Posted on Jan 12, 2015
What role do Warrant Officers have in the different branches?
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In the Air Force we don't have WO's, but I try to have a basic understanding of other branches so that when I encounter them I know how they wish to be addressed, etc. (example: every Air Force NCO I've encountered has been fine with being addressed as sir or ma'am, but I've encountered Army NCO's who clearly don't like being addressed as sir or ma'am) So, what grades of WO does your branch use (I know Navy doesn't use them all)? What rank/paygrade do they have to reach before they can become a WO? How do their job duties differ from SNCO's or Officers? How does their amount of responsibility differ from SNCO's or Officers? What is the proper way to address a Warrant Officer (sir/ma'am, Chief, "hey you")? Does the term of address differ depending on their paygrade? What is the process if a WO wished to become a Commissioned Officer? And anything else that is unique to WO's in your branch? And my apologies if this is too long/too many questions.
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Warrant Officers
Warrant Officers
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 16
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In the Army the technical warrant officer is usually an NCO with a stellar performance record and a minimum E5/6 learning his field before becoming a warrant. The flight warrant on the other hand can come right off the street with no military back ground whatsoever and become a warrant. The selection rate for flight used to be 60% active duty regardless of service and was changed a few years ago in a attempt to get to an accession of 60% civilian. However recruiters don't like the time and effort it takes to produce an application for a warrant. Tale of tech versus aviation in the Army. Sir, ma'am, mister is standard with chief being usually less desired.
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
Is the goal really 60% civilian accessions? Do you know what the reason/logic for that is?
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CW5 Sam R. Baker
Keith, allow me to elaborate, not technical fields as they require prior knowledge and experience, it is the aviation branch and the reason is the attrition rate of prior NCOs with a myriad of issues.
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In the Marine Corps they are technical experts nominated and then promoted by boards from the E6 E7 range, then sent to The Basic School, just like Marine 2ndLts. They are supposed to run specialized shops and not be put in combat leadership positions regularly...but they're Marines.... so they end up there more often than not.
And you address them by their rank (but not number) and name. "Warrant Officer Smith" or "Chief Warrant Officer Jones" if you're equal or senior and "Sir or "Ma'am" if junior. Some Officers will call them by first names, but I rarely will out of respect, unless they're close friends and it's a private setting.
And you address them by their rank (but not number) and name. "Warrant Officer Smith" or "Chief Warrant Officer Jones" if you're equal or senior and "Sir or "Ma'am" if junior. Some Officers will call them by first names, but I rarely will out of respect, unless they're close friends and it's a private setting.
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CWO2 Shelby DuBois
And... the original Marine Warrant Officers were either Quartermaster or Weapons skill sets. The Quatermasters handled supply and payroll issues whereas the Weapons WO's were to be the duty expert on anything that belched metal and smoke. The weapons WO's were differentiated by a bursting bomb insignia collar device and often referred to as "Gunner". A WO was "appointed' by the Sec of Navy then "Commissioned'by the President, upon promotion to Chief Warrant Officer. With all due respect to the Naval service, never call a Marine Warrant Officer 'Chief'... While "Gunner" is used officially by bursting bomb wearing CWO's... most all Warrant Officers use the moniker these days...
Civilians are always confusing "Gunner' and "Gunny" by the way.. Thanks, Agent Gibbs.
Civilians are always confusing "Gunner' and "Gunny" by the way.. Thanks, Agent Gibbs.
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Sgt Wayne Horton
I am so happy to hear about the bursting bombs, I served under two gunners with that insignia, and they are also lifetime friends. one more note, never once go in front of a gunner without your knowledge in hand. really good advice.
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In the Marine Corps they are the epitome of leadership. They are a fountain of knowledge where all come to drink. Tellers of tales true and legend. Connoisseur's of caffeine. One whom the enlisteds trust by virtue of their past, and officers to rely on if they value their future. Ooorah. Oh...and we're humble. Very humble.
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TSgt (Join to see)
Do all MOS have potential to become WO's? Is there potential for a W to become an O?
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CWO2 Shelby DuBois
SSgt Alex Rogers ... Each year the Corps convenes a WO Selection Board. They'll determinewhat MOS's they want to fill...This year: "To apply for the WO program, applicants must be technically and professionally qualified to serve in one of the below-listed MOS(s): 0160, 0170, 0205, 0210, 0430, 0610, 0620, 0640, 0650, 0803, 1120, 1310, 1390, 2110, 2120, 2125, 2305, 2340, 2602, 2805, 3010, 3102, 3302, 3402, 3408, 3510, 4130, 4430, 4602, 5502, 5702, 5804, 5805, 5910, 5950, 5970, 6004, 6302, 6502, 6604, 6802, 7002, 7380". You should apply for one or more of the MOS's in cases where the need for the primary MOS closes out. If that happens they will automatically move you to the alternative MOS you select. The application process is just that ...a process. There is much more to it than just sending an application letter. See this link for more information. http://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/1050324/fiscal-year-2018-fy18-enlisted-to-warrant-officerwo-regular-selection-board/
The competition for selection is fierce as you might imagine.
And secondly, yes... you can go from the Warrant Officer ranks to the regular officer ranks via the LDO Program. A Limited Duty Officer is a regular officer, however, the LDO is usually restricted to billets within his technical expertise.
The competition for selection is fierce as you might imagine.
