| Officio Prefectus (Commissariat) | |
| |
| Parent Agency | Departmento Munitorum |
| Headquarters | Terra |
| Armed Forces | Commissars |
| Established | 014.M31 (as the Command Prefectus[4]) |
The Commissariat, also known as the Officio Prefectus[3], is a branch of the Departmento Munitorum overseeing the activities of the Commissar officer corps within the Astra Militarum.[1]
Overview
The Commissariat has its origins as the Command Prefectus, a security organization formed from Imperial Army personnel in the final stages of the Horus Heresy. Created on the eve of the Siege of Terra at the order of the Imperial Fists Master of Huscarls Archamus, it was designed to maintain security within the Imperial Palace and other loyalist strongholds on Terra during the Traitor assault. Its members wore black trench coats with red trim.[4]
By the 41st Millennium, the Commissariat attaches Commissars to most Regiments of the Imperial Guard to inspire its men, boost morale, and if necessary take control when its commanders or soldiery are demonstrating a lack of zeal or competency. The Commissariat also recruits potential Commissars from the Ecclesiarchy's Schola Progenium then trains them for their duties within the Guard.[1]
The Commissariat maintains an Intelligence Directory, overseen by a Director at the Sector level.[5]
Fleet Commissariat
The Imperial Navy also operates a corps of Commissars, known as the Fleet Commissariat. These officers perform the same function as their Imperial Guard counterparts.[2]
See also
Sources
- 1: Dark Heresy Core Rulebook, pg. 260
- 2: White Dwarf 352, pg. 32
- 3: Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) - The Schola Progenium
- 4: The End and the Death: Volume I (Novel) - 1:xxiv
- 5: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book), 2nd Edition, pg. 188
