Here is a suggestion, why Navy Captains outrank Army Captains. My theory is Captain used to be a title of any commander. However when army units got larger like regiments and divisions they just created a higher rank whereas when ships became larger the billit Captain just took on the larger responsibilities.
Half of my unit was Warrant Officers. Either they were pilots or "weapons" maintenance specialist. Not saying we didn't have enlisted 55G's but most that did that job were Warrants.
I worked with a support staff WO in a Cobra unit once, and he was every bit of a warrant officer. Subject Matter Uber Nerd. Rest was just a bunch of premadonna pilots.
An LT or even a Cpt might outrank a CW2/CW3 but push come to shove the battalion commander is going to side with the Chiefs almost every single time. And a nickname for a CW5 is Chief god, because absolutely nobody short of a 3/4 start is going to tell them no.
Similarly my CW4 OIC told an O4 Major to back off and leave me. (a spec 4, not in uniform,) alone while I was working on a down piece of crypto equipment. My OIC didn't want to have to report to DIRNSA why our circuit was offline.
When I served as a Warrant Officer, Flying Attack AH-1s and AH-64s, the best explanation we had for differentiating between Warrants and Commissioned Officers was, A Commissioned Officer is a mile wide and an inch deep, whereas a Warrant is an inch wide and a mile deep. Meaning a Warrant is a Specialist in their field and a regular officer can be placed in any unit and expected to run it.
after Viet Nam, men who were excellent commissioned pilots often had difficulty learning to command combat arms companies, which hurt their career chances
As a ah-1s crew chief I always thought the warrant officers were the cool guys that got to fly and comm officers were the frat boys that flew but had additional command duties that would keep them flying. In the end the warrants were my favorite
OK... I listened to the entire video because I have never heard an explanation that made sense, and this video was just too full of facts and dates and noise, and basically made it more confusing. YOUR explanation, in four seconds... made sense. Thank you! Crazy part is I am a Vet and I could never get a plausible response while I served as to what these in betweenness were for and how to become one. I knew they ran their own game and antagonized the sensibilities of both E's and Os... thanks!
I was in the Marine Corps, 1969-1973. Most of the WO's I was ever around were mustanger's. Once saw a butter-bar Lt try to dress-down an old WO. It didn't end well for the butter-bar.
@@paladin50554 Some of the flight warrants do high school to flight school programs of sort. Some are prior enlisted. Then there are a very select few I've came across that went E3, then commission and made it to 03, then went warrant. A little confused on it, but some have. Also, while in the high school to flight school programs, I believe they are paid in the E5 grade (not completely sure anymore being that some who have rolled out of the program came in as a SGT/E5.
Absolutely true for the Corps. Last I checked when I was considering staying in (2012ish) it was at least 5yrs TIS, and E-5 - E-7 to even apply. Not sure if it was ever put out officially, but there were rumblings that the Corps was going to tighten the requirements up some in the recent past/near future.
The CWO-5 that was the subject matter expert for the motor transport MOS school at Camp Johnson when I was in the Corps was a Major that was frozen at O-4 for having the filthiest mouth in the US military. In order to stay in he had to accept a transition to the Chief Warrant Officers ranks.
Pretty accurate. Standard commissioned officers do have 4 subtypes, the ROTC hazard, the OCS hard charger, the mustangs, and the warrant officer. Today Warrant Officers generally get more than, or equal to, the respect of a "mustang" (a previously enlisted, who later becomes a commissioned officer through ROTC or OCS), WO's do seem limited in the jobs available as compared to an ROTC butter bar who, when equipped with a compass, becomes the most dangerous thing on the battlefield...to the men serving under them. I will say the "pucker factor" of a warrant officer inspecting some aspect of your unit is actually higher than a "full bird" doing the same. The Warrant officer generally has more been there done that T-shirts than your average enlisted or other commissioned officers, and knows what they're talking about, either through experience, or they're, and this may be a stereotype that is true only via my subjective observations, are the types who have read every manual the military offers, and committed that information to an SSD hard drive located somewhere in their cerebellum. Special note: Any "inspections" by a rank above the "full bird", generally are solely pomp and circumstance, ceremonious, and result in the highest amount of injuries due to people passing out while standing at attention or parade rest for extended periods. This takes place most commonly while waiting for the thing to get started. The General officer will not even pause when a skull bounces off the deck, while thanking their wife, kids, and of course, their dog, for providing them the support to be where they are today. Thank you for your service, Mr Fluffles.
@@doc325 I had to laugh when you mentioned the General Officer not even pausing when someone passes out from standing at attention or parade rest for extended periods of time. I used to stand at parade rest in the boiling sun with the sweat running down my back and soaking my shirt while some self-important brass droned on about patting themselves and their entire extended family and all of their friends and subordinates for their love and support that led the brass to greatness. SMACK. Another man hits the deck. Here's a helpful tip - If you're ever standing at attention or parade rest for a long time don't lock your knees. Keep them bent and you're less likely to pass out! At ease!
@@doc325 well put. Every time I had to unfugg a problem caused by the bureaucracy in the Marine Corps airwing, I found the CWO in supply. That man could fix the system, and ghost/miracle/skillfully aquire the parts I needed to fix a piece of gear. Never bother anyone above Captain, don't waste your time with the LT, just find the CWO, he'll set you straight. I think I learned that on my first week in the fleet.
I became an Army WO helicopter pilot in the Vietnam era under the Warrant Officer Candidate program. We were E-5s for pay purposes and received our warrants upon graduation from the program. Aviation warrant officers are the backbone of US Army Aviation serving as line pilots, instructors, aviation maintenance officers, safety officers.
There were several noteable things to me when I transitioned from an E-6 to a WO-1 in the Army National Guard. When I was first appointed, I remember passing a group of soldiers on break in an outside courtyard, with their hats off. I passed this E-8, who never would have given me the time of day as an E-6, and he gave me this slight nod of the head in respect. Second, I couldn't disappear into the mass of enlisted soldiers like I could as an E-6. I was one of the few warrant officers in my unit, so everyone knew who I was. Third, there are only so many warrant officer positions in a given state. As an enlisted soldier, I could move around to a variety of units. Once I became a warrant officer, there was only one unit in each of the two states I lived in that had a slot for my MOS (career specialty). No one ever tells you that in advance. In spite of that, it was a very good career move and I'm very happy to have done it. This was something I had wanted for a while and it was very fulfilling to have finally made it. Commissioned officers will listen to a warrant officer in a way they would never listen to an enlisted soldier, and that's important after you've had a number of years in service.
Good story and congrats. However: "Commissioned officers would never listen to enlisted soldiers the way they listen to Warrants". I guess this applies "generally" to E1,E2,E3,E4,E5 and E6. E7 is a little different though and I do not only mean the PSG and PL 2LT-relationship. E8 is also a different story. Especially when he is in a 1SG-slot. E9.... Well... Some CSM won't even listen to O3 Captains as they are mostly around LTCs, COLs, BGs and higher. There are many seasoned officers who listen more to average E9s than to average 1LTs or WO1 or CW2s.
@@harcomou8395 Good point. I was speaking from my own personal experience. I've also seen the deference given to an infantry battalion CSM by one of the 2LT platoon leaders. I doubt there's any company commander out there who wouldn't take seriously a warning or admonition (respectfully delivered) by a battalion CSM.
@@josephryan9230 Yes. And also I think this can in some instances include E8 Master Sergeants. By the way: What is your opinion on using one rank for 4 ranks ? You call a Lieutenant Commander and Commander "Commander". You call a Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel "Colonel". You call a 1LT and 2LT "Lieutenant". All fine with me. But AR 670-1 makes you use "Sergeant" for not 2 or 3 but 4 ranks. Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, SFC and Master Sergeant. All just Sergeant. Taking into account how hard it is to make E8 I think they should revise it. What do you think?
@@harcomou8395 That's an interesting question. I've always felt that "colonel" and "lieutenant colonel" were a little too close to one another, since LTCs are typically addressed as "colonel," rather than "lieutenant colonel." Yeah - the E-5 to E-7 ranks are typically blurred together, with everyone being called "sergeant." So, when someone makes E-8, that seems to continue, unless they make First Sergeant. When my NCOIC went from E-7 to E-8 (master sergeant), I still called him "sergeant." This is not the same with the Marines, who address the full rank. As an E-6, Marines would call me "staff sergeant," while my fellow soldiers would call me "sergeant." I can certainly see the frustration of going through all of the work to make E-8, but still being addressed as "sergeant." Changing it would likely require the Army to have a more rigid delineation between NCO ranks, both in title and role.
