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

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Some commissars prefer to replace their Bolt Pistol with a full-sized bolter. Power Weapons are easier to requisition, and are often requested to replace the standard-issue Chainsword.

The Imperial Guard is exposed on a regular basis to terrible threats which can shake the resolve of even the most steel-hearted veteran, from bizarre aliens to the terrifying inhabitants of the Warp. To encourage the troops to fight the most horrendous of situations, political officers called Commissars are attached to regiments of the Imperial Guard. Currently the majority of extracts available from the Cain Archive tell of his time serving with the 597th Valhallan Regiment. While serving with them Cain appears to have been very close to the troopers, particularly with the senior officers, with which he had a personal friendship. [Needs Citation] It is further the duty of a commissar to learn the culture and customs of the regiment to which he is attached. He must command equal respect whether assigned to dutiful Vostroyans or hard-bitten, insular Catachans. Nevertheless, in the past, this has caused friction between local planetary Commissariats and the official Officio Prefectus due to jurisdictional concerns, and has even been known to result in Imperial Commissars executing their local planetary counterparts for overstepping their authority.Commissar-General Delane Oktar also commanded the Hyrkan 8th Regiment and was Gaunt's personal tutor. Could it be that he isn’t dead at all? The Imperium has a proud history of factual creativity, and after the supposed-but-not-actual death of Marneus Calgar on Vigilus boosted morale, it’s entirely possible they’re trying it on again. Another heroic martyrdom to put the fire of vengeance into the hearts of mankind – if only a powerful organisation with hilariously flexible morals could arrange such a thing…

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. Some weapons have ‘Blast’ listed in their profile’s abilities. These are referred to as Blast weapons. In addition to the normal rules, the following rules apply to Blast weapons: However, in a move that surprised friend and foe alike, Ghazghkull later released the elderly commissar, stating to his astonished underlings that "Good enemies iz 'ard to find," implying he enjoyed the challenge the human posed enough to not want it ended just yet. As well as being the elite wing of the Astra Militarum, the Ordo Tempestus is the training ground for the Imperium's finest martial operatives outside of the legendary Adeptus Astartes. It works alongside the Schola Progenium, whose facilities are governed by the Ecclesiarchy, to provide key Imperial institutions with the best recruits the galaxy can provide.Following this, he was taken by the Imperium's Schola Progenium, to be educated and indoctrinated like most commissars. He learned the Ork language from a human raider who had once been a prisoner of the Greenskins while fighting the Orks during a WAAAGH! on the world of V'run.

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. If every model in an INFANTRY unit is on or in an Area Terrain feature with this trait, then it can either Hold Steady or it can Set to Defend (see below) when an enemy unit declares a charge against it.Commissars have also been known to carry laser weapons, from Laspistols paired with a close combat weapon to their regiment's standard-issue Lasguns. Swift correction, prayer, fasting and contemplation are the tools by which a mind of rigid purpose and faith is formed, and the cornerstone of the Schola's teaching. A Progena's education moves through predetermined phases, beginning with literacy and the basic theology of the Imperial Creed, and progressing on through history, politics, the contemplation of Imperial saints, rhetoric and leadership skills.

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.These children are known as the Progena, and most of them will end up serving the Ministorum or in other branches of the Adeptus Terra. Others will go on to become military leaders and special forces troops within the Imperial Guard or Imperial Navy such as elite Tempestus Scions or iron-willed Imperial commissars. Commissar - Commissar is the standard rank of these political officers, at least one being assigned per regiment of the Astra Militarum or voidship of the Navis Imperialis. It is their duty to "encourage" the troops of an Astra Militarum regiment to fight, fighting alongside the regiment's officers and taking control when morale is flagging or the troops are not fighting with sufficient zeal. In such situations a commissar can take over command from an officer and summarily execute any trooper who tries to flee. Even a colonel of a regiment must be sure to display courage and zeal at all times when the regiment's commissar is watching them. Terrax Guard - The world of Terrax is the location of one of the Imperium's largest Schola Progenium facilities, and all the Terrax Guard Astra Militarum regiments raised there are sent through the facility, and trained using the commissarial training program. As such, a Terrax Guard regiment is essentially equivalent to a full regiment of Imperial commissars.