Commissioned members of the military (8)
I believe the answer is:
officers
'commissioned members of the military' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for officers that I've seen before include "Persons with authority" , "They hold positions of authority or command" , "Commissioned members of the military" , "Policemen" , "Those elected or appointed to positions of trust" .)