@@harcomou8395 Well...RLOs might listen to that 1SG/SGM/CSM when it comes to “Soldier issues” more so than a WO, however, when it comes to operational considerations specific their trade, I’ve never seen an RLO disregard a WO’s counsel. Every NCO I’ve ever interacted with that was a candidate to be recruited into the WO Corps, yet who did not want to do so, always had their reason as “I just love taking care of Soldiers.” Whereas, those that did want to become WOs were far more motivated to refine their craft as a technical experts and are recognized as such by their RLO counterparts.
I have a friend who flew helicopter gunships in Viet Nam. He decided to give up on this military career for the sake of his family and left as a Major. He missed flying and joined a National Guard helicopter unit in the only flying slot available as a WO2. He raised some captains eyebrows during a class A uniform inspection when he stood at attention wearing the only cover he had which bore scrambled eggs on the bill. It became obvious he was the only one in this troop who knew what the Hell he was doing and he ended up with his majors commission reenstated and put in command of the unit. He retired a full Colonel. What a colorful character.
I saw a CW5 once. He yelled at me because my soldier (I was an E5) was refueling a gun truck at the fuel point while the engine was running. I explained to him that due to a maintenance deficiency, the truck would die if I shut it down, and it was an emergency and didn't have time to jump it again. He didn't care. But by the time he was done yelling at me, the truck was already refueled though. So I left. Nothing happened afterwards.
I spent almost 31 years in service. The last 16 as a Warrant. I was proud to say I was a Working Warrant. Best job I ever had. The only regret was not going Warrant sooner. Very good lesson in the history. Good job.👍
I learned so much from CW3 Thomas…. I messed up a lot but he always had a good lesson to teach; one of the few warrants to take time and explain things….. I will always remember the time a CSM came in to the office and and wanted me to call at ease(with my back to the door)…. Chief calmly told him that nobody was to call at ease or salute inside the office; CSM started to scream and chief calmly told him to take it up with brigade…..
I was a walking warrant - MI. At Corps level, we had 7 Warrant Officers - 1 German Voice Intercept, 1 Russian Voice Intercept, 2 Morse Code Intercept, 1 Non Morse Intercept, and 2 Analysis and Reporting Techs (352C - one was me)
During an inspection of our ship, a senior chief was making a list of “hits” of spaces. Our warrant officer saw the list of hits and found the SC. He asked the senior chief to provide documentation for which code covers these violations, when the senior couldn’t he was escorted off the ship and told not to return. The WO contacted the base to inform them that their inspectors were undereducated for their position and “making decisions based on opinion, in accordance with their own egos.” That guy was a badass.
A common nickname for a CW5 is Chief God. Outside the flight community, they report directly to 3 & 4 stars typically. And usually only one or two for an entire branch.
I had a CW3 explain it like this. "When the shit hits than fan this is what happens. The officers decide the shit has indeed hit the fan, and they call in the enlisted men who clean the shit off the fan. Then they call us we are fan repair. We don't have to make decisions and we don't have to handle any shit."
When I was 19 and in the army, I walked past an older gentleman leaving the office I was going into. We always practiced walking past officers and addressing them but this guy had stars across his shoulders and I froze! I just said hi or something as he passed and he stopped me. He was super polite but he said let’s try this again. I went back and walked past him again, saluted and said ‘good morning, general.’ He saluted and said ‘now that’s the correct way.’ I always appreciated his patience with me. 😎
Great video as always. I went to ask our section’s warrant officer if this was all true. I didn’t see him in his office, but his PC was still on his desk. Chief has to be around here somewhere...
In the Marine Corps in the 60’s, I saw one Warrant Officer. I had to ask what the hell the guy with a bursting bomb on one side of collar and a weird bar on the other side was. Sgt said he’s a Gunner stupid, call him Mister. Never saw another.
In my career field the majority of the officers are Warrants and actually command most of the units including 100% of the Guard, and Reserve units, and about 70% of Active Army units. I only served under a commissioned company commander at AIT. All of my other units were lead by Chief Warrant Officers 3, 4, and one 5. Also the last WAC enlistee retired was a Warrant Officer in my last unit ; Chief Jeanie Pace.
@@BattleOrder Commissioned Officers were limited to the special bands and MACOM Bands prior to 2008. So you'd have about 20 commissioned officers in our entire career field; only at 6 units, and no opportunities for deployments but at the same time they were supposed to be creating doctrine for the rest of the career field, which has about 160 warrant officers. Things have changed where some medium bands have commissioned officers now and no warrants, but 100% of Guard and Reserve still have warrants. It's weird to have a 2LT walk in, and because they outrank the commander the whole unit comes to attention.
@@BattleOrder following up, one of the oldest serving warrants, and last remaining active duty Women's Army Corps members CW5 Jeanie Pace visited one of my old units the other day. 43 years of service and one of the most senior warrants! www.dvidshub.net/news/385617/retired-cw5-pace-visits-1cd-band
Good history on Warrant Officers. As a retired Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer -3 after 21 years of service in the Marine Corps as a former Gunny with 13 years then appointed as WO-1 in the Data Communications Maintenance field. (2805). Served in the 1st MarDiv, 3rd MarDiv and 1st MEB in Hawaii. I really enjoyed my tour in the Marine Corps. Semper Fidelis.
WO should be used in usaf for aircraft maintenance. experienced maintainers keep getting pulled up for admin jobs as they rank up. with them goes the experience and leadership needed on the flight line.
I was a cw2 in CAP - USAF S&R Aux. Sr. Not cadet. Kept it in AF where I was SGT. Had CAP Sqdn on our large base and CAP was great for dependant kids to be cadets. We ( seniors) did seach and rescue spt to nearby Navy flight school. Was Sqdn Coomo Officer. W could use O Club on weekends ( Sr officers). Fast fwd and I became WO in Army and retd CW4. We do the deep specialty things that reg officers need for support but have to be more generalized. CW2through 5 are now commissioned ( after this video) and can command special units related to their area.
The Army currently has a significant marine warrant program that u forgot. This program was very large during WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and all subsequent conflicts. These are part of the Transportation Corps as are many maintenance warrants. These people have critical skills - - don't leave them out.
When talking to Air Force Officers they are always surprised to find out that Chuck Yeager was actually a Flight Officer (aka Warrant Officer) during WW2.
You missed two big things: 1) the Marine Gunner as a Chief Warrant Officer is an infantry officer and a member of every Marine Corps line infantry battalion. They even have special and more stringent requirements. So saying they CWOs are not in line units really only applies to the army. 2) Chief Warrant Officers ARE commissioned officers. Only WO-1s are appointed.
The Army does have WOs in line units. There are MI and maintenance WOs in BCTs at the battalion and company level. Additionally, there are SF Warrants at the team level. However, the Army does NOT have the “Gunner” WO that the USMC does.
Go back to the early 70's I only saw 1 WO in my whole 4 year hitch. Now all branches have them except the AF. I always wonder why there are no WO-1's in any branch? I suppose all the Ring Knockers hate WO's as much as they hate Mustangs, ROTC's or OCS officers.
Also WO's in the USMC are/can be troop leaders and CWO5 can command a Battalion as a CWO3 can command a Company and several of the LAR Platoons I was in were commanded by CWO2's and CWO3's and the H&S Company XO was a CWO3 circa the late 90's. Also in closed communities like USMC EOD... all officers are WO's that just pin on equivalent Commissioned ranks when they are selected for Command Billets.
@@raymond3855 someone stated earlier that that CG Warrants can be appointed to exercise Command Authority on small vessels but I couldn't find anything on that subject. I know for certain that Army Warrants (2-5) can assume command of specific units; Navy Warrants are generally limited to the role of Officer In Charge of Detachments or small "non-commissioned" units such as a remote calibration laboratory serving a wide range of fleet customers..
Very good job! I was on active duty in the Army from 1967 to 1987. I served in the Military Police Corp and more specifically, as a CID Agent. I retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Three and shortly before retirement I was offered Commissioning. So, CW3, USA, Regular Army. Side note, I was also an Executive Officer in a Basic Training Unit for a short time, go figure.
Being in aviation in the US Army, I was around warrant officers often. Nearly all were helicopter pilots. The only non-pilot warrant officer I was around was our unit supply chief. Once when I was picking up my dress uniform at the dry cleaners on base, I ran into a CW5. At that time, he said he'd been in the Army nearly 40 years.
