In the United States military, a
warrant officer was originally, and strictly, a highly skilled,
single-track specialty officer. Many of today's warrant officers
hold bachelor's and masterís degrees, and serve in a broader
capacity than their predecessors. Their expertise and contribution
to the U.S. military as a community is ever-increasing.
Currently, there are five different ranks authorized by Congress:
W-1 through W-5. W-5 is a relatively new addition to the rank
structure having been created by The Warrant Officer Management Act
Upon the initial appointment to W-1 a warrant is issued by the
secretary of the service, and upon promotion to chief warrant
officer (W-2 and above) they are commission by the President of the
United States, take the same oath and receive the same commission
and charges as commissioned officers, thus deriving their authority
from the same source. Despite these similarities, warrant officers
are generally not referred to as "commissioned officers" perhaps
mostly as a method of disambiguation between the two classes of
Though in theory warrant officers are specialists, in contrast to
commissioned officers who are generalists, warrant Officers may
occupy positions within the military that are normally held by more
senior commissioned officers, especially in the Navy where chief
warrant officers often fill lieutenant and lieutenant commander
billets. In fact, modern warrant officers can and do command
detachments, units, activities, and vessels as well as lead, coach,
train, and counsel subordinates. As leaders and technical experts,
they provide valuable skills, guidance, and expertise to commanders
and organizations in their particular field.
Each branch of service utilizes these ranks differently, most
notably the Air Force who no longer uses the distinction. Only a
very small percentage of the other services' officers are Warrant
Officers; therefore little is known or published concerning the
chief warrant officer, and consequently they are often misunderstood
by the un-indoctrinated.
The United States Air Force no longer employs warrant officers.
The USAF inherited warrant officer ranks from the U.S. 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 "supergrades" 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, 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, CWO4 James H. Long,
retired in 1980 and the last Air Force Reserve warrant officer, CWO4
Bob Barrow, retired in 1992. Since then, the U.S. Air Force warrant
officer ranks, while still authorized by law, are not used. The W-5
grade was authorized by Congress for use by the Air Force along with
the other armed forces, but was never used.
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. Many Army flight officers are Warrant Officers.
The Army Warrant Officer program began with the Headquarters Clerk
in 1896 . 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. Today, Army Warrant Officers serve
as technical and tactical experts and leaders in 45 basic WO
Military Occupational Specialties . They serve in 15 specialty
branches of the Army , spanning the Active service, the Army
National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve. They also serve at every
level from section or team to the upper echelons of the Army.
Most Warrant Officers begin as enlisted, where they gain their
initial levels of technical expertise and knowledge of the Army's
systems. The exception is the Aviation WO who has no comparable
enlisted specialty, and so draws from all MOSs, all the services,
and even accepts highly qualified civilian applicants. After
selection to the Warrant Officer program, all 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, each candidate attends 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.
Regardless of rank, Army Warrant Officers are officially addressed
as either Mr. or Ms., although the informal and technically
incorrect "Chief" is widely used.
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.
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
The U.S. 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.
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. 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.
While Marine warrant officers may often be informally referred to as
"gunner", this title is actually reserved for a special category of
chief warrant officers known as the "Marine Gunner" or "Infantry
Weapons Officer", who serve in the MOS 0306. 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 for these Marines (e.g.,
"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.
Unlike the Army, Marine Warrant Officers are never referred to as
"Mister" or "Ms."
In the U.S. Navy, warrant officers are technical specialists whose
skills and knowledge were an essential part of the proper operation
of the ship. Based on the British model, the U.S. 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 brig USS Andrea Doria. That warrant was considered
a patent of trust and honor but was not considered a commission to
command. An enlistment program, called the "Chief Warrant Officer
Program" (CWO) is available to senior noncommissioned officers (E-7
through E-9), and is one of only a few ways for an enlisted member
of the US Navy to become commissioned without a 4-year college
The US Navy and US Coast Guard do not use the W-1 grade of Warrant
Officer and only the grades of Chief Warrant Officer are used (W-2
through W-5). The Navy began using W-5 in 2002
Chief Warrant Officers should not be confused with Limited Duty
The warrant officers in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) are similar to
those in the U.S. Navy, but may be found in command of smaller
stations and some boats. They wear insignia essentially like that of
their Navy equivalents, but add the USCG shield above the specialty
mark, as Coast Guard commissioned officers do with their rank
insignia. While the Coast Guard has been authorized use of the CWO5
grade, to date, it has not done so. The current ranks in the Coast
Guard are CWO2, CWO3 and CWO4.
Public Health Service
The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is planning to add
warrant officers in grades W-1 through W-4 in 2006. Addition of a
W-5 would require action by Congress, and is not anticipated at this
time. Initial specialities will include associate's degree nurses,
laboratory technicians, and paramedics. Rank insignia will be
identical to that of U.S. Navy warrant officers, with the USPHS
badge replacing the specialty insignia.