Games Workshop - Warhammer 40,000 - Astra Militarum: Commissar

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Well-renowned Commissar, famed as a Hero of the Imperium. Also frequent associate of Inquisitor Amberley Vail of the Ordo Xenos, who would disseminate an edited form of his personal memoirs to her colleagues.

Also, a ruthless individual named Lady Commissar-General Viktoria Balshin was charged with purging the perceived taint of Chaos from the Second Front of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. The voenkom, translated as "war commissar," was the head of a military commissariat -- a regional office that drafted men for military service, executed plans for military mobilisation and maintained records on military reserves. During the Second World War, these war commissars were the driving force of the Soviet Red Army, ruling with cunning and cold-bloodedness. They were also noted for being extremely strict and would often execute soldiers for retreating in the face of the enemy or for perceived cowardice. During the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, most of the Schola Progenium were corrupted and rife with slavery and depravity. Orphans were used as slave labour in factories and mines making goods for the Ecclesiarchy. Particularly promising individuals were sold to Imperial Commanders as slaves and servants, and the most attractive became concubines for Imperial nobles. An Imperial Army discipline master during the Great Crusade, the position which later evolved into that of commissar.

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Even the colonel of a regiment must be sure to display courage and the proper zeal at all times when a Commissar is watching him or her. Among the Imperial forces fighting a Genestealer Cult uprising on an Imperium world in the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation. These young soldiers form their own units of ten to twenty cadets, led by a veteran commissar and armed with the ubiquitous lasgun like all other regular guardsmen.

This is usually attributed to a familiarity and fondness developed for the reliability of the less powerful but more stable laser weapons during their stints in the Imperial Guard as Commissar Cadets. We are concerned with the future. The victory of mankind depends on those who lead and those who serve. That responsibility is ours; that future is ours to bring to pass." PDF Commissar - The Commissariat has oversight authority over all branches of the Imperial military (with the exception of the Adeptus Astartes, Adepta Sororitas and Skitarii soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus), which includes local Planetary Defence Forces ( PDFs). Commissars assigned to these thankless postings are usually advanced in age, or have been subjected to disciplinary action. In practice, only a single commissar would be assigned to the PDF of an entire world, or even several planets within a sub-sector, playing little to no role in the activities of such forces. Therefore, the majority of these local Planetary Defence Forces are ignorant of these commissars' existence. Some Planetary Defence Forces maintain their own local Commissariats. Tensions are often strained between these local Commissariats and the official Officio Prefectus, especially in the matters of jurisdiction. It has even been known for Imperial commissars to execute their local counterparts for overstepping their authority. Extended campaigns often call for extra duties to ensure the morale of the troops is kept high. As such, commissars can requisition Administratum scribes to draft extensive propaganda pieces so long as their superior officer approves. This is a favoured tactic during siege campaigns, when Imperial forces can be cut off from reinforcements and supplies, and troop dedication becomes of the utmost priority. These organisations are empowered with all the usual right and duties of the Imperial Commissariat, but are subordinate to the parent organisation, and possess fewer powers over regular troops of the Astra Militarum.Within the Imperial military, some Planetary Defence Forces and individual sectors or sub-sectors of the Imperium possess their own Commissariat who maintain authority over the local military forces in their region of the galaxy.