I don't think you realize what you're asking for, lol. Speaking of the US army, which I'm the most familiar with, they were still using the old 19th century system from the Civil War, there really wasn't a dividing line between job and rank for many enlisted positions, yes there were privates, corporals, and various types of sergeants, but there was much more to it than that, here's a sampling of the ranks: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_enlisted_rank_insignia_of_World_War_I I know it's not a comprehensive list because I know for a fact that paymaster was also a rank, but it's at least a taste of what the system looked like. However, that's just for the enlisted ranks, the officer ranks were much closer to the modern system.
My boss was CW4 in Berlin 1963...He joined the Army at 16 in 1936...was an E6 in 42, he was given 1st Lt, brevet commisson by 45 he was Colonel at age 25. He was then demoted to warrent officer. When I served with him he was the ranking Warrent in the US Army. Late in 63 he retired with the Rank and Pay of a Brig Gen. This is a true story.
I believe all the services should adopt the Army model in aviation….the bulk of pilots should be warrant officers. A pilot is a very specialized position, and not all pilots want to work their way into a command. I say this as a former commissioned AF officer/pilot.
Technically the Air Force still has Warrant Officer's even though they did away with them . There represented by a Black Square ⬛ with Silver Stripes. Missions Officer , Flight Operations Officer, Mission Officer , Technical Operations Officer, Space Operations Officer, So it wouldn't surprise me if the Space Force went the same route or used Warrant Officer grades.
I wouldn’t hold my breathe since they are only moving a small number of career fields to fall under Space Force. I asked this question before LtGen Rice before he retired, and the AF’s only concern was pilots and that they didn’t want to explore that option.
Biggest recent surge in Warrant Officers was caused by the Vietnam War and the need by the Army for helicopter pilots. This led to the WORWAC (warrant officer rotary wing aviator course). At one point the Army was graduating over 500 warrants a month as pilots. In the recent years the bulk of helicopter pilots in Army units are Warrant Officers. This actually is in keeping with the intent that Warrant Officer is a Technical Specialist rather than a line officer with combat arms training and command authority.
Retired a CW5. Was in Field Artillery Pershing Missile units. Warrant Officers were not only tech experts but also involved in operational management, deployment and manage the enlisted maintenance soldiers.
When the US entered WW2, the 8th Air Force received seasoned airmen from the British Eagle Squadrons. Of course, the US commissioned officers looked down their noses at these 'low lifes' when they arrived. Many of the Eagles were aces, but the powers that be only awarded them junior status as flight officers. When the first squadrons of 8th Air Force fighter command went up against seasoned Luftwaffe pilots, the results weren't pretty. Many American CO's disregarded the advice from the flight officers. These officers could only watch as pilot after pilot went down for disregarding solid advice. Finally high command commissioned and promoted many of the Eagles into leadership positions. The results weren't long in coming. Under their leadership and training they whipped the squadrons into fighters.
Historically, until the Vietnam war, a Warrant Officer was a civilian specialist, essentially a contractor hired for skills needed by the military. During the Vietnam war, there was a massive expansion in the use of helicopters and they were in a big hurry, so it was not practical to have every pilot and copilot go through OCS and become a RLO (real live officer) so the Warrant Officer grades were seriously expanded. Before the expansion, there was only Senior WO and Junior WO grades. No idea how many grades they have now, but they did create a career ladder for those who could be promoted and retained and the usual pay ladders. Back during WWII, for example, there was a serious need to instructor pilots for the services and there were a number of experienced and competent pilots who were either too old or had health problems or limitations that would keep them from being military officers, BUT they could be Warrant Officers. No one was required to salute a Warrant Officer as they would someone holding an officer grade, but they were afforded respect and treated well.... which was better than enlisted personnel but not as well as RLOs.
My father was a co-pilot on B 24 & B 29 bombers in 1945. His rank was Warrant Officer. He told me that he held that rank because the Army had too many Lieutenants to pay.
To items: 1) You said warrant officers aren't found in Cavalry units. That is incorrect. If it is an Aviation Cavalry unit, and there are a lot of those (I served in three of them), then they have many Aviation warrant officers assigned. 2) You didn't mention the warrant officers of the US Coast Guard. They are also an integral part of our military warrant officer history and heritage.
Few Marine Corp Warrant Officers wear the bursting bomb. The only Warrant Officer that wears the Bursting Bomb is the Marine Gunner. This is the actual title and it is a commissioned rank (CWO-2). While enlisted personnel will often address any WO as "Gunner" they are technically not Marine Gunners. The Marine Gunner has to be a Gunnery Sergeant or above with 16 years of service to be eligible to be selected to the CWO-2 commission.
The reason the Air Force ended their Warrant Officer program was to drive a greater wedge between the enlisted and commissioned ranks. The same reason the Air Force got rid of prior enlisted officers.
Hi battle order, can you do a video comparing modern US and British/Commonwealth military ranks? Doesn't matter which branch but curious to hear the differences
Aviation Warrant Officers DO NOT need to have attained the rank of Staff Sergeant to qualify. Currently there is no minimum enlisted rank requirement to become an Aviation Warrant Officer, that is only a requirement for Technical Warrant Officers.
The UK Royal Navy and Royal Marines had Officer grade WOs until 1949 when the ranks were renamed as Branch Officers before being abolished in 1957. The RN and RM reintroduced WOs in the early 1970s as Army/RAF equivalent enlisted ranks i.e. NATO OR8 and OR9
The Air Force dumped the Warrant Officer grades after the adoption of the "super grades" Senior Master Sergeant (E-8) and Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). The Air Force also didn't distinguish between line officers and the Navy's "Limited Duty Officers." You were a line officer or you were not. Thus, I was an NCO (Staff Sergeant) and later a commissioned officer. I can see the argument for using Warrant Officers for flying positions. But not because we want to make pilots out of high school graduates. Rather, Warrant Officers don't fill command positions. They're recognized for their advance technical skills. Well, we have a significant subset of pilots who would love to just fly and not move into command positions. Instead, we lose a lot of them when they're up for promotion to major, because that almost always means a ground job. Offer them W-4 grade and keep 'em flying!
The first Warrant officers were in the U.S Coast Guard "Petty officers were selected by and served at the pleasure of the captain from among the seamen, while warrant officers were supposedly selected and warranted by the Secretary of the Treasury, or at least the local Collector of Customs. Commissioned officers were commissioned by the President. Regulations issued in 1834 allow only for petty officers on Revenue Cutters, while cutter crew lists from the period before that show warrant officers serving on board. Later regulations allow for warrant officers, but make no mention of petty officers, except when they refer to warrant officers generically as petty officers. Our guess is the that they were simply warranted petty officers. 3 By the early 1830s, there were nearly as many warrant officers as commissioned officers in the Revenue Cutter Service (57 commissioned and 35 warrants). On some ships, such as GALLATIN, the commissioned officers were outnumbered two to one. Revenue Cutter Service regulations called for three classes of officers: those in command (captains or lieutenants commanding), executive officers (always lieutenants) and forward officers (warrant officers). Warrants, not holding commissions, were part of the crew, and lived “up forward” with the seamen" cwoauscg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/History-1.pdf
My first year in USMC JROTC our Senior Marine Instructor was a Vietnam Vet. Dude was chill. (This was back in 04). When I went to Parris Island my SDI left for this school during my 3rd phase training. While there we did meet 3 of the CWO3 Gunners. The ones with the bursting bombs.
Wow, this was great and very educational. Between 1983 through 1990, I served in the U.S. Air Force from Second Lieutenant to Captain. Was told the Air Force was trying to weed out the ranks of Warrant Officer, by letting the current Warrant Officers stay, but not promoting anyone else into these ranks. Glad there were still a few remaining when, I departed service in 1990.
Depends on the Branch of Service. As for the Army as of 2005 . They receive a Warrant from the Secretary Of Defense. The Marine Corps & Navy receive a Commissioned Warrant from the President.
I had my degree before I entered the reserves at 28 as E-4. My intended career path in my specialty was to go for Warrant after I made E-6 and had 1 yr time in grade. In my service, the only direct Warrants were the medical para professionals. Unfortunately I was hit by a drunk driver in my civy job and that was the end of everything. Although I had just made the list for E-6 when it happened, but was honorably discharged as E-5.
I have a lawyer friend who was an army warrant officer during the Viet Nam war. He flew a small spotter plane and often returned to his base with holes in his plane from enemy fire. I once asked him if he was ever anxious when he went to court. He told me that after flying in Viet Nam when people were trying to kill him, there isn’t much that makes him anxious.
I was surprised that you didn't address the 180A Warrant program in Army Special Forces although the whole story would probably fill a video by itself.
