Warrant Officer (United States)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United States military, a Warrant Officer is ranked as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks, as well as officer cadets and candidates, but below the grade of O-1 (NATO: OF-1). Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers, and while the ranks are authorized by Congress, each branch of the Uniformed Services selects, manages, and utilizes warrant officers in slightly different ways. Upon the initial appointment to Warrant Officer 1, a warrant is given by the secretary of the service, and upon promotion to Chief Warrant Officer 2, they are commissioned by the President of the United States, taking the same oath and receiving the same commission and charges as commissioned officers, thus deriving their authority from the same source.

Warrant officers can and do command detachments, units, activities, vessels, aircraft, and armored vehicles as well as lead, coach, train, and counsel subordinates. However, the Warrant Officer's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert, providing valuable skills, guidance, and expertise to commanders and organizations in their particular field.

Warrant officers in the U.S. military, garner the same customs and courtesies as commissioned officers and are given the proper salute by junior ranking warrant officers and all enlisted service members.

Contents 1 Navy 1.1 Background 1.2 Expansion 2 Army 2.1 Background 2.2 Ranks 3 Coast Guard 4 Marine Corps 5 Air Force 5.1 Flight Officer 6 Insignia 7 References 8 External links 9 See also

[edit] Navy

Officers of the US Navy Unrestricted Line Officer Restricted Line Officer Staff Officer Limited Duty Officer Chief Warrant Officer List of Naval Officer Designators

In the Navy, Warrant Officers have traditionally been the technical experts whose skills and knowledge were an essential part of the proper operation of the ship.^[1] Navy CWOs serve in 30 specialties covering 5 categories. Navy Chief Warrant Officers are technical officer specialists who perform duties that require expertise and commissioned officer authority to direct technical operations in a given occupational area. Chief Warrant Officers should not be confused with Limited Duty Officers. They perform duties that are technically oriented, that is, requiring skills directly related to previous enlisted service and specialized training, while not significantly affecting their ability to perform those duties through advancement to other duty positions and responsibilities—--allowing the Navy to capitalize on their experience.^[2] Sailors must have been a senior non-commissioned officer (E-7 through E-9) to gain the commission.

[edit] Background

Based on the British model that was in place until 1949, the Navy has had warrant officers among its ranks, in some form or another, since December 23, 1775, when John Berriman received a warrant to act as purser aboard the brigantine, the USS Andrea Doria. That warrant was considered a patent of trust and honor but was not considered a commission to command. Since this first appointment, Navy and Coast Guard Warrant Officers have held positions as surgeons, master mates, boatswains, carpenters, and chaplains.^[1] While the United States, lacking an aristocracy, never needed to address the issues underlying the founding of warranted officers in the British Royal Navy, a similar issue of rank -- that is, highly competent senior non-commissioned officers reporting to inexperienced junior officers -- gave rise to special status to the Navy's Chief Warrant Officers. They have an explicit mission to train junior Naval officers (ensign through lieutenant).

In 1975, the Navy stopped utilizing the grade of Warrant Officer (W-1). All CWOs in the Navy are now CWO-2 through CWO-5 and managed by billets appropriate for each rank.

[edit] Expansion

As of 2006 the Navy started a test program called the "Flying Chief Warrant Officer Program" for pilots and naval flight officers. Enlisted sailors in the grades E-5 through E-7 who have at least an associate's degree and are not currently serving in the diver, master-at-arms, nuclear, SEAL, SWCC or EOD communities are eligible to apply. Upon being commissioned as CWO2s, selectees will undergo warrant officer indoctrination and then flight school for 18 to 30 months; after completion of flight school, will be placed in one of four types of squadrons: anti-submarine, combat support, patrol or reconnaissance. The pilots and naval flight officers will be trained to operate P-3s, EP-3s and E-6s; for helicopter squadrons bringing in warrant officer pilots, will be trained to operate H-60s. The program will be evaluated until 2011 when the last of the "flying chief warrant officers" are expected to report to their squadrons. They will be barred from operating tactical aircraft, such as F/A-18s and S-3s. ^[3]

[edit] Army

The Army Warrant Officer is a technical expert, combat leader, trainer, and advisor. The purpose of the Army WO is to serve in specific positions which require greater longevity than the billet duration of commanders and other staff officers. The duration of these WO assignments result in increased technical expertise as well as the leadership and management skills that make them so effective for the Army.

