Imperial Guard Commander - Training: Such natural leaders of men and women are neither recruited nor trained into the role. Rather, they are born in the fires of war, their parent being adversity and their drill instructor necessity. A commander could be any guardsman in a regiment, from a line trooper to a staffer. They could be a skilled warrior or one more used to polishing the silver in the officer's mess than wielding a lasgun in battle.Fate and the Emperor care little for status, prior service or any other factor. Rather, when duty calls, those foreordained to rise to the occasion do so regardless, often simply responding to circumstance and unaware of the ramifications of their actions. Given that the galaxy of the 41st Millennium is riven with war, and that the Astra Militarum is embroiled in a constant state of conflict, what sort of conduct might raise an individual trooper above their fellows so that they come to be recognised, by their comrades and by their superiors, as a leader of soldiers?Junior and non-commissioned officers might come to be regarded as exemplars such as this by serving as a continuous inspiration to their troops. When the situation looks desperate and the only alternative to being overrun is to flee and be gunned down by the commissars, it takes a very special individual to inspire the beleaguered troops to stand firm. Such leaders exist seemingly independent of, or even in spite of, the chain of command. They have an ability to say the right thing, shout the right battle cry, invoke the right Imperial Saint or give the right order, and all at the most opportune moment. Men and women take heed of such natural leaders and come to trust them, knowing that, with them nearby they are safe.Other warriors become examples by performing some deed that appears to those that witness it to be all but impossible. They charge enemy positions armed with nothing more than a bayonet and somehow rout many times their own number. They weather a hail of lasgun blasts or walk unscathed through hails of shrapnel. They take enemy positions single-handed, capturing heavy weapons that would otherwise have been capable of gunning down scores of troops.Conversely, some figures of inspiration are the sole survivors of their units, their wounds evidence that they kept fighting right up the end and were left for dead by their enemy. Such heroes are looked to as an example that even when events appear dire indeed it is possible for a trooper to do their duty to the Emperor and to be blessed with survival. Of course, the regimental commissars are always sure to ascertain that the survivor's wounds were all to the fore, for anything else would lead them to the conclusion that they were wounded whilst fleeing and therefore undeserving of any positive recognition.Having been hailed as an archetype for others to follow, the individual might be rewarded for their deeds with all manner of medals, citations, and awards, but in truth many, often the most worthy, care the least for such things. Most true leaders act in the way they do out of duty to their comrades and faith in the Emperor, often uncaring or even resentful of the multitudinous layers in between. While the exemplar might know their regiment's commanding officer by name they are unlikely to have spoken to them before, until the mantle of leadership is conferred, formally or otherwise.Then the unwilling hero might find themselves required to attend parades where they must carry the regimental banner at the head of rank upon rank of their fellow troopers. They might be expected to attend the officer's mess as a guest of honour, to dine upon delicacies the likes of which they have never tasted before and to sip wines so rare they could never hope to purchase a single bottle. They are decorated with glittering medals and flowing ribbons, most of which they were unaware of before earning them and have no wish to wear in front of their comrades.In short, most such Imperial heroes are unwilling ones, their status often used to the advantage of their commanding officers as just another tool to manipulate the troops' morale. Only in those regiments drawn from cultures where matters of class and status are entirely irrelevant are these leaders allowed to continue their existence as before, and such regiments are sadly often few and far between in the Imperium of Man.