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Sometimes referred to as ''tread heads'' by infantry officers, to become a tank commander an officer requires singularly obsessive focus on mastery of the art of armoured warfare. Veterans of dozens of battles and multiple wars, the average Tank Commander is a steel eyed [[Tank Ace]], commanding very best crew the [[armoured regiment]] has to offer. These grizzled guardsmen are virtually one with their machine, possessing an implicit knowledge of armoured warfare in all its forms.{{Fn|4a}}
[[Image:Tank Commander Heirarchy - Cadia A Codex Astra Militarum Supplement pg 66.jpg|thumb|right|200px|In the example of this [[Cadian Shock Troopers|Cadian]] [[Astra Militarum Battle Group|Battle Group]], a Tank Commander may be assigned overall command of the entire battle group, while a different Tank Commander has been placed in charge of three squadrons of [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]]s.{{Fn|6}}]]
The size of the formations a Tank Commander will oversee can vary, as can their actual rank within [[Imperial Guard Hierarchy]]. Examples include:
*'''Tank Squadron Commmander''' - Typically [[Lieutenant (Imperial Guard)|Lieutenants]], they oversee a '''squadron''' consisting of several tanks.{{Fn|2a}}
*'''Tank Company Commander''' - Typically [[Captain (Imperial Guard)|Captains]], they oversee an [[Astra Militarum Company#Armoured Company|armoured company]] consisting of several armoured squadrons.{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|26}}
*'''Battle Group Commander''' - Occasionally, a Tank Commander may oversee an entire [[Astra Militarum Battle Group|Battle Group]] consisting of several armoured companies.{{Fn|6}}
*'''Regimental Commander''' - Occasionally, a Tank Commander may oversee an entire [[Armoured Regiment]]. One example is [[Lord General]] [[Coron Grizmund]]{{Fn|23}}
[[Image:Russ Indirect Fire.png|thumb|right|200px| Leman Russ tanks firing indirect bombardments, as would be coordinated by a Tank Commander (and about to have an unfortunate encounter with Ork [[Kommandos]]){{Fn|11}}]]
Customarily, the HQ tank in a Tank Company will be fitted with a '''Command Cupola''' for the Tank Commander, installed with specialist equipment such as comm-link scramblers, tactical [[cogitator]]s, and uplink modules to connect with other officers in the field. These HQ tanks serve as the nerve center for an entire company, and allowing the Tank Commander to coordinate its actions even when the company is widely dispersed. While in a Command Cupola, he is able to direct the fire of up to nine other vehicles that are equipped with either [[Battle battle cannon|Battle Cannons]]s, [[Earthshaker (Cannon)|Earthshakers]], [[Heavy Mortar]]s or [[Demolisher cannon]]s, calling in the coordinates over comm-link and allowing them to elevate their guns to fire indirect bombardments over intervening terrain at any target the Tank Commander himself can see.{{Fn|11}}
In the event of an emergency, a Tank Commander is prepared to take over the position of a driver or a gunner in a vehicle in case they are slain, though they will be unable to coordinate the actions of company vehicles while doing so.{{Fn|10}}