I joined the army while my dad was a warrant officer class 1 (ASM) only for 2 weeks before he got commissioned when he spoke everyone listened even officers he left 4 years later as a LT Col highest rank he could get
How could he have gotten lieutenant Col in 4 years? If he commissioned, he would have to start at 01 and he would only have had time in rank to get up to an 0-3 /Captain
WO1 is a British Army rank (ASM is the appointment - Artificer Sergeant Major). So he will have gone through the Late Entry Commissioning process and been commissioned as a Captain.
Ah, maybe he didn't have a lot of time under his belt and was quick to reach WO1. Most Late Entry Officers commission as Captain due to their experience, but it's not unknown to go straight in as Major in some circumstances.
I'm a retired Army CW4 (Military Intelligence and Aviation Walking Warrant (Technician)). I enjoyed your video! I'm going to send a link of this video to members of my family and friends who ask me what a Warrant Officer is. BTW, the old "Eagle Rising" branch insignia in your video brought a tear to my eye. I was really upset when we had to stop wearing it. I kept one of my old combat uniform with my rank and that insignia.
So did the Navy. Met several in 1965 in Keesler AFB. Stripes from elbow to arm pit all gold lace. WW2 courier type planes ( looked like a torpedo bomber). Stupid airman guaed detained them when he learned they were enlisted! 4 old WW2 era command master chiefs ( top NCO at Pensecola, top NCO of Navy, etc. Next phone call was to their golf buddy the Sec Navy. It rolled downhill via USAF command, Pentagon down to base commander. Apologies all around. Airman had been told only officers are smart eniugh to fly a plane. Thought they had stolen the 4 planes. Rumor is the airman did a tour in Greenland. But that's only scuttlebutt as they say in the Navy ( ie. BS). But story is true.
Without the former USAAF rank of Flight Officer, a certain farm boy from West Virginia with a high school diploma would not, as a USAF Captain, break the sound barrier in 1947. Yes, Chuck Yeager, was a Flight Officer before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the USAAF and would retire as a Brigadier General in the USAF.
i was usaf from '82-89. warrant officers were LONG gone by then. not sure how long, but we were told that the air force, chose to redeploy funding for the warrant program into developing the enlisted force. i think some of your graphs are therefore mistaken. there was no such thing as an air force warrant when i was active duty back in '82.
A few years ago there was serious consideration to bring back warrant with the backing of CMSAF Wright; however, the 'O' mafia shot that down real quick.
@@skip123davis I know there was a study done by Rand Corp. (Composed mostly of retired officers) to determine the feasibility of fixing the pilot shortage by bringing back warrants and also some technical AFSCs(i.e. comm, maintenance, space ops) cause they were/are loosing those personnel to higher paying jobs in the civilian sector. They determined bringing back warrants would only be a bandage, not an actual cure. I personally know a few really sharp NCO wanna-be-pilots who didn't get accepted into OTS, jump ship and go Army Warrant to fly.
The way I usually explain it to the URLs in the wardroom who can't figure out the difference between Restricted Line, Staff, Warrant, and Limited Duty Officers is as follows: - RL and Staff are commissioned based on college degrees. Warrant and LDOs are commissioned based on enlisted experience. - Staff Corps are their profession first and officers second. RL are officers first, and their designators second. - LDOs, like any other commissioned officer (ignoring the fact that all Navy CWOs are commissioned for the sake of clarity) are not permitted to stagnate. Their career path leads to higher and higher responsibility. The eventually "rank out" of the jobs they did as JOs. - CWOs continue to hold the same types of jobs for the remainder of their careers and become fonts of knowledge. As an aviation example, Restricted Line Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers will rotate between three jobs - Material Control Officer (MCO), Assistant Maintenance Officer (AMO), and Maintenance and Material Control Officer (MMCO) until they hit O-4. After that, their careers eventually go through being a CVN department head, and then to the acquisition side of the house. Somewhere along the way, they stop really dealing with Aviation Maintenance, and become a maintenance-flavored department head. LDOs go through the same billets up to, and including O-4. Their "command" level tours are different, and they often don't go the acquisition route. CWOs, on the other hand, keep doing the MCO, MMCO, AMO jobs until they retire. They become scary good at it and can track thirty bird going though phase maintenance, special inspections, flights, and depot level maintenance. They never rank out of these important jobs, and a lot of COs want their MMCO to be a CWO when it comes time for deployment - to keep their strongest ground officer in what is possibly the most critical officer billet in the entire squadron.
Great historical summary here. I was privileged to fly as an officer in the Marines then, later, in the Army Reserves as a warrant. Yes, when the Army figured out how many helo pilots that would need for what became our "national blunder" in Vietnam they quickly deduced that high school-to-flight school was a winning formula (which it proved to be.) But since the Army is always programmed to go as cheap as possible (unlike the USAF!) it knew it would save a bundle in salaries by building a warrant flight corps as opposed to the higher pay mandated for commissioned officers.
Here is the article listing every billet rating a Warrant Officer in a US Army Armored Brigade Combat Team: www.battleorder.org/post/warrant-officers
Here is a suggestion, why Navy Captains outrank Army Captains.
My theory is Captain used to be a title of any commander. However when army units got larger like regiments and divisions they just created a higher rank whereas when ships became larger the billit Captain just took on the larger responsibilities.
Half of my unit was Warrant Officers. Either they were pilots or "weapons" maintenance specialist. Not saying we didn't have enlisted 55G's but most that did that job were Warrants.
I worked with a support staff WO in a Cobra unit once, and he was every bit of a warrant officer. Subject Matter Uber Nerd. Rest was just a bunch of premadonna pilots.
An LT or even a Cpt might outrank a CW2/CW3 but push come to shove the battalion commander is going to side with the Chiefs almost every single time.
And a nickname for a CW5 is Chief god, because absolutely nobody short of a 3/4 start is going to tell them no.
You need an associate degree to be a warrant officer. So 2 years of college gets you into a helicopter.
The best thing I enjoyed about being a WO was hearing 04's and 05's saying " leave him alone, we don't know what he does"
Which MOS?
@@ubcroel4022 120A
Similarly my CW4 OIC told an O4 Major to back off and leave me. (a spec 4, not in uniform,) alone while I was working on a down piece of crypto equipment. My OIC didn't want to have to report to DIRNSA why our circuit was offline.
@@49525Bob Does a WO5 really exist? Have you seen one? LOL
thats what im doing now.. lol
The first rule of being a Warrant is to keep an extra patrol cap on your desk so people think you're still in the building.
lol
Lmao 😂
Lol you made my day 😂😂😂😂😂
They have the sharpest skates. Lance Corporals are always in awe of their mastery to the point that CWO-5s are practically unicorns to them.
@@SSDConker2 CWO5? Who? Never met him.
When I served as a Warrant Officer, Flying Attack AH-1s and AH-64s, the best explanation we had for differentiating between Warrants and Commissioned Officers was, A Commissioned Officer is a mile wide and an inch deep, whereas a Warrant is an inch wide and a mile deep. Meaning a Warrant is a Specialist in their field and a regular officer can be placed in any unit and expected to run it.
after Viet Nam, men who were excellent commissioned pilots often had difficulty learning to command combat arms companies, which hurt their career chances
As a ah-1s crew chief I always thought the warrant officers were the cool guys that got to fly and comm officers were the frat boys that flew but had additional command duties that would keep them flying. In the end the warrants were my favorite
OK... I listened to the entire video because I have never heard an explanation that made sense, and this video was just too full of facts and dates and noise, and basically made it more confusing. YOUR explanation, in four seconds... made sense. Thank you! Crazy part is I am a Vet and I could never get a plausible response while I served as to what these in betweenness were for and how to become one. I knew they ran their own game and antagonized the sensibilities of both E's and Os... thanks!
I was in the Marine Corps, 1969-1973. Most of the WO's I was ever around were mustanger's. Once saw a butter-bar Lt try to dress-down an old WO. It didn't end well for the butter-bar.
All Marine Corps Warrant Officers were prior enlisted RkF
@@chaist94 Most do, except for U.S. Army helicopter pilots.
@@paladin50554 Some of the flight warrants do high school to flight school programs of sort. Some are prior enlisted. Then there are a very select few I've came across that went E3, then commission and made it to 03, then went warrant. A little confused on it, but some have. Also, while in the high school to flight school programs, I believe they are paid in the E5 grade (not completely sure anymore being that some who have rolled out of the program came in as a SGT/E5.
Absolutely true for the Corps. Last I checked when I was considering staying in (2012ish) it was at least 5yrs TIS, and E-5 - E-7 to even apply.
Not sure if it was ever put out officially, but there were rumblings that the Corps was going to tighten the requirements up some in the recent past/near future.
