Chief warrant officer is a military rank used by the Canadian Forces and the Israel Defence Forces.
Contents |
In the Canadian Forces, a chief warrant officer or CWO is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank in the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Its equivalent rank in the Royal Canadian Navy is chief petty officer 1st class (CPO1).
A CWO is senior to the rank of master warrant officer (MWO) and its Royal Canadian Navy equivalent of chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2).
Cadets Canada uses the ranks of chief petty officer 1st class, chief warrant officer, and warrant officer 1st class respectively. This organization's uniforms use a similar Coat of Arms insignia as the Canadian Forces.
The French language form is adjudant-chef (adjuc).
The rank insignia of the CWO is similar to the Coat of Arms of Canada, worn on both forearms of the Service Dress tunic; in gold metal and green enamel miniature pins on the collar of the Service Dress shirt and outerwear coats (Army only); on CADPAT slipons worn in the middle of the chest, embroidered in tan (Army) or blue (Air Force) thread; and in gold thread on blue slip-ons on both shoulders of other uniforms (Air Force only). For whatever reason, the Canadian Forces did not update the CWO/CPO1 insignia to reflect the 1985 changes to the Coat of Arms of Canada, specifically the addition of an annulus behind the shield bearing the motto of the Order of Canada. (This would make the insignia technically incorrect.)
CWOs are generally initially addressed as "Chief Warrant Officer", and thereafter as "Sir" or "Ma'am" by subordinates; and as Mr. or Ms. by commissioned officers. If they hold the appointment of Regimental Sergeant-Major, they may also be addressed as "RSM" by the Commanding Officer. CWOs are never addressed as "Chief", this being a form of addressed reserved for Chief Petty Officers. Civilians can address them as Chief Warrant Officer or CWO or as Mr. or Ms.
CWOs may hold a number of appointments, some of which are listed below:
Special appointments or Senior Appointments for Chief Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers 1st Class entitle the incumbents to wear a modified rank badge or an addition to the rank badge. They are as follows:
Due to the unified nature of the Canadian Forces, it is not unheard-of for Royal Canadian Air Force CWOs or even Royal Canadian Navy CPO1s – especially those of the so-called "purple trades", such as logistics or military police – to find themselves filling the appointment of RSM in what are otherwise considered Canadian Army units (such as Service Battalions or Communication Regiments). Conversely, it is not impossible for a Canadian Army CWO or Royal Canadian Navy CPO1 to find themselves as the Squadron CWO of a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron.
CWOs generally mess and billet with other Warrant Officers and with Sergeants, and their Royal Canadian Navy equivalents, Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officers. Their mess on military bases or installations are generally named the "Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess".
Although NCMs, CWOs generally wear the uniform accoutrements of commissioned officers; for example, officer cap badge, waistcoat instead of cummerbund with mess kit, Sam Browne belt instead of sash for infantry, etc.
Rav nagad
insignia
IDF
In the רב-נגד Rav nagad, a Chief Warrant Officer is the most senior non-commissioned officers rank in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Because the IDF is an integrated force, they have a unique rank structure. IDF ranks are the same in all services (army, navy, air force, etc.). The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the British Mandate of Palestine period to protect the Yishuv. This origin is reflected in the slightly-compacted IDF rank structure.[2]
| IDF NCO Rank |
רב-סמל Rav samal |
רב-סמל ראשון Rav samal rishon |
רב-סמל מתקדם Rav samal mitkadem |
רב-סמל בכיר Rav samal bakhír |
רב-נגד Rav nagad |
|
| Abbreviation | רס"ל Rasal |
רס"ר Rasar |
רס"מ Rasam |
רס"ב Rasab |
רנ"ג Ranag |
|
| Corresponding Rank |
Sergeant First Class | Master Sergeant | Sergeant Major | Warrant Officer | Chief Warrant Officer | |
| Insignia | ||||||
| More details at Israel Defense Forces ranks & IDF 2011 - Ranks (idf.il, english) | ||||||