IMPERIAL GUARD WHITESHIELDS

When the youngsters come of age - the precise age varies according to the regiment's homeworld culture - they begin their training as Guardsmen. During their trainning period they are officially designated probitors; in practice, they are given names from the regiment's homeworid culture, such as Cadets, Probationers or Gun Babies. But by far the most common name for probitors, especially in regiments from feral or mediaevil homeworids, is Whiteshields. On these worlds, the young warriors carry shields with no markings - not until they have proved themselves in battle can they claim the right to display the tribe's colours or the heraldry of their fathers. This practice has been continued in the Guard, and all probitors have blank insignia: they show neither regimental, company nor platoon symbols until they earn the right on the battlefield.

In most regiments, recruitment to the Whiteshields represents the first phase of the youngsters' passage into adulthood, and is accompanied by appropriate rituals from the regiment's home culture. Whiteshields continue to perform menial and support duties, but combat training takes up an increasing proportion of their time, until they are Judged to be ready for action. Finally, they get a chance to prove their mettle in combat and to demonstrate that they are worthy of becoming true warriors in the Guard.

Regiments of the Imperial Guard are generally posted to combat zones immense distances from their homeworlds, and it is rarely practical to recruit from the homeworid to make up for combat losses. The Guard therefore uses various other methods of bringmg regiments up to strength, depending on the circumstances: amalgamating depleted regiments into a single fighting force is common practice, especially when the regiments are being constantly transported to new battle zones. Regiments that are left to garrison a world they have conquered, on the other hand, recruit from local sources - the most common method (and by far the safest on hostile planets) is to draft the sons of the regiment into the Guard when they come of age.

The children fathered by members of an Imperial Guard regiment are usually brought up completely within the regiment itself. It acts as a kind of extended family. infusing the youngsters with the culture of the homeworld they have never seen, and assigns them menial and support duties which would otherwise eat into the regiment's fighting strength.

It is often observed that Whiteshields work faster, train harder and fight more fiercely than most experienced Guardsmen. For a Whiteshield, passing from probitor to true Guardsman is far more than a simple promotion; it is their entry into adulthood - this gives them the status and respect due a Guardsman and. most important. the right to bear the regimental insignia and the ritual markings of a warrior

When a Whiteshield takes to the battlefield, he is driven by a desire to prove his courage and skills that borders on the fanatical. Whiteshields are fearless in the face of enemies that older, and wiser, Guardsmen treat with caution. For a Whiteshield, failure to win his colours is a terrible blow - showing cowardice is unforgivable. and an honourable death is certainly to be preferred to the dishonour and ridicule heaped upon the weak-hearted.

Whiteshields serve alongside the other squads in their regiment. distinguished only' by their bravery. and the white badges and helmet stripes on their uniforms. Each Whiteshield squad has an experienced sergeant to guide it through training and in its first battles. The squads are usually put into a normal platoon to learn from the example of the troopers around them - occasionally a company will form up a platoon solely of Whiteshield squads, trusting that their courage will compensate for lack of experience.

Only those who distinguish themselves in battle are allowed to become Guardsmen proper. Some regiments merely demand that a Whiteshield take part in a battle without giving way to fear. Many only accept those who have drawn blood or killed an enemy, sometimes requiring the young warrior to collect a trophy to prove his claims: an opponent's back banner or weapon perhaps, or a more gruesome and bloody memento taken from the body of a fallen enemy.

At the end of his training, after he has shown his skill, a Whiteshield is ceremonially awarded his colours: his blank, white badge is replaced with the regimental number and the colours of his platoon; he takes the sholder motif of his company; and the helmet markings of the squad to which he is assigned. More important than this, however, are the unofficial rituals in which the new Guardsmen is welcomed by his fellows into the regiment. These rituals are taken from the regiment's homeworld culture and vary widely throughout the Guard; tattoos and ritual scars are common and receiving these rnarks without a cry of pain is as much a test of the youngster's courage as his bravery on the battlefield.

At last the Whiteshield emerges from his training as a full member of the Guard, wearing his scars and tattoos with as much pride as the uniform of his regiment, ready to return to the battlefield with his new experience and, perhaps, a little more caution.