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

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The finest Progena are recruited into the most specialised of the Imperium's elites, such as the Commissariat or Adepta Sororitas, and a very few of the most talented are inducted directly into the Inquisition. Colonel-Commissar - Colonel-Commissar is a very rare rank, conferred upon a commissar only in unusual or extraordinary circumstances. This rank refers only to those commissars awarded regimental command rank, and charged with commanding an Astra Militarum regiment in addition to their normal commissarial duties. Though the award of such a rank occurred as recently as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade to Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt of the Tanith First and Only regiment following the destruction of Tanith, the inherent conflict between the performance of the dual roles of commissar and regimental commanding officer is normally seen as a threat to a regiment's discipline by the Commissariat. Officio Prefectus. Assuming they can prove themselves able to put aside such ephemeral concerns as Humanity and compassion, come Selection Day these prospective commissars are assigned to the Schola Prefectus. There they spend several standard years learning the finer points of the Imperial Creed, the Tactica Imperium, and even sections of the Codex Astartes. In his youth he had learned the Ork language from a human raider captured by the savage xenos and was one of the few recognised experts in the Imperium on Ork psychology and culture. The curriculum does not stop at honing the intellect either as all Progena are trained in physical endurance and skill at arms by the infamous Drill Abbots. The Drill Abbots are hardened Imperial military veterans and have usually spent half their lives in Imperial military service before being ordained as Ministorum Priests. Stern, stoic, unforgiving and relentless, the lessons imparted by the Drill Abbots will stay with Progena for their entire lives.

Once each of their spheres of knowledge is complete, they will be given the uniform and authority of a full member of the Officio Prefectus. Entrusted with a Bolt Pistol, the holy instrument of authority and vengeance presented to all of their brethren, and frequently given a Power Sword for close-quarters fighting, the commissar is ready to instill discipline and strike the fear of the Emperor into all those within the Ordo Tempestus and without.

Alternative Minis Line

The third phase was his long tenure (10–15 years) with the Valhallan 597th, during which time he forged a close working relationship with its officers, and became immensely popular with its soldiery; this phase of his career took him to Gravalax, Simia Orichalcae, Periremunda, Adumbria, and Nusquam Fundumentibus, among other places. [Needs Citation]

Cain spent the years afterwards teaching at the Schola and writing his memoirs - both his public memoir To Serve The Emperor: A Commissar's Life, and the Cain Archive that Inquisitor Vail distributed among her colleagues. [1a] The Imperial Navy was separated from the Imperial Army and transformed into a separate service, whilst the Imperial Army's ground forces were renamed the Astra Militarum, or the Imperial Guard. During this time, the Commissariat was formed to be the Imperium's bulwark among the members of the Imperial Guard against the influence of Chaos.This shows the new Daemon Primarch from a brand new angle, and it really captures his musculature and how everything will attach. So, if you’ve been patiently waiting for more images, this should hopefully hold you over for a little bit longer!

Among the Imperial forces fighting a Genestealer Cult uprising on an Imperium world in the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation.

Brother Vinni Line

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 is empowered to ensure the moral purity and devotion of the men and women of his platoon, company, or regiment by any means necessary. It is therefore not uncommon to see a commissar executing any enlisted guardsman, non-commissioned officer or officer showing signs of breaking due to overwhelming odds, which serves the dual purpose of reminding the guardsmen of their greater fear for the commissar's Bolt Pistol than the encroaching foe, and "inspiring" adjacent units to avoid the same fate. Commissar Ciaphas Cain - Ciaphas Cain was an Imperial commissar who was attached to the 597th Valhallan Regiment in the late 41st Millennium and who became lauded as one of the greatest heroes the Imperium had ever seen, a man held up as the pinnacle of achievement among the servants of the Emperor despite his own private memoirs which revealed that he thought of himself as a coward and a fraud. Cain was the main protagonist of the novels of Sandy Mitchell.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.