The CWO-5 that was the subject matter expert for the motor transport MOS school at Camp Johnson when I was in the Corps was a Major that was frozen at O-4 for having the filthiest mouth in the US military. In order to stay in he had to accept a transition to the Chief Warrant Officers ranks.
Not of the royal blood line, but good enough to lead other peasants.
Best description I've ever heard. Thank you.
Not even close to true in today's army, based on my experience in it at least
Pretty accurate. Standard commissioned officers do have 4 subtypes, the ROTC hazard, the OCS hard charger, the mustangs, and the warrant officer. Today Warrant Officers generally get more than, or equal to, the respect of a "mustang" (a previously enlisted, who later becomes a commissioned officer through ROTC or OCS), WO's do seem limited in the jobs available as compared to an ROTC butter bar who, when equipped with a compass, becomes the most dangerous thing on the battlefield...to the men serving under them.
I will say the "pucker factor" of a warrant officer inspecting some aspect of your unit is actually higher than a "full bird" doing the same. The Warrant officer generally has more been there done that T-shirts than your average enlisted or other commissioned officers, and knows what they're talking about, either through experience, or they're, and this may be a stereotype that is true only via my subjective observations, are the types who have read every manual the military offers, and committed that information to an SSD hard drive located somewhere in their cerebellum.
Special note: Any "inspections" by a rank above the "full bird", generally are solely pomp and circumstance, ceremonious, and result in the highest amount of injuries due to people passing out while standing at attention or parade rest for extended periods. This takes place most commonly while waiting for the thing to get started. The General officer will not even pause when a skull bounces off the deck, while thanking their wife, kids, and of course, their dog, for providing them the support to be where they are today. Thank you for your service, Mr Fluffles.
@@doc325 I had to laugh when you mentioned the General Officer not even pausing when someone passes out from standing at attention or parade rest for extended periods of time. I used to stand at parade rest in the boiling sun with the sweat running down my back and soaking my shirt while some self-important brass droned on about patting themselves and their entire extended family and all of their friends and subordinates for their love and support that led the brass to greatness. SMACK. Another man hits the deck. Here's a helpful tip - If you're ever standing at attention or parade rest for a long time don't lock your knees. Keep them bent and you're less likely to pass out! At ease!
@@doc325 well put.
Every time I had to unfugg a problem caused by the bureaucracy in the Marine Corps airwing, I found the CWO in supply. That man could fix the system, and ghost/miracle/skillfully aquire the parts I needed to fix a piece of gear. Never bother anyone above Captain, don't waste your time with the LT, just find the CWO, he'll set you straight. I think I learned that on my first week in the fleet.
I became an Army WO helicopter pilot in the Vietnam era under the Warrant Officer Candidate program. We were E-5s for pay purposes and received our warrants upon graduation from the program. Aviation warrant officers are the backbone of US Army Aviation serving as line pilots, instructors, aviation maintenance officers, safety officers.
There were several noteable things to me when I transitioned from an E-6 to a WO-1 in the Army National Guard.
When I was first appointed, I remember passing a group of soldiers on break in an outside courtyard, with their hats off. I passed this E-8, who never would have given me the time of day as an E-6, and he gave me this slight nod of the head in respect.
Second, I couldn't disappear into the mass of enlisted soldiers like I could as an E-6. I was one of the few warrant officers in my unit, so everyone knew who I was.
Third, there are only so many warrant officer positions in a given state. As an enlisted soldier, I could move around to a variety of units. Once I became a warrant officer, there was only one unit in each of the two states I lived in that had a slot for my MOS (career specialty). No one ever tells you that in advance.
In spite of that, it was a very good career move and I'm very happy to have done it. This was something I had wanted for a while and it was very fulfilling to have finally made it. Commissioned officers will listen to a warrant officer in a way they would never listen to an enlisted soldier, and that's important after you've had a number of years in service.
Good story and congrats. However: "Commissioned officers would never listen to enlisted soldiers the way they listen to Warrants".
I guess this applies "generally" to E1,E2,E3,E4,E5 and E6. E7 is a little different though and I do not only mean the PSG and PL 2LT-relationship.
E8 is also a different story. Especially when he is in a 1SG-slot.
E9.... Well... Some CSM won't even listen to O3 Captains as they are mostly around LTCs, COLs, BGs and higher.
There are many seasoned officers who listen more to average E9s than to average 1LTs or WO1 or CW2s.
@@harcomou8395 Good point. I was speaking from my own personal experience. I've also seen the deference given to an infantry battalion CSM by one of the 2LT platoon leaders. I doubt there's any company commander out there who wouldn't take seriously a warning or admonition (respectfully delivered) by a battalion CSM.
@@josephryan9230 Yes. And also I think this can in some instances include E8 Master Sergeants.
By the way: What is your opinion on using one rank for 4 ranks ?
You call a Lieutenant Commander and Commander "Commander".
You call a Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel "Colonel".
You call a 1LT and 2LT "Lieutenant".
All fine with me.
But AR 670-1 makes you use "Sergeant" for not 2 or 3 but 4 ranks.
Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, SFC and Master Sergeant. All just Sergeant. Taking into account how hard it is to make E8 I think they should revise it. What do you think?
@@harcomou8395 That's an interesting question. I've always felt that "colonel" and "lieutenant colonel" were a little too close to one another, since LTCs are typically addressed as "colonel," rather than "lieutenant colonel."
Yeah - the E-5 to E-7 ranks are typically blurred together, with everyone being called "sergeant." So, when someone makes E-8, that seems to continue, unless they make First Sergeant. When my NCOIC went from E-7 to E-8 (master sergeant), I still called him "sergeant." This is not the same with the Marines, who address the full rank. As an E-6, Marines would call me "staff sergeant," while my fellow soldiers would call me "sergeant."
I can certainly see the frustration of going through all of the work to make E-8, but still being addressed as "sergeant." Changing it would likely require the Army to have a more rigid delineation between NCO ranks, both in title and role.
@@harcomou8395 Well...RLOs might listen to that 1SG/SGM/CSM when it comes to “Soldier issues” more so than a WO, however, when it comes to operational considerations specific their trade, I’ve never seen an RLO disregard a WO’s counsel. Every NCO I’ve ever interacted with that was a candidate to be recruited into the WO Corps, yet who did not want to do so, always had their reason as “I just love taking care of Soldiers.” Whereas, those that did want to become WOs were far more motivated to refine their craft as a technical experts and are recognized as such by their RLO counterparts.
I have a friend who flew helicopter gunships in Viet Nam. He decided to give up on this military career for the sake of his family and left as a Major. He missed flying and joined a National Guard helicopter unit in the only flying slot available as a WO2. He raised some captains eyebrows during a class A uniform inspection when he stood at attention wearing the only cover he had which bore scrambled eggs on the bill. It became obvious he was the only one in this troop who knew what the Hell he was doing and he ended up with his majors commission reenstated and put in command of the unit. He retired a full Colonel. What a colorful character.
what do you mean by bore scrambled eggs on the bill? What is a cover in military terms?
@@babayaga9102 I believe its a type of gold stitching on the brim
@@てじ-j1v what's a cover
I saw a CW5 once. He yelled at me because my soldier (I was an E5) was refueling a gun truck at the fuel point while the engine was running. I explained to him that due to a maintenance deficiency, the truck would die if I shut it down, and it was an emergency and didn't have time to jump it again. He didn't care. But by the time he was done yelling at me, the truck was already refueled though. So I left. Nothing happened afterwards.
I spent almost 31 years in service. The last 16 as a Warrant. I was proud to say I was a Working Warrant. Best job I ever had. The only regret was not going Warrant sooner. Very good lesson in the history. Good job.👍
I learned so much from CW3 Thomas…. I messed up a lot but he always had a good lesson to teach; one of the few warrants to take time and explain things….. I will always remember the time a CSM came in to the office and and wanted me to call at ease(with my back to the door)…. Chief calmly told him that nobody was to call at ease or salute inside the office; CSM started to scream and chief calmly told him to take it up with brigade…..
Hahaha don't fuck around with the warrent officers they got connections with everyone above you
When I served in the army as an infantryman warrant officers were a mystery to me. To me they just seemed like a special rank for pilots.
Currently serving in the infantry, and that’s what I know about em too
I was a walking warrant - MI. At Corps level, we had 7 Warrant Officers - 1 German Voice Intercept, 1 Russian Voice Intercept, 2 Morse Code Intercept, 1 Non Morse Intercept, and 2 Analysis and Reporting Techs (352C - one was me)
During an inspection of our ship, a senior chief was making a list of “hits” of spaces. Our warrant officer saw the list of hits and found the SC.
