Astra Militarum - Inquisition and the Astra Militarum: The vast armies of the Imperial Guard are drawn from the finest of the planetary regimental tithes, in which one tenth of a world's military forces are rendered up to the Imperium whenever it is demanded of them. Some worlds go generations without such a tithing being demanded, while others are drained almost dry by constant demands for troops, often depending on the world's location relative to any ongoing Imperial wars. Units pass out of the authority of whatever military institutions produced them, and become part of the vast organisation that is the Imperial Guard. Planetary militias are reformed into Imperial Guard regiments, and often locally manufactured arms and equipment are replaced with mass-produced models provided by the Officio Munitorum. New regiments are then shipped out to take part in an ongoing campaign, or sometimes despatched to garrison worlds, to provide a strategic reserve while they await their final deployments.But not all of these regiments reach the wars for which they were raised to fight. Some are instead intercepted by an Inquisitor, requisitioned for service against quite a different foe than they were intended to fight. Depending on the mission and its duration, a single squad or platoon might be detached to serve the Inquisitor, or it might be an entire company, or sometimes the entire regiment.As with their dealings with Imperial Commanders, different Inquisitors deal with such matters according to their own character. Some simply arrive at an army's high command and inform the Chief of Staff of their requirements, leaving it to the officers to deliver the requisite units. Others take entirely the opposite approach and go straight to the unit itself and inform them of their new assignment.Again, it would be a very foolish Chief of Staff that refused an Inquisitor whatever he demanded. It has been known for particularly officious staff officers to insist the Inquisitor go through the "proper" logistical channels, demanding reams of paperwork be completed. Such junior officers are usually dealt with by a nearby Commissar before they cause undue offence.Once a unit has been requisitioned, the Officio Munitorum's involvement in the matter is not necessarily at an end. If the unit is to be detached for some time, a supply chain and source of replacements for battle casualties may need to be put in place. Few Inquisitors require the services of such units for long enough for this to be a major concern however, and those that survive their missions are normally returned to the Imperial Guard at some point in the future, more or less intact.One side effect of the nature of the enemies that the Inquisition must often face is the need to contain reports about the specifics of their work. What this means is that many Imperial Guard troops who survive contact with their foe may find themselves purged as a result, lest any hint of corruption remain to be passed on. This is particularly the case when units serving the Ordo Malleus have faced the daemonic servants of the Ruinous Powers. At the conclusion of a mission, the Inquisition is not above bombing its own troops from orbit, a fate many would consider a mercy, considering what the troopers might have witnessed. Other units are fortunate enough to be mind-wiped, although this is an intensive process normally reserved for skilled troops that the Inquisitor intends to keep in his or her service and make use of again.It is not unheard of for an Inquisitor to requisition the services of an entire Imperial Guard regiment, and for the unit to be slowly whittled down over the course of its engagements. What started out as a 5,000-strong force might, within solar months, be reduced to a dozen or so grizzled veterans, able to withstand the very worst the Imperium's foes can throw their way. Sometimes, a single, scarred Guardsman standing at the side of an Inquisitor is the last survivor of an entire regiment, long since become a trusted servant, or indeed, an Acolyte in the service of the Inquisition.At times, an Inquisitor has cause to doubt the loyalty of an Imperial Guard unit, or its leader. In the vastness of the Imperium, it is entirely possible for entire regiments, even armies, to simply disappear from the orders of battle, through duplicity or error, or for them to fail to respond to orders issued from many light years away. An Inquisitor who discovers a mutinous or outright Renegade Imperial Guard unit inevitably calls upon the services of other Imperial Guard regiments to deal with the outcast. Some Inquisitors make a point of using troops raised from the same world as the Renegades to bring them to justice, taking advantage of the zealous desire to atone for the sins of their erstwhile fellows.