The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer

Battlefield justice is a separate issue from the normal Imperial policy of administering to those who infring the Immortal Emperor's law. All officers and commissars are sanctioned to mete out battlefield justice as they see fit, at any time and without restriction. The decision is theirs alone and they will not be held accountable for any actions they are obliged to carry out. For any infraction of law during combat the sentence is death by immediate execution. There will be no trial for infractions during war. The Emperor's justice is the Emperor's Mercy and his officers and the commissars will not shirt from their responsibility for one second. The Imperial payment for infractions of its laws is a bolt to the back of the skull.

Be warned, whatever it is you decide to do, you will not escape notice.

The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer
These laws are to be followed to the absolute letter. Ignorance or lack of udnerstanding is not an excuse for deviance. The commissars shall judge all who stray.

 DISRESPECT TOWARDS AN OFFICER Any soldier who behaves himself with disrespect - in word or action - to an officer or anyone of higher rank will be shot.

 FAILURE TO SALUTE AN OFFICER Any soldier who fails to salute a passing officer or anyone of higher rank shall be flogged.

 FAILURE TO SALUTE THE IMAGE OF THE EMPEROR/IMPERIAL AQUILA/REGIMENTAL COLOURS Any soldier who ails to salute any image of our Immortal Emperor, the Imperial aquila or the regimental colours shall be branded on the left cheek and court-martialed.

 STRIKING AN OFFICER Any soldier who, on any pretense whatsoever, strikes a superior officer, or draws a weapon, or offers any violence against him, will be shot.

 WRONGS TO SOLDER, REDRESS OF Any soldier who thinks himself wronged by an officer and who tries to incite proceedings against them will be punished by a flogging from the officer in question, in front of the rest of the platoon. Officers are to be obeyed at all times, without question, in front of the rest of the platoon. Officers are to be obeyed at all times, without question or reservation.

 GAMBLING Any soldier caught gambling in any form will be flogged and incarcerated for an unspecified time.

 FAILURE TO CARRY OUT AN ORDER Any soldier found to have failed to carry out a direct order will be shot, unless exceptional circumstances can be sited and proved.

 DISOBEYING AN ORDER Any soldier who disobeys an order from a superior officer will be shot. ILL-TREATMENT OR NEGLECT OF ACCOUTREMENTS Any soldier who ill-treats his effects, issued arms, equipment or appurtenances though willful or non-willful neglect will be shot.

 WASTING AMMUNITION Any soldier who sells, or willfully or though neglect wastes any ammunition will be sent to a penal battalion.

 DUELING No ordinary soldier shall send a challenge to another soldier to fight a duel. Sending a request, accepting a request or fighting a duel is punishable by death by hanging.

 FIGHTING AND BRAWLING Any soldier caught engaging in violent conflict - with or without arms - will be arrested and placed in immediate confinement. Punishment is to be meted out as deemed appropriate by their commanding officer(s).

 DISRESPECTFUL SPEECH AGAINST THE EMPEROR Any soldier uttering contemptuous or disrespectful words against the Immortal Emperor will be flogged then shot.

 MUTINY Any soldier who instigates, excites, causes, joins or fails to report any mutinous or seditious activity anywhere, will be shot.

 INTOXICATED ON DUTY Any soldier caught under the influence of alcohol or any other inebriant while on his guard will be flogged then shot.

 SLEEPING ON SENTRY DUTY Any sentinel who is found sleeping on his post, or who leaves in before being relieved shall suffer death in such a manner as deemed appropriate by the commissar.

 LEAVING SENTRY DUTY WITHOUT LEAVE Any man who leaves his guard, platoon or division without leave, except in cases of urgent necessity (this shall be judged by the commissar) shall be shot.

 COWARDICE Any soldier who, in the face of the enemy, runs away, or shamefully abandons his post or guard, or induces others to do the like, or casts away his arms or ammunition, or attempts to take his own life shall be shot on the spot.

 INFLICTING SELF HARM Any soldier who inflicts injury upon himself to be excused from active duty shall be flogged, flayed then shot.

 COMPELLING A SURRENDER Any soldier who tries to incite his comrades to give up to the enemy or abandon a post shall be shot on the spot.

 DISCLOSING WATCHWORDS OR COMMS CODES Any soldier belonging to the armies of the Immortal Emperor who discloses a watch-word or secret comms codes or battle-cants to persons not entitled to hear, or who presumes to give a parole or watchword different from the one he received, shall suffer a bludgeoning, then death by hanging.

 CORRESPONDING WITH OR RELIEVING THE ENEMY Amy soldier who relieves the enemy with supplies or food, or harbors or protects and enemy agent, shall suffer death by starvation.

 CRIMES DURING INSURRECTION Any soldier caught committing robbery, larceny, burglary, arson, manslaughter, murder, assault with intent to kill, shooting or stabbing will be shot on the spot.

 CRIMES OF FRAUD AGAINST THE IMPERIUM Any soldier caught stealing or misappropriating supplies from Imperial Guard stores, including ordnance, arms, equipment, ammunition, clothing, subsistence supplies and attempting to profit from passing such items on will be shot, after rigorous interrogation to bring accomplices to the light of the Immortal Emperor's Justice.

 DESERTION Any soldier who absents himself from his troop, battery, company or garrison without leave from his superior officer shall be hunted down without respite and executed in any manner necessary.

 NOT SHOWING DEVOTION TO THE EMPEROR OR THE IMPERIAL CULT Any soldier who neglects to make benediction to the Emperor, or who willfully ignores set timetables of worship to venerate the Immortal Emperor (times to be set by the commanding officers, in conjunction with the Ecclesiarchy) will be sent to a penal battalion.

 WORSHIPING FALSE IDOLS Any soldier found worshiping anything other than the Emperor or a saint of the Imperial Cult will be mind-scrubbed and sent for use in the workshops of the Adeptus Mechanicus as a servitor. This infraction includes verbal or written benedictions or setting up an unsanctioned shrine.

 HERESY Any soldier who speaks ill of the Emperor, the Imperium, cites his loyalty to any entity besides the Emperor, defaces holy artifacts or buildings, incites heretical thoughts or actions, talks openly about forbidden subjects and generally behaves in a manner disrespectful to all that is holy and good will have his extremities removed and left to bleed to death, for the Emperor's pleasure. The body will be burned to unsure no taint remains.

 HARBORING PSYKERS AND/OR WITCHES Any solder found harboring or withholding information regarding one he knows to be touched by the warp (unsanctioned psykers, witches, warp-freaks) will be whipped, have his eyes put out and then hung until dead. The Emperor will have his revenge on the unclean denizens of the warp.

 DARK FORCES AND WARP MAGIC Any soldier who, through his own will or no, becomes touched by the warp in any way and becomes impure and a danger to security, will be the beneficiary of the Emperor's Mercy.