 Voennyi komissariat is headed by an officer called voenkom () in Russian, which is an abbreviation for "voennyi komissar" (), translated simply as "military commissar".The word commissariat, within the Military of France and the Military of Italy (and formerly in the British Army) designates services providing supplies, as well as financial and legal support to units, roughly equivalent to the Quartermasters in the US military.Officers from these services are called "commissaires" (in French), "commissari" (in Italian) and commissaries in English.