Commissar - Commissar Rank Structure: The following ranks can be found among the commissars of the Officio Prefectus, listed from highest-ranked to lowest.Commissar-General - Commissar-General is the senior-most rank within the Commissariat. Besides their usual duties, these highly experienced commissars are also tasked with the additional responsibilities of assigning more junior commissars under their command to overwatch Astra Militarum officers and promoting commissar cadets to full-commissar status.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.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.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.Commissar-Captain - Commissar-Captain is a rarely-seen rank that is an intermediary position between a full commissar and a commissar-general. Though the particular role of a commissar-captain is not easily defined, it has been observed that commissars who maintain this rank have been seen supervising at a regimental level.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.Junior Commissar - Junior Commissars are subordinate to full commissars, performing the role as a junior aide in the oversight of the regiment or voidship assigned to the oversight of a full commissar. They primarily perform as adjutants and in an investigatory role as well as carrying out the usual commissarial duties, although they do not have permission to perform executions without prior consent from higher-ranked officers. Junior commissars often undertake their commissarial role with smaller formations such as an individual squad, platoon or company.Cadet Commissars - Cadet Commissars are commissars-in-training. Assigned to Commissar Training Squads, they are armed and equipped with the standard gear of a regular guardsman, although they maintain their usual commissar panoply; leather long coat, gloves, jack boots, and high-peaked caps. Their uniforms only differ slightly from a full commissar by featuring blue trim and a cadet-commissar emblem instead of the usual death's head emblem of a full commissar. Their training has no set duration, and a cadet-commissar will only be graduated to full commissar status upon being deemed worthy by their superiors in the Officio Prefectus. Those that fail in their duties, but have not shown cowardice or insubordination, are relieved of their status. Commissar cadets who fail in their training can often get a commission in a Penal Battalion. Others volunteer for service in a Rogue Trader entourage. Sometimes, their destiny will be decided by the commissar-general or commissar under whom the ex-cadet trained.