Commissar - Commissarial Duties and Powers: 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.Commissars attached to a unit will rarely see their unit break in combat, however, as their own presence is usually enough to ensure that only the weakest and the most stupid will attempt to flee. Commissars unable to demand the fear and respect of a broken unit however often find themselves killed by the deserting unit as they know the commissar would shoot them all before they let them retreat.Commissars have been known to assume leadership positions for brief periods (usually only one battle), after executing a leading officer, such as a sergeant or minor lieutenant, and lead their charges forward with zeal and confidence that other officers are rarely capable of even considering in the face of the enemy.Only a handful of commissars have ever obtained true leadership over large Imperial forces as a lord commander, or even a governor militant, such as Yarrick at Armageddon, and only a handful are known to have even retained full command of an entire regiment, such as Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt.Commissars are enabled to execute any officer they see fit, including regimental commanding officers, and can even execute lord generals and governors militant if they have sufficient evidence of incompetence or treachery.During planetary reclamation campaigns, in which the populace has been living for extended periods of time under alien domination, it is not an uncommon practice for the regimental Commissariat to set up information stations for the locals to give anonymous information detailing the activities of Human Traitors who aided the alien forces in their occupation of the planet. This is most common on worlds retaken from the T'au Empire, as most other alien races usually destroy the previous occupants of the world.When the activity of Chaos is suspected, however, it is usually common practice for the Commissariat to refer this to the Inquisition, though commissars are empowered to deal with the situation on their own if no Inquisitorial forces are available to answer the call.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.All commissars are trained as excellent orators, and often deliver stirring speeches to their regiment or company prior to battle. During battle, the commissar is almost always amongst the front lines, and roars a litany of battle cries and prayers to the Emperor to inspire their troops to battle. This often leads to friendly rivalries between the commissar and any priest of the Ecclesiarchy present, as both will constantly try to outdo each other with both stirring speeches and demonstrations of valour meant to motivate the troops.Another of the commissar's duties is to keep a watchful eye on any psyker under their care. Astropaths and Sanctioned Psykers attached to the Astra Militarum are trained to use their powers and are "in theory" capable of controlling them, but commissars are trained to watch out for any signs of possible Warp taint and Daemonic possession (gibbering, foaming, sleepwalking, revulsed eyes, etc.).Whenever this happens, the commissar will swiftly step in and execute the psyker with a point-blank shot to the head. While this policy has led to many unnecessary executions of the Astra Militarum's corps of Sanctioned Psykers, the commissar never hesitates; it is better to kill an "innocent" than to be faced with the fury of a newborn Daemonhost.