Warrant Officer - Roles and Responsibilities

[BigLou42]

Hi guys, 3rd post now, sorry if this is in the wrong spot/has been asked before, I've looked around a bit and couldn't find much info on it, so here's a few questions:

1. If you were in the Infantry, how many years of experience would you have to have to become eligible for Warrant Officer?

2. Do you need to take some special course to become a WO?

3. Can WOs command platoons?

4. What is the difference between a Junior Officer and a Warrant Officer aside from WOs being specialists?

5. What is the difference between a Warrant Officer, Master WO, and Chief WO?

Thanks guys.

 

[off126]

My 1st!  ;D

1- Anywhere from 7 to 20+, though 7 year warrants are rare (I know of 1, but I haven't been in very long compared to some).
2- Yes, just as you need a course for your MCpls and Sgts.
3- Absolutely, though typically they act as PL 2ICs, every member is supposed to be able to take a position 2 levels above his own, so if need be a warrant could be called upon to command a company.
4- Worlds  ^-^ and warrants are not specialists by definition, but experienced NCOs, while Junior Officers are just that, from newly commissioned Officers to Captains.
5- Experience and responsibility are the main differences. At the MWO and CWO levels you start seeing Sargeants Major (appointments, not ranks), who take care of the troops' discipline as well as dress, drill and deportment for what ever ''their'' officer commands (company comd, battalion comd, regiment comd and all the way up to the CDS).

 

[BigLou42]

Whoa, thanks for the info! I wasn't expecting a reply that quick, and welcome to the forums!

Can Warrant Officers ever move up to Officers?

 

[canuck101]

The answer is Yes. You can do it by becoming a MWO then  CWO.

 

[ghyslyn]

An NCM ranking member of the CF can become a commissioned officer by being nominated for the position, accepting it and taking specific courses, and to be honest if you're still new to the military understanding this will be the least of your concerns for now

 

[TCBF]

- Non Commissioned Members  - NCMs - were known as 'Other Ranks' (ORs) until the mid 1980s.  They then morphed into "Members Other Than Officers" (mercifully briefly), then into NCMs.

- There are those who did - and still do - think that NCM replaced NCO: it did NOT.  NCM replaced OR. So, a Junior NCO is still a Junior NCO.  You would no more say "Junior NCM" than you would have said "Junior OR" in 1983.

- So: NCMs consist of:
Privates

Junior NCOs:

Corporal
 
Master Corporal (an appointment, not a rank).

Senior NCOs:

Sergeant

Warrant Officers:

Warrant Officer
Master Warrant Officer
Chief Warrant Officer

Before 1968, Lance Corporal was a rank junior to Corporal, Lance Sergeant was junior to Sergeant.  Staff Sergeant was where a Warrant Officer is now.  CWO and MWO were WO 1st and 2nd Class, respectively.  These were the "Other Ranks" in the Canadian Army and most Commonwealth armies.  RCN and RCAF ranks also conformed to the Commonwealth Naval and Air ranks before 1968.

 

[Starlight31]

Ok, here is a questing? (and sorry to hi-jack),

    About 13 years ago, a question was once asked of me!  Why is it, that Officers are Commissioned, and WO's are given the title "Warrant" Officers? 

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Just a small point here...years of experience does not guaruntee someone will make it to the rank of WO, or any other rank for that matter (exempt Cpl and Capt for Junior Officers...IMO).

Other factors include performance (good, bad or otherwise), conduct on/off duty hours, courses, and abilities.

Considering those factors, you can see why there is no hard and firm answer as to how much time it would take a person to progress to the rank of WO.  And those are only *some* of the factors.

TCBF, thanks for that post.  I always get ruffled when the NCM/NCO terminology is misused (commonly it seems, these days...).

 

[AmmoTech90]

About 13 years ago, a question was once asked of me!  Why is it, that Officers are Commissioned, and WO's are given the title "Warrant" Officers?

Because Officers are granted a Commission and Warrant Officers are granted a Warrant. ...

