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

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The Schola Progenium is one of the many divisions of the Adeptus Ministorum, the state church of the Imperium of Man. It is responsible for the upbringing, education and training of orphans, predominantly those of officers and nobles who have died in the service of the Imperium, often those who once served in the Astra Militarum or Imperial Navy. It is suspected that a number of Traitor Army regiments were used in the Siege of Terra, though the exact extent of the Traitor forces has never been properly calculated, and most Chaos-tainted Imperial Army regiments became indistinguishable from one another as their corruption deepened.

Commissar Training Squads are groups of Cadet-Commissars, formed up into a fighting squad and led by a full Commissar into battle. These Cadets are then trained, under battlefield conditions, in how to live, fight and even die alongside the troops they are supposed to one day inspire and discipline. They are sent into the fiercest fighting, in which they are expected to show bravery and devotion enough to earn the respect afforded to them by standard troopers. Commissar Training Squads are highly motivated and pious fighting units and an Imperial Guard force accompanied by such a squad will consider itself destined for victory. [4] A rarely seen intermediate role between full Commissar and Commissar-General, the particular role of a Commissar-Captain is unclear, other than ranking above full Commissars. They have been seen to supervise at a regimental level. [11] Lord Commissar The Imperial Army of the Great Crusade was raised from the fighting men and women of the worlds liberated by the Space Marine Legions of the Emperor of Mankind in the late 30th Millennium.The second phase was his appointment to the sector brigade's headquarters as a sort of independent, "roving" commissar, reporting directly to senior Guard officers such as General Lokris; during this time he saw action on Inheritus Prime, Archipelaga and Viridia and assisted the Reclaimers Space Marine Chapter with cleansing the space hulk Spawn of Damnation. [Needs Citation] 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.

The Imperial Army was organized with no particular standardization, and regimental makeups ranged from barbarians wielding Power Axes to advanced mechanized infantry armed with energy weapons whose designs have now been lost. During this time, the regiments were left almost exclusively to their own recognisance as long as they served faithfully, and conformed to the few restrictions placed on them. Commissars are invariably stern and uncompromising individuals, able to keep even the most anarchic regiments in line through fear, strength and power. Every regiment has one or more attached Commissars who remain with the regiment throughout its duties. Commissars are assigned to regiments by the Departmento Munitorum's Commissariat department, which provides high-ranking commanders to Imperial Guard armies. They have authority over both the soldiers and regimental officers. Commissars have both the right and duty to immediately execute any Imperial guardsman or officer who shows cowardice or incompetence in battle. They must also ensure the regiment does not harbor the likes of Genestealer Cultists, Chaos heretics, spies, or mutants. [18] [1a]

Heresy Lab Line

Lord Commander Militant • Warmaster (Lord Solar) • Lord Commander • Lord General Militant • Lord General • General