Personnel selected to become cadet Commissars are drawn from the Schola Progenium - Ecclesiarchy-run schools where the pupils have already received a strict Imperial Cult education. The training of Cadet Commissars lasts for an indeterminate length of time, and their advancement depends entirely upon the judgment of the full/senior Commissar responsible for their development. Training may involve deployment as part of a Commissar Training Squad [4] and/or secondment to an individual full/senior Commissar. [Needs Citation] A commissar was given power to ensure his or her regiment's continuing loyalty, and was charged to do anything necessary to prevent the corruption or spread of Chaos among the guardsmen of that unit. Commissars were attached to every regiment, and were used extensively in the immediate wake of the Traitor forces' retreat to ensure that the population of planets that had been ravaged by Chaos were not subverted by Chaos splinter cells or sleeper Chaos Cults. Vervun Primary Commissariat (VHPC) - The Vervun Primary Commissariat (VHPC) is the local Commissariat found upon the Hive World of Verghast within the Sabbat Worlds Sector. This local Commissariat is empowered with all the usual rights and authority of the official Imperial Commissariat, and was also rumoured to be used by the ruling mercantile nobility of Vervunhive as a form of secret police force. The VHPC was commanded by a full Imperial Commissar, assigned the role of watching over both the Vervun Primary Imperial Guard forces and the VHPC. This local Commissariat was theoretically subordinate to its parent organisation and possessed fewer powers over regular Imperial Guardsmen, but jurisdictional concerns arose during the Defence of Vervunhive in the midst of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Commissar Simeon - suffered a mental breakdown during a artillery bombardment and attempted to execute his entire platoon for failing to salute. Found guilty and was drafted into a penal legion. [15b]During this time, the Commissariat was formed to be the Imperium's bulwark among the members of the Astra Militarum against the influence of Chaos. The Commissar was given power to ensure his or her regiment's continuing loyalty, and was charged to do anything necessary to prevent the corruption or spread of Chaos among the guardsmen of that unit. Plus, with the possibility of Warhammer 40k 10th edition on the horizon, maybe they will release him sort of as they did with Gaunt and a little hold-over for Imperial Guard players halfway through the edition. Either way, don’t get too worried about his “death” quite yet. New Daemon Primarch Angron Miniature Angle After attaining suitable age and education at one of the many Schola Progenium institutions, a potential commissar is assigned to a regiment in the Astra Militarum at the rank of commissar cadet (akin to the rank of private in the Imperial Guard), and under the tutelage of either the regiment's commanding officer, or another commissar. In theory, the Commissariat has oversight authority over all branches of the Imperial military (with the obvious exceptions of the Space Marines, the Sisters of Battle, and the soldiery of the Adeptus Mechanicus), which include Planetary Defence Forces. In practice, however, only a single Commissar is assigned to the PDF of an entire planet, or even several planets in a subsector, and so plays little to no role in these forces' activities. As a result, many of these forces are ignorant that these commissars even exist. Commissars assigned to these thankless postings are usually advanced in age, or have been subject to disciplinary action [14] [15a].

Lord Commissar - Lord Commissars are senior-ranking commissars, promoted to this esteemed rank after displaying exemplary battlefield service over many solar decades of experience. The battlefield heroics of a lord commissar are often the stuff of legends to the average guardsman. See below for more information. Commissars are issued with a standard weapons complement of a Bolt Pistol and a chainsword, which is first presented at their commissioning ceremony as a full Commissar in their Schola Progenium's High Chapel. Commissar Pius Kowle - Pius Kowle was an effective and ruthless commissar beyond reproach, but his actions were not tempered with humility or concern for the troops under his charge. After having a Guardsman flogged to death for wearing the wrong badge on his cap, Commissar Gaunt reported Kowle's heinous actions to Warmaster Slaydo, shortly before the climactic battle on Balhaut during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Kowle felt cheated and robbed of glory and never forgave Gaunt for this personal slight to his honour. Commissar Kowle was reassigned to the world of Verghast to the Vervun Primary Imperial Guard regiments, and took charge as the senior commander of the Vervun Primary Commissariat. This local Commissariat was theoretically subordinate to their parent organisation, the Imperial Commissariat, and possessed fewer powers over regular Imperial Guardsmen, but jurisdiction concerns arose during the Defence of Vervunhive during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Gaunt later placed Kowle under arrest, relieving the commissar of his weapon and his rank pins for various actions he had committed. Kowle then accompanied the small party that Gaunt led to confront Salvador Sondar and reactivate Vervunhive's defence shield. In a fight with a Chaos-corrupted servitor-beast in Sondar's chambers, Kowle killed it by thrusting a cluster of grenades down its jaws, losing both his arms. As he bled to death, he sneered that he had proven his point: that Gaunt was a weakling who didn't have the resolve needed to win. He cursed Gaunt for ruining his career and "robbing" the Crusade of a great leader. As a valediction, Gaunt returned Kowle's rank pins to him in the final moments of his life, and saluted him for "giving his best." Commissar is the title used to designate a political officer of the elite Officio Prefectus who serves in the regiments of the Astra Militarum or aboard the voidships of the Navis Imperialis. With Horus' defeat in the early 31st Millennium, and the retreat of the forces of Chaos to the Eye of Terror, the remaining Loyalist regiments of the Imperial Army underwent massive changes, and became much more heavily standardised under the logistical aegis of the Adeptus Administratum's Departmento Munitorum.Those who pass through the Schola Progenium are called Progena, and they receive an education like no other. The fundamental cornerstone of life in the Schola Progenium is harsh discipline. From the day they first don their grey garb, the Progena learn that the God-Emperor has no use for infirmity of purpose or weakness, and pain is merely an illusion of an untrained mind. Commissar-General Delane Oktar - A senior-ranking commissar that with the Hyrkan 8th, from the regiment's foundation to their victory on Balhaut, a world reclaimed by the Imperium during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. He is also notable for having mentored the young Junior-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, who gained full rank status of Commissar at Oktar's death-bed. He learned many important lessons from Oktar that taught him the resolve of serving as an effective commissar tempered with humility and concern for the troops under his charge. These key lessons would later play in Commissar Gaunt's development of the Tanith First and Only into a very successful and notable fighting regiment of the Imperial Guard.