Warrant officer

A warrant officer (WO) is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, and a non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer, often by virtue of seniority.

The rank was first used in the (then) English Royal Navy and is today used in most services in many countries, including the Commonwealth nations and the United States.

Outside the United States, warrant officers are in a rank cadre of their own between non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers. The warrant officers in Commonwealth navies rank between chief petty officer and sub-lieutenant, in Commonwealth air forces between flight sergeant and pilot officer, and in Commonwealth armies between staff sergeant and second-lieutenant.

Warrant officers in the United States are technical leaders and specialists. Chief warrant officers are commissioned by the president of the United States and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers. They may be technical experts with long service as enlisted personnel, or direct entrants, notably for U.S. Army helicopter pilots.

History: origins in the Royal Navy
The warrant officer corps began in the 13th century in the nascent English Royal Navy. At that time, noblemen with military experience took command of the new Navy, adopting the military ranks of lieutenant and captain. These officers often had no knowledge of life on board a ship &mdash; let alone how to navigate such a vessel &mdash; and relied on the expertise of the ship's master and other seamen who tended to the technical aspects of running the ship. As cannon came into use, the officers also required gunnery experts.

Four categories
Originally, warrant officers were specialist professionals whose expertise and authority demanded formal recognition. They eventually developed into four categories:
 * Wardroom warrant officers
 * Gunroom warrant officers
 * Standing warrant officers
 * Lower-grade warrant officers

Literacy was one thing that all warrant officers had in common, and this distinguished them from the common seamen. According to the Admiralty regulations, "no person shall be appointed to any station in which he is to have charge of stores, unless he can read and write, and is sufficiently skilled in arithmetic to keep an account of them correctly". Since all warrant officers had responsibility for stores, this was enough to debar the illiterate.



Demise of the Royal Naval warrants
In 1843, the wardroom warrant officers were given commissioned status, while in 1853 the lower-grade warrant officers were absorbed into the new rate of chief petty officer, both classes thereby ceasing to be warrant officers. On 25 July 1864 the standing warrant officers were divided into two grades: warrant officers and chief warrant officers (or "commissioned warrant officers", a phrase that was replaced in 1920 with "commissioned officers from warrant rank", although they were still usually referred to as "commissioned warrant officers", even in official documents). By the time of the First World War their ranks had been expanded with the adoption of modern technology in the Navy to include telegraphists, electricians, shipwrights, artificer engineers, etc. Both warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers messed in the warrant officers' mess rather than the wardroom (although in ships too small to have a warrant officers' mess they did mess in the wardroom). Warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers also carried swords, were saluted by ratings, and ranked between sub-lieutenants and midshipmen.

In 1949, the ranks of warrant officer and commissioned warrant officer were changed to "commissioned officer" and "senior commissioned officer", the latter ranking with but after the rank of lieutenant, and they were admitted to the wardroom, the warrant officers' messes closing down. Collectively these officers were known as "branch officers", being retitled "special duties" officers in 1956. In 1998, the special duties list was merged with the general list of officers in the Royal Navy, all officers now having the same opportunity to reach the highest commissioned ranks.

Australia
The Australian Army has three warrant officer ranks: WO, WO1 and WO2. The most senior Army warrant officer is the soldier appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army (RSM-A). The RSM-A is the only holder of the unique rank of warrant officer (WO), introduced in 1991. Substantive RSMs of regiments and battalions hold the rank warrant officer class one (WO1). Although of the same rank as other WO1s, with some exceptions, RSMs are considered senior to other WO1s. The third rank is warrant officer class two (WO2). The insignia of the three ranks are: a crown for a WO2; the (Australian) Commonwealth Coat of Arms (changed from the Royal Coat of Arms in 1976) for a WO1; and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms surrounded by a laurel wreath for the warrant officer.

The Royal Australian Navy rank of warrant officer (WO) is the Navy's only rank appointed by warrant and is equivalent to the Army's WO1 (the equivalent of the Army's WO2 rank is a chief petty officer). The most senior non-commissioned member of the Navy is the warrant officer appointed Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N).

The Royal Australian Air Force rank of warrant officer (WOFF) is the Air Force's only rank appointed by warrant and is equivalent to both the Army's WO1 and the Navy's WO (the equivalent of the Army's WO2 is a flight sergeant). The most senior non-commissioned member is the warrant officer appointed Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF-AF).

Israel Defense Forces
The רב-נגד משנה Rav nagad mishne ("warrant officer") and the רב-נגד Rav nagad ("chief warrant officer") are both non-commissioned officers ranks in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Because the IDF is an integrated force, they have a unique rank structure. IDF ranks are the same in all services (army, navy, air force, etc.). The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the British Mandate of Palestine period to protect the Yishuv. This origin is reflected in the slightly-compacted IDF rank structure.