He asked the senior chief to provide documentation for which code covers these violations, when the senior couldn’t he was escorted off the ship and told not to return. The WO contacted the base to inform them that their inspectors were undereducated for their position and “making decisions based on opinion, in accordance with their own egos.”
That guy was a badass.
Warrent Officers in the British Army? = Power of God.
Warrent officers in the us military=power of invisibility
Regimental Sgt Major (whilst standing on the grass): "Get off the grass!"
WarrAnt, not WarrEnt. British Warrant Officers II and I = US Army E8 and E9, Master Sergeant / 1SG and Sergeant Major / CSM.
@@vincespeedmk223 he's always right.
A common nickname for a CW5 is Chief God. Outside the flight community, they report directly to 3 & 4 stars typically. And usually only one or two for an entire branch.
I had a CW3 explain it like this.
"When the shit hits than fan this is what happens. The officers decide the shit has indeed hit the fan, and they call in the enlisted men who clean the shit off the fan. Then they call us we are fan repair. We don't have to make decisions and we don't have to handle any shit."
When I was 19 and in the army, I walked past an older gentleman leaving the office I was going into. We always practiced walking past officers and addressing them but this guy had stars across his shoulders and I froze! I just said hi or something as he passed and he stopped me. He was super polite but he said let’s try this again. I went back and walked past him again, saluted and said ‘good morning, general.’ He saluted and said ‘now that’s the correct way.’ I always appreciated his patience with me. 😎
Great video as always. I went to ask our section’s warrant officer if this was all true. I didn’t see him in his office, but his PC was still on his desk. Chief has to be around here somewhere...
In the Marine Corps in the 60’s, I saw one Warrant Officer. I had to ask what the hell the guy with a bursting bomb on one side of collar and a weird bar on the other side was. Sgt said he’s a Gunner stupid, call him Mister. Never saw another.
Warrant Officers are like unicorns, I heard about them while I was in the Army but only saw one on a misty morning running away from the PT formation.
In my career field the majority of the officers are Warrants and actually command most of the units including 100% of the Guard, and Reserve units, and about 70% of Active Army units. I only served under a commissioned company commander at AIT. All of my other units were lead by Chief Warrant Officers 3, 4, and one 5. Also the last WAC enlistee retired was a Warrant Officer in my last unit ; Chief Jeanie Pace.
Maintenance or intelligence?
@@BattleOrder Band.
That makes sense
@@BattleOrder Commissioned Officers were limited to the special bands and MACOM Bands prior to 2008. So you'd have about 20 commissioned officers in our entire career field; only at 6 units, and no opportunities for deployments but at the same time they were supposed to be creating doctrine for the rest of the career field, which has about 160 warrant officers. Things have changed where some medium bands have commissioned officers now and no warrants, but 100% of Guard and Reserve still have warrants. It's weird to have a 2LT walk in, and because they outrank the commander the whole unit comes to attention.
@@BattleOrder following up, one of the oldest serving warrants, and last remaining active duty Women's Army Corps members CW5 Jeanie Pace visited one of my old units the other day. 43 years of service and one of the most senior warrants! www.dvidshub.net/news/385617/retired-cw5-pace-visits-1cd-band
Being a history nerd and veteran I can confidently say your channel is highly underrated. Keep up the amazing work.
Great video. As a warrant myself, I really enjoyed it. They should show this in WOCS, instead of the older video they do show.
Good history on Warrant Officers. As a retired Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer -3 after 21 years of service in the Marine Corps as a former Gunny with 13 years then appointed as WO-1 in the Data Communications Maintenance field. (2805). Served in the 1st MarDiv, 3rd MarDiv and 1st MEB in Hawaii. I really enjoyed my tour in the Marine Corps. Semper Fidelis.
Technical experts, who rate a Salute.
Mentors career minded military leaders.
Warrant officers.
Annoys them when serving with U.K. forces who do not salute them as they don’t salute their own
WO should be used in usaf for aircraft maintenance. experienced maintainers keep getting pulled up for admin jobs as they rank up. with them goes the experience and leadership needed on the flight line.
I met an old retired warrant officer. He worked on nukes and was stationed in New Mexico during WW2.
10:35 Whoa. That's some skilled flying right there. Backwards. Wow.
My Dad was one of the last WO in the airforce. He retired as a CWO-W4
I was a cw2 in CAP - USAF S&R Aux. Sr. Not cadet. Kept it in AF where I was SGT. Had CAP Sqdn on our large base and CAP was great for dependant kids to be cadets. We ( seniors) did seach and rescue spt to nearby Navy flight school. Was Sqdn Coomo Officer. W could use O Club on weekends ( Sr officers). Fast fwd and I became WO in Army and retd CW4. We do the deep specialty things that reg officers need for support but have to be more generalized. CW2through 5 are now commissioned ( after this video) and can command special units related to their area.
Thank you! Created my WO package in 1992. WO’s are a unique cadre of experience, leadership, and knowledge. THE EXPERTS in their field.
The Army currently has a significant marine warrant program that u forgot. This program was very large during WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and all subsequent conflicts. These are part of the Transportation Corps as are many maintenance warrants. These people have critical skills - - don't leave them out.
When talking to Air Force Officers they are always surprised to find out that Chuck Yeager was actually a Flight Officer (aka Warrant Officer) during WW2.
He was started as private, become warrant officer and was eventually commissioned as 2nd lieutenant.
Well done..
CW4 (Ret.) Dana Latta
UH-60 A/L/M SP/IE
Thanks mate
Dork.
I retired as a technical US Army CW3. Best damn job I ever had.
You missed two big things:
1) the Marine Gunner as a Chief Warrant Officer is an infantry officer and a member of every Marine Corps line infantry battalion. They even have special and more stringent requirements. So saying they CWOs are not in line units really only applies to the army.
2) Chief Warrant Officers ARE commissioned officers. Only WO-1s are appointed.
The Army does have WOs in line units. There are MI and maintenance WOs in BCTs at the battalion and company level. Additionally, there are SF Warrants at the team level. However, the Army does NOT have the “Gunner” WO that the USMC does.
The Marine Unicorn or is it a Pegasus?
Go back to the early 70's I only saw 1 WO in my whole 4 year hitch. Now all branches have them except the AF. I always wonder why there are no WO-1's in any branch? I suppose all the Ring Knockers hate WO's as much as they hate Mustangs, ROTC's or OCS officers.
Also WO's in the USMC are/can be troop leaders and CWO5 can command a Battalion as a CWO3 can command a Company and several of the LAR Platoons I was in were commanded by CWO2's and CWO3's and the H&S Company XO was a CWO3 circa the late 90's. Also in closed communities like USMC EOD... all officers are WO's that just pin on equivalent Commissioned ranks when they are selected for Command Billets.
Right on the money. Semper Fi Marine!
The U.S. Coast Guard also has Warrant Officers.
Are their duties the same as Navy warrant officers?
Can't forgot our Coastie buddies
@@nghtwtchmn129 Responsibilities are similar
@@raymond3855 someone stated earlier that that CG Warrants can be appointed to exercise Command Authority on small vessels but I couldn't find anything on that subject. I know for certain that Army Warrants (2-5) can assume command of specific units; Navy Warrants are generally limited to the role of Officer In Charge of Detachments or small "non-commissioned" units such as a remote calibration laboratory serving a wide range of fleet customers..
@@KatManx2006 it's true. USCG CWO4s are eligible for some sea commands.
Very good job! I was on active duty in the Army from 1967 to 1987. I served in the Military Police Corp and more specifically, as a CID Agent. I retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Three and shortly before retirement I was offered Commissioning. So, CW3, USA, Regular Army. Side note, I was also an Executive Officer in a Basic Training Unit for a short time, go figure.
Being in aviation in the US Army, I was around warrant officers often. Nearly all were helicopter pilots. The only non-pilot warrant officer I was around was our unit supply chief. Once when I was picking up my dress uniform at the dry cleaners on base, I ran into a CW5. At that time, he said he'd been in the Army nearly 40 years.
One day I was sitting by my self in Iraq in a chow hall and a CW5 sat right next to me. That was the first and last time I saw a CW5.
Awesome video man, really glad to see you covering some lesser-known ranks. The graphics really helped too. Keep up the good work.
First note.
They’re an enigma. Last note….
Complete WW1 ranks would be amazing if you can do that! Also love the video.
Oooo yes!
im talking all major sides of ww1.
