Spotters, Artillery/Mortars and Order Tests

They are two separate units as far as pins go (“treated entirely separately in other respects – as if they were two units” and pins are not one of the respects mentioned).

When firing, the shooting unit is the one to take a test if required. They are only using the spotter’s LOS, it is not a case of the spotter being issued an order and calling in fire like the air and artillery observers in the HQ section.

The only time pins on the spotter makes a difference is if you’re trying to move him (highly unlikely he’ll ever accumulate enough pins for the automatic rout rules to take effect).

Same level as the rest of the crew as nothing else is stated, and you can’t buy members of a unit at different experience levels (p153, Force Selection, Force Selection Rules, No Mixed Quality).

While he can’t initiate an assault, there is nothing stopping him from defending himself in close quarters – as nothing is specifically stated about being unarmed (units with unarmed models have it specifically stated in their special rules, (ie: Soviet Shtrafbat Squad), or having a specific weapon to grant special rules like assault, he would be covered by the general rule of fighting with one attack in close quarters.