Singapore
In the Singapore Armed Forces, warrant officers begin as third warrant officers (3WO), previously starting at 2WO. This rank is given to former specialists who have attained the rank of master sergeant and have either gone through, or are about to go through the Warfighter Course at the Specialist and Warrant Officer Advanced School (SWAS) in the Specialist and Warrant Officer Institute (SWI). In order to be promoted to a second warrant officer (2WO) and above, they must have been selected for and graduated from the joint warrant officer course at the SAF Warrant Officer School. Warrant officers rank between specialists and commissioned officers. They ordinarily serve as battalion or brigade regimental sergeant majors. Many of them serve as instructors and subject-matter experts in various training establishments. Warrant officers are also seen on the various staffs headed by the respective specialist officers. There are six grades of warrant officer (3WO, 2WO, 1WO, MWO, SWO & CWO).

Warrant officers usually have their own mess. For smaller units, this mess may be combined with the officers' mess as the officers'/warrant officers' mess. Warrant officers often have similar responsibilities to commissioned officers. Warrant officers are addressed as "sir" by those junior to them or as "Warrant (Surname)". They are also commonly addressed "encik" ("mister") by commissioned officers. They are not, however, saluted by enlisted ranks.

South Africa
In the South African National Defence Force a warrant officer is a non-commissioned officer rank. Before 2008 there were 2 classes - warrant officer class 1 and 2. A warrant officer class 1 could be appointed to positions such as regimental sergeant major, formation sergeant major or even sergeant major of the army while still in the rank of warrant officer class 1. In 2008 the warrant officer ranks were expanded so that the substantive ranks that came with senior appointments now became ranks that an individual kept after moving from that post.

Royal Navy
In 1973, warrant officers reappeared in the Royal Navy, but these appointments followed the army model, with the new warrant officers being ratings rather than officers. They were initially known as fleet chief petty officers (FCPOs), but were renamed warrant officers in the 1980s. They ranked with warrant officers class 1 in the British Army and Royal Marines and with warrant officers in the Royal Air Force.

There are Executive Warrant Officers for commands and ships. Four branches, Surface Ships, Submarines, Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm each have a Command Warrant Officer. The senior RN WO is the Warrant Officer of the Naval Service

British Army
In the British Army, there are two warrant ranks, warrant officer class 2 (WO2) and warrant officer class 1 (WO1), the latter being the senior of the two. It used to be more common to refer to these ranks as WOII and WOI (using Roman instead of Arabic numerals). "Warrant officer 1st class" or "2nd class" is incorrect. The rank immediately below WO2 is staff sergeant (or colour sergeant). From 1938 to 1940 there was a WO III platoon sergeant major rank.

Royal Marines
Before 1879, the Royal Marines had no warrant officers: by the end of 1881, the Royal Marines had given warrant rank to their sergeant-majors and some other senior non-commissioned officers, in a similar fashion to the army. When the army introduced the ranks of warrant officer class I and class II in 1915, the Royal Marines did the same shortly after. From February 1920, Royal Marines warrant officer class Is were given the same status as Royal Navy warrant officers and the rank of warrant officer class II was abolished in the Royal Marines, with no further promotions to this rank.

The Marines had introduced warrant officers equivalent in status to the Royal Navy's from 1910 with the Royal Marines gunner (originally titled gunnery sergeant-major), equivalent to the navy's warrant rank of gunner. Development of these ranks closely paralleled that of their naval counterparts: as in the Royal Navy, by the Second World War there were warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers (e.g. staff sergeant majors), commissioned staff sergeant majors, Royal Marines gunners, commissioned Royal Marines gunners, etc. As officers they were saluted by junior ranks in the Royal Marines and the army. These all became (commissioned) branch officer ranks in 1949, and special duties officer ranks in 1956. These ranks would return in 1972, this time similar to their Army counterparts, and not as the RN did before.

United States
In the United States military, a warrant officer (grade W-1 to W-5) is ranked as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks, as well as officer cadets and officer candidates, but below the officer grade of O-1 (NATO: OF-1). Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers, and while the ranks are authorized by Congress, each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces selects, manages, and utilizes warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to Warrant Officer (W-1), a warrant is approved by the secretary of the respective service, while Chief Warrant Officers (W-2 to W-5) are commissioned by the President of the United States and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers (O-1 to O-10).

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

All U.S. services employ warrant officer grades except the U.S. Air Force. Although still technically authorized, the Air Force discontinued appointing new warrant officers in 1959, retiring its last chief warrant officer from the Air Force Reserve in 1992.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard also discontinued the grade of W-1 in 1975, appointing/commissioning all new entrants as chief warrant officer 2 (pay grade W-2, with rank abbreviation of CWO2). Unlike the Army, all Navy and Coast Guard chief warrant officers are selected strictly from the chief petty officer pay grades (E-7 through E-9). The Coast Guard can and does select warrant officers from pay grade E-6.