How to spot a Rainbow Warrior (aside from the helmet)
Each branch of the company has its own distinctive markings to easily identify it, usually by colour.
The basic uniform is worn by line Troopers. It is navy blue, with the winged lightning bolt on the right shoulder in white. Shoulder pauldron trim and the right knee are in company colours, while the chest eagle is in steel. The left shoulder bears the Trooper’s squad designation. It takes the form of a vertical line (red – tactical, green – devastator, yellow – assault) bordered by company colours. The second fire team has this scheme inverted.
A trooper’s rank badge(a yellow chevron) is found on the shoulder, forearms or left knee (and often omitted entirely by troopers). The helmet bears the distinctive rainbow pattern of the chapter – it is painted on by each Trooper when they graduated to full active status as a mark of becoming a full marine. As a result the exact number of stripes varies, but it is generally white, yellow, orange, red, green, blue.
Squad veterans have the muzzle of their helmet painted dark red, and a red diamond added to their rank chevron.
Sergeants have their helmets painted white, and add a pair of upright bars to their chevron. Veteran Sergeants add a red diamond to their stripes. Master Sergeants top this with a curved bar, and the Company Sergeant adds a skull device to the centre.
Officers have their helmet painted black, and do not wear squad markings on their left shoulder. These are replaced by their rank badge, which is always displayed. The Lieutenants have a yellow skull device, with the company number in the forehead. The 1st Lieutenant has a stylized halo added, Captains add a wreath below the skull. Additionally the chapter icon is rendered in blue over white for officers, and often for the command squad, though this is a company by company decision (and sometimes only certain members of the squad will adopt this).
Commanders replace their left shoulder guard with a skull headed eagle device in steel or silver. This is a temporary measure for the duration of their tenure. Once they are no longer Commander of their task force they relinquish the rank and revert to their normal heraldry.
Vehicle crews all have one or both shoulders painted a dark red, to show their mechanicus training (and often feature mechanicus icons), but otherwise follow the same guidelines as infantry. Where both shoulders are painted the chapter icon will be displayed on the left knee. While some more orthodox chapters would view not displaying the chapter icon on the shoulder unusual or even offensive, almost all Rainbow Warriors consider the rainbow helmet to be as much (or more) a chapter symbol as the lightning bolt.
The other branches of the company all follow a similar identification scheme, with the forearms and shins of the armour being painted in a distinctive colour. This often includes patterning or other areas of the armour to indicate ranking within the branch itself.
The Chaplainry’s colour is black, and Field Police have black forearms, shins and shoulder pads. Their icon is a red and yellow stylised flame. Chaplains wear all black, save for their helmets, which retain the chapter’s unique colouring and feature the distinctive skull mask - though this is often painted on, with some Chaplains unwilling to part with their own armour. Their badge is a white skull, and they have the chapter badge in white on their right shoulder. Company number is rendered in white over black on the right knee. Of note is that when a Chaplain dies (or more likely, is killed) and another takes his place the new Chaplain takes the name of the old. As such the honour of the Chapter never dies, and the number of Chaplains stays at a fixed amount.
Techmarines wear red, with increasing amounts as their rank increases. The right shoulder and helmet are always kept in chapter colours however, as the right knee is in company colours. On their left shoulder is the mechanicus icon over red.
The Librarum’s colour is yellow, and their icon is a yellow horned skull. As many Lorekeepers forego helmets due to the fitting of their psychic hoods, they often feature the rainbow pattern on knee guards, collars or other areas of their armour.
The Medicae facility wears white and bears the sacred double helix in yellow (often over red). They wear no other rank insignia or company identification, as their duty is not for glory and beyond any bounds.
Where a trooper falls into two areas they wear both colours, so a member of the Chaplainry who is also a psyker will have yellow and black markings. This is fairly rare however, as most drivers for the different sections come from the company motor pool.
When off duty the uniform is a dark blue coverall, with a black belt and boots. Epaulettes are trimmed in company colour, and feature the rank badge. The chapter icon is worn on the right sleeve, the company number on the left. Sergeants and officers have their rank badge displayed below the chapter and company icons. Headgear is a blue field cap with a rainbow design on the front upper section. Specialists wear a coloured brassard on the left arm that corresponds to their division - red for Techmarines and vehicle crews, yellow for Librarium, white for the Medicae, black for Field Police. The specialist’s icon is also displayed on the epaulettes.
Chaplains wear an all black coverall, but retain the chapter and company icon. They display a white skull on their epaulettes.
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