Imperial Guard Commander - Imperial Guard Commander: An Imperial Guard Commander is an officer of the Astra Militarum, also called the Imperial Guard in Low Gothic, who has come up through the rank-and-file to obtain a position of command within the Guard's strictly regimented hierarchy. These true leaders of men and women are not recruited or designated. They are instead created by circumstance, indelible spirits tempered by loss and hardship upon the fields of war.The presence of a beloved regimental leader at the forefront can mean the difference between a unit standing firm or collapsing, the troopers fighting to emulate them or simply to protect them from the enemy's attentions. The downside is that, should such an exemplar fall, a regiment's morale might be drastically affected. For this reason, the regiment's commanding officers must balance the need to take advantage of the leadership figure's abilities with the risks of that individual being slain.Often, such unlooked-for leaders as are much a thorn in the sides of ranking officers as useful tools of war in and of themselves. Some of these individuals resent the attention they receive from their comrades and their superior officers, preferring to continue their duties unnoticed, though others give themselves over to the role fate casts them in and go on to become legends that generations of recruits will admire.Given the ubiquity of conflict in the galaxy of the 41st Millennium, it is perhaps inevitable that leaders rise from the teeming masses, individuals seemingly blessed by the Emperor or the gods of war who are able to perform the most valorous of deeds and earn the most incredible of victories. These heroes are men and women drawn from the ranks of the Astra Militarum who find themselves standing at the very epicentre of war. On the actions of such individuals entire battles often turn and they inevitably become beloved totems of everything their regiment and its homeworld hold dear.Some of these natural commanders remain known only to their immediate comrades, quietly performing their duties to the Emperor and directing their squads to win victory after victory without any sign of seeking glory. Such warriors earn and receive the abiding respect, even awe, of those they serve alongside but reject any plaudits they might be offered. Such men and women seek only to serve Mankind and many are driven by a deep-seated need to protect their fellows from the horrors of war, giving sound advice and instructions to their peers.Others are bitter and taciturn and fight because they know of no other way of life. These commanders are often entirely ignorant or apathetic of the fact that their name is known across entire warzones and spoken of by the Lord Marshals of entire Imperial campaigns. The names and images of some such paragons are used in Imperial propaganda, sometimes without their knowledge or consent, and reproduced dozens of metres high accompanied by propagandistic slogans extolling the masses to emulate this shining example.Invariably, the persona propagated in this manner is almost entirely false, idealised to such a degree that few would recognise the figure if they had met them in person. Still, there are those who attain this status who can truly command the respect of those troops around them, living up to their own legend for inspirational leadership in spirit and deed.