Army Warrant Officers serve as technical and tactical experts and leaders in 45 basic WO Military Occupational Specialties.^[4] They serve in 15 branches of the service,^[5] spanning the Active service, the Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve. They also serve at every level from section to the upper echelons of the Department of the Army.

[edit] Background

The Army Warrant Officer program began with the Headquarters Clerk in 1896.^[6] Although originally viewed as a civilian, Army Judge Advocate General review designated them as members of the military. Since that time, the position of WO in the Army has been refined as both technical expert and leader.

There are two types of Warrant Officers currently in the US Army: Technicians and Aviators. Technicians are experts in their field and must be prior enlisted in the rank of Sergeant(E-5) or above to qualify to become a Warrant Officer. The Aviation field is open to anyone military or civilian who meets the physical requirements, passes the Flight Aptitude Selection Test and other stringent requirements. This is the "High School to Flight School" program that does not require a college degree and is offered only by the US Army. After selection to the Warrant Officer program, candidates attend the Army's Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS), which is collocated with the Warrant Officer Career Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon graduation, Technical WO's attend training at their respective branch's Warrant Officer Basic Course where they learn advanced subjects in their technical area before moving on to their assignments in the Army. Aviation Warrant Officers attend a several month long Flight School along with the Warrant Officer Basic Course. Upon completion they are rated in a helicopter and receive the Aviator Badge "Wings" and assignment.

Regardless of rank, Army Warrant Officers are officially addressed as either Sir, Ma'am, Mr. or Ms., although the informal and technically incorrect "Chief" is widely used.

[edit] Ranks

Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)

• Appointed by warrant from the Secretary of the Army, WO1s are technically and tactically focused officers who perform the primary duties of technical leader, trainer, operator, manager, maintainer, sustainer, and advisor. In 2007, legislation was proposed by the Department of Defense for consideration by Congress that would result in WO1s being commissioned by the President of the United States. No date has been confirmed for the proposed change.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2)

• CW2s become commissioned officers by the President of the United States. They are intermediate-level technical and tactical experts who perform increased duties and responsibilities at the detachment through battalion levels.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3)

• CW3s are advanced-level experts who perform the primary duties of a technical and tactical leader. They provide direction, guidance, resources, assistance, and supervision necessary for subordinates to perform their duties. They primarily support operations levels from team or detachment through brigade.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4)

• CW4s are senior-level experts in their chosen field, primarily supporting battalion, brigade, division, corps, and echelons above corps operations. They typically have special mentorship responsibilities for other WOs and provide essential advice to commanders on WO issues.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5)

• CW5s are master-level experts that support brigade, division, corps, echelons above corps, and major command operations. They provide leader development, mentorship, advice, and counsel to Warrant Officers and branch officers. CW5s have special Warrant Officer leadership and representation responsibilities within their respective commands.

[edit] Coast Guard

The warrant officers in the Coast Guard may be found in command of smaller stations and some vessels and as specialists and supervisors in other technical areas. They wear insignia essentially like that of their Navy counterparts, but add the USCG shield between the rank insignia and the specialty mark, as Coast Guard commissioned officers do with their rank insignia. Candidates for Chief Warrant Officer must be a senior non-commissioned officer (E-7 through E-9), or an E-6 in the top 50% of the promotion list to E-7. The Coast Guard does not use the rank of Warrant Officer (WO1). While the Coast Guard has been authorized use of the W-5 grade, to date, it has not done so.

[edit] Marine Corps

The Marine Corps has warranted officers since 1916 as technical specialists who perform duties that require extensive knowledge, training and experience with particular systems or equipment. Marine warrant officers are selected from the ranks of non-commissioned officers and given additional training in leadership and management. The duties Marine warrant officers typically fulfill are those that would normally call for the authority of a commissioned officer, however, require an additional level of technical proficiency and practical experience that a commissioned officer would not have had the opportunity to achieve.

