The Political Officer: Difference between revisions

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Oh oh oh!''|''[[Falco]]'' ([[Covered Up|via]] ''[[After The Fire]]'').}}

The Political Officer is an officer attached to a unit, usually outside the regular chain of command. His job is to ensure that the regular soldiers and officers follow the orders of the government. In essence, this is another method of civilian control of the military.

'''The Political Officer''' is an officer attached to a unit, usually outside the regular chain of command. His job is to ensure that the regular soldiers and officers follow the orders of the government. In essence, this is another method of civilian control of the military.

The existence of such a post is usually evident that there is significant mistrust of the military by the government. This could be depicted as the evil military being a threat to the legitimate government, with the political officers as the good guys restraining them (or preventing them from fleeing and surrendering to the enemy). However, the far more common depiction is for the government to be a repressive [[Evil Empire]], and the military to be a less than willing participant in the more repressive actions of the government. In this instance the Political Officer's job it is to [[Big Brother Is Watching|keep an eye on other officials]] and watch for politically [[The Evils of Free Will|incorrect behavior or thought crimes]]. He might double as a member of the [[Secret Police]] or the [[Culture Police]].

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Often wears a [[Commissar Cap]]. See also [[The Inquisitor General]].

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=== ~~'''~~Examples~~:'''~~ ===

=== Examples ===

== Anime and Manga ==

* Muruta Azrael from ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' serves this role on the ''Dominion''. While officially just an "observer" from some committee, he's in fact head of the Blue Cosomos terrorist group. He's really there to make sure his plans go right, even undermining the ship's Captain.

** In ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' Rey Za Burrel plays a similar, though more subdued role on the ''Minerva'', keeping the ~~crew--and~~ particularly ~~Shinn--on~~ the track that Chairman Durandal wants them on.

** In ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' Rey Za Burrel plays a similar, though more subdued role on the ''Minerva'', keeping the crew—and particularly Shinn—on the track that Chairman Durandal wants them on.

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== Tabletop Games ==

* Commissars in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' are [[Badass Longcoat|longcoat-wearing]] political officers attached to [[Badass Normal|Imperial]] [[Redshirt Army|Guard]] armies and [[Space Navy|Imperial Navy]] ships. Interestingly, they feature elements of both the "eastern" and "western" stereotypes in that they are inspirational badasses who are calm under fire and lead by example, but can and will mercilessly shoot soldiers who fail to meet their stringent standards. One or the other angle can be emphasised [[Depending on the Writer]] - minor character commissars are more likely to be [[Bad Boss~~|Bad Bosses~~]], while [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]] fits the "benevolent commissar" mold, and [[Ciaphas Cain]] is a pure pragmatist who has caught on to the fact that overzealous commissars [[Unfriendly Fire|tend to die in combat suspiciously far from the front line]].

* Commissars in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' are [[Badass Longcoat|longcoat-wearing]] political officers attached to [[Badass Normal|Imperial]] [[Redshirt Army|Guard]] armies and [[Space Navy|Imperial Navy]] ships. Interestingly, they feature elements of both the "eastern" and "western" stereotypes in that they are inspirational badasses who are calm under fire and lead by example, but can and will mercilessly shoot soldiers who fail to meet their stringent standards. One or the other angle can be emphasised [[Depending on the Writer]] - minor character commissars are more likely to be [[Bad Boss]]es, while [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]] fits the "benevolent commissar" mold, and [[Ciaphas Cain]] is a pure pragmatist who has caught on to the fact that overzealous commissars [[Unfriendly Fire|tend to die in combat suspiciously far from the front line]].

** Catachans, being fiercely independent badass jungle fighter Ramboes, even have a special rule ("Oops, sorry sir!") in which if a commissar is attached to them, you must roll before the game starts to find out whether or not he suffered an "unfortunate accident".

** Most [[Badass]] of them all is Commissar Sebastian J. Yarrick. He lost an arm in battle with an Ork Warboss and retorted by ''decapitating the Warboss'', only "allowing himself the luxury of passing out" after the battle was won. He then had the Warboss's Power Klaw converted into a prosthetic for his own missing arm, powered (presumably) by the sheer badass he radiates. The Orks have immortalized him in fearful legends, believing that he cannot be killed and that a single glance from him brings death. On hearing the latter part of this legend, Yarrick decided that if the Orks believed he had an evil eye, the by the Emperor he would HAVE an evil eye. He then proceeded to PLUCK OUT HIS OWN EYE AND HAVE IT REPLACED WITH A LASER-SHOOTING BIONIC EYE. The short version? This man makes ''Orks'' wet themselves.

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[[Running Gag|* BLAM!* ]]

[[Running Gag|* BLAM!*]]