Britain, France, America
Germany, Austria
@@thefatballistician you're forgetting a big one, the biggest one I should say. Serbia
I don't think you realize what you're asking for, lol. Speaking of the US army, which I'm the most familiar with, they were still using the old 19th century system from the Civil War, there really wasn't a dividing line between job and rank for many enlisted positions, yes there were privates, corporals, and various types of sergeants, but there was much more to it than that, here's a sampling of the ranks:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_enlisted_rank_insignia_of_World_War_I
I know it's not a comprehensive list because I know for a fact that paymaster was also a rank, but it's at least a taste of what the system looked like. However, that's just for the enlisted ranks, the officer ranks were much closer to the modern system.
My boss was CW4 in Berlin 1963...He joined the Army at 16 in 1936...was an E6 in 42, he was given 1st Lt, brevet commisson by 45 he was Colonel
at age 25. He was then demoted to warrent officer. When I served with him he was the ranking Warrent in the US Army. Late in 63
he retired with the Rank and Pay of a Brig Gen. This is a true story.
Thanks for sharing this. My brother is a CWO-5 in the army.
Pretty thorough video on a mythical creature. Nice!
It is fairly common for the Coast Guard to assign a CWO as Captain of some cutters, such as aids to navigation cutters.
I believe all the services should adopt the Army model in aviation….the bulk of pilots should be warrant officers. A pilot is a very specialized position, and not all pilots want to work their way into a command. I say this as a former commissioned AF officer/pilot.
Being a CWO/BOSN in the USCG is the Best! I went from E8 to CWO2 and don’t regret it for a second. Quality of life is much better too!
Do you think that the U.S. Space Force will break from Airforce tradition and add Warrant Officers due to the more technical field of Space?
Technically the Air Force still has Warrant Officer's even though they did away with them . There represented by a Black Square ⬛ with Silver Stripes. Missions Officer , Flight Operations Officer, Mission Officer , Technical Operations Officer, Space Operations Officer, So it wouldn't surprise me if the Space Force went the same route or used Warrant Officer grades.
Potato potato
I wouldn’t hold my breathe since they are only moving a small number of career fields to fall under Space Force. I asked this question before LtGen Rice before he retired, and the AF’s only concern was pilots and that they didn’t want to explore that option.
SPACE BOSUN! 😆
Biggest recent surge in Warrant Officers was caused by the Vietnam War and the need by the Army for helicopter pilots. This led to the WORWAC (warrant officer rotary wing aviator course). At one point the Army was graduating over 500 warrants a month as pilots. In the recent years the bulk of helicopter pilots in Army units are Warrant Officers. This actually is in keeping with the intent that Warrant Officer is a Technical Specialist rather than a line officer with combat arms training and command authority.
Retired Coast Guard CWO here. Just a friendly reminder that there is another service with warrant officers.
Just a friendly reminder, in the eyes of the military, the coast guard will always be a part of the department of transportation. 😂
excellent history! Thanks much from a CWO5 Bos'n, (ret)
Retired a CW5. Was in Field Artillery Pershing Missile units. Warrant Officers were not only tech experts but also involved in operational management, deployment and manage the enlisted maintenance soldiers.
I’ve got an interesting one for you - railroad armed forces, including combat engineers and armoured trains.
P.S. for examples ZhDV of Russia.
My equivalent in the Russian Armed Forces - WO was a Michman (мичман)
Great video. Retired Army crew chief.
The Warrant Officer, a person in the military who is neither fish nor fowl.
The most ridiculous statement in this entire thread full of ridiculous statements. CWO4, USN(Ret).
@@tvideo1189 Why? It's true, though. They are neither fish nor fowl since they aren't enlisted but the aren't fully commissioned officers either.
😂
Capturing a WO on film is like trying to capture Bigfoot on film
When the US entered WW2, the 8th Air Force received seasoned airmen from the British Eagle Squadrons. Of course, the US commissioned officers looked down their noses at these 'low lifes' when they arrived. Many of the Eagles were aces, but the powers that be only awarded them junior status as flight officers. When the first squadrons of 8th Air Force fighter command went up against seasoned Luftwaffe pilots, the results weren't pretty. Many American CO's disregarded the advice from the flight officers. These officers could only watch as pilot after pilot went down for disregarding solid advice. Finally high command commissioned and promoted many of the Eagles into leadership positions. The results weren't long in coming. Under their leadership and training they whipped the squadrons into fighters.
Historically, until the Vietnam war, a Warrant Officer was a civilian specialist, essentially a contractor hired for skills needed by the military. During the Vietnam war, there was a massive expansion in the use of helicopters and they were in a big hurry, so it was not practical to have every pilot and copilot go through OCS and become a RLO (real live officer) so the Warrant Officer grades were seriously expanded. Before the expansion, there was only Senior WO and Junior WO grades. No idea how many grades they have now, but they did create a career ladder for those who could be promoted and retained and the usual pay ladders.
Back during WWII, for example, there was a serious need to instructor pilots for the services and there were a number of experienced and competent pilots who were either too old or had health problems or limitations that would keep them from being military officers, BUT they could be Warrant Officers. No one was required to salute a Warrant Officer as they would someone holding an officer grade, but they were afforded respect and treated well.... which was better than enlisted personnel but not as well as RLOs.
My father was a co-pilot on B 24 & B 29 bombers in 1945. His rank was Warrant Officer. He told me that he held that rank because the Army had too many Lieutenants to pay.
To items: 1) You said warrant officers aren't found in Cavalry units. That is incorrect. If it is an Aviation Cavalry unit, and there are a lot of those (I served in three of them), then they have many Aviation warrant officers assigned. 2) You didn't mention the warrant officers of the US Coast Guard. They are also an integral part of our military warrant officer history and heritage.
great job!! As a CWO5(ret) in the Navy reserve, this was interesting and well put together.
Few Marine Corp Warrant Officers wear the bursting bomb. The only Warrant Officer that wears the Bursting Bomb is the Marine Gunner. This is the actual title and it is a commissioned rank (CWO-2). While enlisted personnel will often address any WO as "Gunner" they are technically not Marine Gunners. The Marine Gunner has to be a Gunnery Sergeant or above with 16 years of service to be eligible to be selected to the CWO-2 commission.
The reason the Air Force ended their Warrant Officer program was to drive a greater wedge between the enlisted and commissioned ranks. The same reason the Air Force got rid of prior enlisted officers.
That awkward moment when a Sham Shield and a CW5 see each other from across the massage parlor; and both "Homer Simpson" into the wall.
Hi battle order, can you do a video comparing modern US and British/Commonwealth military ranks? Doesn't matter which branch but curious to hear the differences
Aviation Warrant Officers DO NOT need to have attained the rank of Staff Sergeant to qualify. Currently there is no minimum enlisted rank requirement to become an Aviation Warrant Officer, that is only a requirement for Technical Warrant Officers.
I'll always be proud of my decision to go warrant over commission.
10:35 omg! All those planes are flying backwards! In had no idea planes had a reverse gear in flight... that's amazing!
The UK Royal Navy and Royal Marines had Officer grade WOs until 1949 when the ranks were renamed as Branch Officers before being abolished in 1957. The RN and RM reintroduced WOs in the early 1970s as Army/RAF equivalent enlisted ranks i.e. NATO OR8 and OR9
Fun fact that half of the Army's warrants are pilots and the rest are split between all the specialities.
The Air Force dumped the Warrant Officer grades after the adoption of the "super grades" Senior Master Sergeant (E-8) and Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). The Air Force also didn't distinguish between line officers and the Navy's "Limited Duty Officers." You were a line officer or you were not. Thus, I was an NCO (Staff Sergeant) and later a commissioned officer.
I can see the argument for using Warrant Officers for flying positions. But not because we want to make pilots out of high school graduates. Rather, Warrant Officers don't fill command positions. They're recognized for their advance technical skills. Well, we have a significant subset of pilots who would love to just fly and not move into command positions. Instead, we lose a lot of them when they're up for promotion to major, because that almost always means a ground job. Offer them W-4 grade and keep 'em flying!
I’ve been lucky to have many CWOs friends, much respect.
Wow and second! Wish for more amazing videos in the future.
The first Warrant officers were in the U.S Coast Guard "Petty officers were selected by and served at the pleasure of the captain from among the seamen,
while warrant officers were supposedly selected and warranted by the Secretary of the Treasury, or at
least the local Collector of Customs. Commissioned officers were commissioned by the President.
Regulations issued in 1834 allow only for petty officers on Revenue Cutters, while cutter crew lists from
the period before that show warrant officers serving on board. Later regulations allow for warrant
officers, but make no mention of petty officers, except when they refer to warrant officers generically as
petty officers. Our guess is the that they were simply warranted petty officers.
3
By the early 1830s, there were nearly as many warrant officers as commissioned officers in the
Revenue Cutter Service (57 commissioned and 35 warrants). On some ships, such as GALLATIN, the
commissioned officers were outnumbered two to one.