An enlisted Marine can apply for the Warrant Officer program after serving at least eight years of enlisted service, and reaching the grade of E-5 (Sergeant) for the administrative warrant officer program and E-7 (Gunnery Sergeant) for the weapons warrant officer program. If the Marine NCO is selected, he or she is given additional training in leadership and management.

While Marine warrant officers may often be informally referred to as "gunner", this title is actually reserved for a special category of chief warrant officer known as the "Marine Gunner," or "Infantry Weapons Officer." These Marines serve as the senior weapons specialists in an infantry unit, advising the commanding officer and his staff on the proper use and deployment of the current Marine infantry weapon systems. The title "Gunner" is almost always used in lieu of a rank (i.e., "Gunner Smith" as opposed to "Chief Warrant Officer Smith"), and the rank insignia worn on the left collar or shoulder is replaced with a "bursting bomb", similar to the insignia inside the rank chevrons of a Master Gunnery Sergeant.

[edit] Air Force

The United States Air Force no longer employs warrant officers. The USAF inherited warrant officer ranks from the Army at its inception in 1947, but their place in the Air Force structure was never made clear. When Congress authorized the creation of two new senior enlisted ranks in 1958, Air Force officials privately concluded that these two new "super grades" could fill all Air Force needs then performed at the warrant officer level, although this was not publicly acknowledged until years later. The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in 1959,^[2] the same year the first promotions were made to the new top enlisted grade, Chief Master Sergeant. Most of the existing Air Force warrant officers entered the commissioned officer ranks during the 1960s, but tiny numbers continued to exist for the next 21 years.

The last active duty Air Force warrant officer, CWO-4 James H. Long, retired in 1980 and the last Air Force Reserve warrant officer, CWO-4 Bob Barrow, retired in 1992.^[2] Since then, the Air Force warrant officer ranks, while still authorized by law, are not used.

[edit] Flight Officer

During World War II, prior to becoming an independent service in 1947, the US Army Air Force created the rank of Flight Officer[1] [2], equivalent in rank and in the pay grade of "Warrant Officer Junior Grade" (today's WO1). Some of the first men who held this rank were Americans serving as Sergeant Pilots in the British Royal Air Force and were transferred to the US Army Air Force after the US entered the war. Most were later graduates of various US Army Air Force flight training programs, including pilot, navigator and bombardier ratings. A portion of each graduating class were appointed as Flight Officers while others were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants. Once reaching operational units and after gaining flying experience, many Flight Officers were later offered direct commissions as officers. With the end of WW 2 in 1945, creation of Flight Officers ceased.

[edit] Insignia

Grade and Rank	Abbreviation	Army	Air Force (discontinued)	Navy	Coast Guard	Marine Corps
W-1 Warrant Officer One	WO-1 WO1 (Army)			Discontinued 1975	N/A
W-2 Chief Warrant Officer Two	CWO-2 CW2 (Army)
W-3 Chief Warrant Officer Three	CWO-3 CW3 (Army)
W-4 Chief Warrant Officer Four	CWO-4 CW4 (Army)
W-5 Chief Warrant Officer Five	CWO-5 CW5 (Army)		N/A	Established 2002	N/A

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• DoD Almanac. The United States Military Officer Rank Insignia. United States Department of Defense.
• United States Congressional Budget Office study on Warrant and Limited Duty Officers [3] PDF
• US Army Institute of Heraldry Warrant Officer Insignia History
• United States Warrant Officer Association (USAWOA)
• Fort Bragg's USAWOA Silver Chapter
• U.S. Navy Flying Chief Warrant Officers (unofficial) Flying CWO's
• U.S. Navy Flying Chief Warrant Officers (official) Navy Flying CWO's

[edit] See also

• British and United States military ranks compared
• Comparative military ranks
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Armies Officers

v • d • e US Uniformed Services rank and rate insignia Officer Army · Navy (midshipman) · Coast Guard · Air Force · Marine Corps · Warrant Enlisted Army · Navy · Coast Guard · Air Force · Marine Corps