Combat Engineer}}

*{{main|Operator}}

[[Image:General Stubbs Retinue and Regimental Bodyguard.JPG|thumb|center|150px500px|Regimental Bodyguards accompanying [[Vance Stubbs]].{{Fn|23}}]]

The only standard piece equipment each Guardsman is guaranteed to receive is the [[Lasgun]], and even then some will go into battle without one. Not even a standard uniform exists within the Guard, each Guardsman equipped according to the traditions and resources available to their parent regiment.{{Fn|5d}} The basic equipment loadout issued by the Departmento Munitorum includes the lasgun with six [[Lasgun#Lasgun Ammunition|power packs]], enough for a minimum of 2000 shots, a [[close combat weapon]], usually a bayonet, [[frag grenade]]s, a [[laspistol]] and basic necessities like four days-[[Combat Ration Pack|ration packs]], toiletry articles and other items used on the trip to the battlefield. All in all, the standard equipment loadout weighs 25 kg, not including special issue items unique to some regiments like the [[Vitrian Dragoons|Vitrian]] reflective armour.{{Fn|19}}

Several Guard regiments include female troopers, including the [[Tanith First]], the [[Omicron Rangers]], and the [[Calderon Rifles]]. However, in the estimation of [[Inquisitor]] [[Amberly Vail]] less than 10% of all Guard soldiers are female, and the vast majority of these serve in all-female regiments, such as the [[Valhallan 296th Ice Warriors]]. Mixed-sex regiments, such as the [[Tanith First]] and the [[Valhallan 597th]], are a rarity.{{Fn|8}}

*{{Endn|14}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/09/inquisitorial-agents-sprues-revealed-meet-one-of-the-most-flexible-kill-teams-ever/ Warhammer Community: Inquisitorial Agents Sprues Revealed – Meet One Of The Most Flexible Kill Teams Ever (posted 9/5/2023)] ''(last accessed 14/5/May 2023)''

*{{Endn|24}}: [[Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition)]] (e-version) - ''Raising the Tithe''