Revenue Cutter Service regulations called for three classes of officers: those in command (captains
or lieutenants commanding), executive officers (always lieutenants) and forward officers (warrant
officers).
Warrants, not holding commissions, were part of the crew, and lived “up forward” with the seamen" cwoauscg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/History-1.pdf
I served in both the Navy and Army national guard. Whenever I saw a Warrant, i always thought "that's one sqared away guy/gal who knows their shit."
Good video, love the MOH music in the background
My first year in USMC JROTC our Senior Marine Instructor was a Vietnam Vet. Dude was chill. (This was back in 04). When I went to Parris Island my SDI left for this school during my 3rd phase training. While there we did meet 3 of the CWO3 Gunners. The ones with the bursting bombs.
The easiest explanation. They exist to give briefs to higher, because the LT and Commander don't know what they are talking about.
Wow, this was great and very educational. Between 1983 through 1990, I served in the U.S. Air Force from Second Lieutenant to Captain. Was told the Air Force was trying to weed out the ranks of Warrant Officer, by letting the current Warrant Officers stay, but not promoting anyone else into these ranks. Glad there were still a few remaining when, I departed service in 1990.
Correction, Chief Warrant Officers are COMMISSIONED officers.
WO1's are not. 2's, 3's,4's and 5's are.
Brent Benson Correct. Warrant Officer -1 is not a Commissioned appointment.
Depends on the Branch of Service. As for the Army as of 2005 . They receive a Warrant from the Secretary Of Defense. The Marine Corps & Navy receive a Commissioned Warrant from the President.
@@Texasmilitarydepartmentvid9654 only W-1s are not commissioned officers in all branches that use the rank.
CWO-2 and above are Comisssoned with all rights and privileges thereto per 10 U.S. Code § 571
There are Warrant Officer's in practically every MOS even Special Operations there a rare breed and you'll hardly ever get to see the few in between.
I had my degree before I entered the reserves at 28 as E-4. My intended career path in my specialty was to go for Warrant after I made E-6 and had 1 yr time in grade. In my service, the only direct Warrants were the medical para professionals. Unfortunately I was hit by a drunk driver in my civy job and that was the end of everything. Although I had just made the list for E-6 when it happened, but was honorably discharged as E-5.
I have been confused by WO rank structure for decades. Thanks for this.
Another idea Battle Order,
The evolution of countries uniforms starting in the 1800’s and evolution to 1900’s and then further evolution to 2000’s
I have a lawyer friend who was an army warrant officer during the Viet Nam war. He flew a small spotter plane and often returned to his base with holes in his plane from enemy fire. I once asked him if he was ever anxious when he went to court. He told me that after flying in Viet Nam when people were trying to kill him, there isn’t much that makes him anxious.
I was surprised that you didn't address the 180A Warrant program in Army Special Forces although the whole story would probably fill a video by itself.
While undergoing my Signal Corp Officer Traing in 1971 at Ft Gordon GA I was trained by several excellent Warrant Officers .
I joined the army while my dad was a warrant officer class 1 (ASM) only for 2 weeks before he got commissioned when he spoke everyone listened even officers he left 4 years later as a LT Col highest rank he could get
How could he have gotten lieutenant Col in 4 years? If he commissioned, he would have to start at 01 and he would only have had time in rank to get up to an 0-3 /Captain
@@Taurox220 oops meant to say 8 years 🙈
WO1 is a British Army rank (ASM is the appointment - Artificer Sergeant Major). So he will have gone through the Late Entry Commissioning process and been commissioned as a Captain.
@@charliep1973 no start off as lieutenant
Ah, maybe he didn't have a lot of time under his belt and was quick to reach WO1. Most Late Entry Officers commission as Captain due to their experience, but it's not unknown to go straight in as Major in some circumstances.
Outstanding production!
I'm a retired Army CW4 (Military Intelligence and Aviation Walking Warrant (Technician)). I enjoyed your video! I'm going to send a link of this video to members of my family and friends who ask me what a Warrant Officer is. BTW, the old "Eagle Rising" branch insignia in your video brought a tear to my eye. I was really upset when we had to stop wearing it. I kept one of my old combat uniform with my rank and that insignia.
The Marine Corps actually had NCO Pilots at one time, can you do a story on that please?
So did the Navy. Met several in 1965 in Keesler AFB. Stripes from elbow to arm pit all gold lace. WW2 courier type planes ( looked like a torpedo bomber). Stupid airman guaed detained them when he learned they were enlisted! 4 old WW2 era command master chiefs ( top NCO at Pensecola, top NCO of Navy, etc. Next phone call was to their golf buddy the Sec Navy. It rolled downhill via USAF command, Pentagon down to base commander. Apologies all around. Airman had been told only officers are smart eniugh to fly a plane. Thought they had stolen the 4 planes. Rumor is the airman did a tour in Greenland. But that's only scuttlebutt as they say in the Navy ( ie. BS). But story is true.
Thank you, this was real, real cool!
Chuck Yeager enlisted in the Army Air Force and was a Flying Officer at first, he retired a Brigadier General.
Without the former USAAF rank of Flight Officer, a certain farm boy from West Virginia with a high school diploma would not, as a USAF Captain, break the sound barrier in 1947. Yes, Chuck Yeager, was a Flight Officer before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the USAAF and would retire as a Brigadier General in the USAF.
i was usaf from '82-89. warrant officers were LONG gone by then. not sure how long, but we were told that the air force, chose to redeploy funding for the warrant program into developing the enlisted force. i think some of your graphs are therefore mistaken. there was no such thing as an air force warrant when i was active duty back in '82.
A few years ago there was serious consideration to bring back warrant with the backing of CMSAF Wright; however, the 'O' mafia shot that down real quick.
@@BPD1586 any idea what the intended tasking was?
@@skip123davis I know there was a study done by Rand Corp. (Composed mostly of retired officers) to determine the feasibility of fixing the pilot shortage by bringing back warrants and also some technical AFSCs(i.e. comm, maintenance, space ops) cause they were/are loosing those personnel to higher paying jobs in the civilian sector. They determined bringing back warrants would only be a bandage, not an actual cure. I personally know a few really sharp NCO wanna-be-pilots who didn't get accepted into OTS, jump ship and go Army Warrant to fly.
@@BPD1586 i actually served with guys that did that. that's real. i can remember at least two.
@@BPD1586 what is an O mafia?
The way I usually explain it to the URLs in the wardroom who can't figure out the difference between Restricted Line, Staff, Warrant, and Limited Duty Officers is as follows:
- RL and Staff are commissioned based on college degrees. Warrant and LDOs are commissioned based on enlisted experience.
- Staff Corps are their profession first and officers second. RL are officers first, and their designators second.
- LDOs, like any other commissioned officer (ignoring the fact that all Navy CWOs are commissioned for the sake of clarity) are not permitted to stagnate. Their career path leads to higher and higher responsibility. The eventually "rank out" of the jobs they did as JOs.
- CWOs continue to hold the same types of jobs for the remainder of their careers and become fonts of knowledge.
As an aviation example, Restricted Line Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers will rotate between three jobs - Material Control Officer (MCO), Assistant Maintenance Officer (AMO), and Maintenance and Material Control Officer (MMCO) until they hit O-4. After that, their careers eventually go through being a CVN department head, and then to the acquisition side of the house. Somewhere along the way, they stop really dealing with Aviation Maintenance, and become a maintenance-flavored department head.
LDOs go through the same billets up to, and including O-4. Their "command" level tours are different, and they often don't go the acquisition route.
CWOs, on the other hand, keep doing the MCO, MMCO, AMO jobs until they retire. They become scary good at it and can track thirty bird going though phase maintenance, special inspections, flights, and depot level maintenance. They never rank out of these important jobs, and a lot of COs want their MMCO to be a CWO when it comes time for deployment - to keep their strongest ground officer in what is possibly the most critical officer billet in the entire squadron.
"Not nobility, but good enough to lead the other peasants." - Warrant Officers in ye olde Europe.
Great historical summary here. I was privileged to fly as an officer in the Marines then, later, in the Army Reserves as a warrant. Yes, when the Army figured out how many helo pilots that would need for what became our "national blunder" in Vietnam they quickly deduced that high school-to-flight school was a winning formula (which it proved to be.) But since the Army is always programmed to go as cheap as possible (unlike the USAF!) it knew it would save a bundle in salaries by building a warrant flight corps as opposed to the higher pay mandated for commissioned officers.
Ripley was WO on the Nostromo ; go figure , eh ?
Best comment on here. Wasn't Ripley a civilian though or more like a merchant marine?