And secondly, yes... you can go from the Warrant Officer ranks to the regular officer ranks via the LDO Program. A Limited Duty Officer is a regular officer, however, the LDO is usually restricted to billets within his technical expertise.
FISCAL YEAR 2018 (FY18) ENLISTED TO WARRANT OFFICER/(WO) REGULAR SELECTION BOARD The Official...
132055Z JAN 17MARADMIN 024/17MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2017/CG MCRC QUANTICO VA//SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2018 (FY18) ENLISTED TO WARRANT OFFICER/(WO) REGULAR SELECTION BOARD//REF/A/MSGID:DOC/CMC MPP-35/YMD:20060207//REF/B/MSGID:DOC/MCRC,
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In the Navy it is appropriate to call a Warrant Officer as, Sir/Ma'am, Warrant, Mister or Miss. In the Navy you can not become a Chief Warrant Officer without first being a Chief Petty Officer (E7), Senior Chief (E8) or Master Chief (E9). The Navy does not use WO1, we start at CWO2.
In the Marine Corps, the are called Sir/Ma'am or Gunner.
From Navy History & Heritage Command
http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/triv4-5n.htm
An article from few years ago,
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=61818
In the Marine Corps, the are called Sir/Ma'am or Gunner.
From Navy History & Heritage Command
http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/triv4-5n.htm
An article from few years ago,
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=61818
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CPT Lawrence Cable
In reality though, Limited Duty Officer is closer to what the Army and Marines call Warrant Officers as far as I can tell, they just get paid better.
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In order to muddy the waters a bit, the Marine Corps also has a Warrant Officer that only wears their rank insignia on their right collar, the left collar has a black "bursting bomb" you can call them and only them "Gunner". They are Infantry Weapons Officers, arguably the most esteemed rank in the Marine Corps.
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The Coast Guard and Navy are very similar except you can also apply to WO from E6 if you're above the 50% cut on the CPO promotion list. It's rare but it does happen. CWOs in the Coast Guard are both Tech Experts in their field and can command small cutters or stations. My XO in Afghanistan was a CWO.
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From my own experience they prefer to be called Chief more than anything. Sir is better than calling them Mister so and so. Ive met pilots who went to flight school after putting in a packet as an E4. As long as they show great potential for leadership;they can put in a packet for flight. Walking warrants must have a certain amount of time in their current job field to specialize as warrant officers for their particular job. Warrant officers can also have command positions. They do just as good or even better than some commissioned officers in that type of role. Whenever I did a tasking or a mission with any warrant officer they always tried to make sure I was taken care of by paying for my meal. You take care of them,they look after you.They never forget their roots.
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
I personally don't like being called "Chief" and have never met a fellow aviator/pilot that prefers that. I think this is one of the biggest differences between the pilot side and the tech side of the cohort. I agree with you though that generally Tech WO's prefer being called "Chief" rather than "Mr./Ms." so-and-so. All that being said though, you can never go wrong with Sir/Ma'am.
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CW3 Kevin Storm
CW4 Keith Dolliver - Why is that, I have never heard an Aviator explain why they don't prefer that?
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
While you are correct that technically only W-2's and above are "Chiefs", in general you can use the term for any Warrant Officer in the Army. This is generally just something that Tech WO's prefer though. I personally don't like being called "Chief" and I can't say I've ever met another pilot that prefers being called Chief. That being said though, just realize that the term "Chief" in general is a colloquial one, you won't find that anywhere in any Army reg. AR 600-20 specifies that the Title of Address for any grade of Warrant Officer, W1-W5, is Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms.
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CW3 (Join to see)
Being a technical Warrant Officer rather than a pilot, I can back up what my esteemed colleague has said. I do prefer 'Chief', though it's unofficial, but I'm not a pilot and never will be.
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CW3 (Join to see)
CW3 (Join to see) - The push at WOCS now is to refer to all WO's as Sir/Ma'am it seems. In fact, in regulation "Chief" is not an actual term to "officially" address a Warrant Officer of any grade. It is a more informal term. I personally don't mind it, but see it as the equivalent of calling a 1SG "Top."
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Originally, yes, the Air Force DID have Warrant Officers. From 1947-1958, warrant officers did operate, but the the Air Force did not know how to use them, so they did away with them creating the senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant in their place. Since I served in both the Air Force and Army, I did rub elbows with aviation and maintenance warrant officers. They can tend to be arrogant and humble at the same time. I came against a maintenance WO once, when he told us to change out an engine on a truck that came back a third time for a front oil seal leak. They thought it was a bent crankshaft. I questioned who did the work and found out the same person had installed the seal twice before wrong. I got into it and corrected the install: it never came back for that problem. But, not long after that, I was transferred to a contact team. I guess I was a seen as a bit of a rebel, as I did what was right, not what cost the military needless money. Oh, I got a chance to look at what a rebuilt engine was going to cost: $15,000 approximately. I got no recognition for saving the military that money. LMAO, oh well!
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Additional question if anyone still follows, does every rate/MOS have Warrant Officers, or only certain career fields?
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CW3 (Join to see)
No only fields deemed to have a need for single-track specialty officers (in other words, officers with the Subject-Matter-Expertise of an NCO in a particular field and the authority of a commissioned officer). Another example would be Army Aviators who can focus simply on flying as opposed to having a need to progressively gain progressively higher levels of leadership/command roles. This also allows Warrant Officers to have more longevity in units, which is also of extreme benefit.
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