Well Canadian Chief Warrant Officers are granted a Warrant, WO/MWO are not.  In some other Commonwealth militaries all Warrant Officers are granted Warrants, I guess we have to many and someone would get writers cramp signing them all.
I can't find what is on a CWO Scroll, but here is the text on a Commissioning Scroll:
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
To ........ .........
hereby appointed an Officer in Her Majesty’s Canadian Armed Forces
With Seniority of the .... day of ......... ....
WE reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and Integrity do by these Presents Constitute and Appoint you to be an Officer in our Canadian Armed Forces. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your Duty as such in the Rank of .............. or in such other Rank as We may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote or appoint you to, and you are in such manner and on such occasions as may be prescribed by us to exercise and well discipline both the Inferior Officers and Non-Commissioned Members serving under you and use your best endeavor to keep them in good Order and Discipline, and We do hereby Command them to Obey you as their Superior Officer, and you to observe and follow such Orders and Directions as from time to time you shall receive from Us, or any other your Superior Officer according to Law, in pursuance of the Trust hereby Reposed in you.
IN WITNESS Whereof our Governor General of Canada hath hereunto set his hand and Seal at Our Government House in the City of Ottawa this .... day of .......... in the Year of our Lord ................... and in the .... Year of Our Reign.
By Command of Her Excellency the Governor General

 

[helpup]

A question BigLou, why the intrest in the rank of WO? It seems to be either your goal or your stumped by the title.  And don't confuse our WO rank with the American one.  Theirs is more of a specialist title given some ( NCM/ O generally) Who due to a skill set and not being a officer is given that rank that if memory serves me is actually higher then the Staff Sgt, Sgt Maj level.

And we don't call it this out side of joking but in our Warrant School we really don't learn how to be a WO.  We learn to be a Pl Comd, practice being a Pl 2IC and are suppose to know through OJT what our task is.  After WO school we still need to go to a " finishing school" where we learn the social graces, paper pushing skills, and how to organize a " Army Parade "  ;D

 

[helpup]

Mind you that is for my trade, Infantry and all other trades will have something similar but trade specific.  But to be substantiated into that rank ( made permanent not while so employed ) All WO must have completed a ILQ (finishing school)

 

[aesop081]

 Theirs is more of a specialist title given some ( NCM/ O generally) Who due to a skill set and not being a officer is given that rank that if memory serves me is actually higher then the Staff Sgt, Sgt Maj level.

United States Army warrant officers are comissioned officers. This is not a title but actual rank. They are specialist officers as oposed to generalists like other officers.

http://usawocc.army.mil/whatiswo.htm

When promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two, warrant officers are commissioned by the President and have the same legal status as their traditional commissioned officer counterparts. However, warrant officers remain single-specialty officers whose career track is oriented towards progressing within their career field rather than focusing on increased levels of command and staff duty positions.

 

[geo]

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 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 Uniformed Services selects, manages, and utilizes warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to Warrant Officer One (W-1), a warrant is approved by the secretary of the service.

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.

 

[McG]

And for more information, look here:  http://milnet.ca/wiki/index.php/Warrant_Officers

 

[Starlight31]

Thank you Ammo,

      I guess the question really is...  the title Officer..  I understand that an Officer is given a "Commission" and that a WO is given a "Warrant", however... We do not address Officers as Capt "Officer" Bloggins, or Maj "Officer" Bloggins, vs. (to include MWO, CWO) as Warrant "Officer" Bloggins?  I know, that this may just be a play on words, but their must be a historical meaning?  

    Call it UFI, and I am sure that most could say "Who Cares", but as mentioned, it was a question posed to me, and every WO/MWO/CWO that I have asked have not been able to answer it.  I know that out there, someone will know the answer to it?

    Geo, that is the best def I have been given, and explains why a WO has been given a Warrant.. Charged to be a Tech expert, take command (or take over), etc...  

Thank you

 

[Michael OLeary]

      I guess the question really is...  the title Officer..  I understand that an Officer is given a "Commission" and that a WO is given a "Warrant", however... We do not address Officers as Capt "Officer" Bloggins, or Maj "Officer" Bloggins, vs. (to include MWO, CWO) as Warrant "Officer" Bloggins?  I know, that this may just be a play on words, but their must be a historical meaning?  

We address WOs as "Warrant Officer" because that is the full form of their rank.  Officers' ranks are "Captain" and Major" (etc.), not "Captain Officer" and Major Officer".

 

[Eye In The Sky]

      I guess the question really is...  the title Officer..  I understand that an Officer is given a "Commission" and that a WO is given a "Warrant", however... We do not address Officers as Capt "Officer" Bloggins, or Maj "Officer" Bloggins, vs. (to include MWO, CWO) as Warrant "Officer" Bloggins?  I know, that this may just be a play on words, but their must be a historical meaning?

Well, IMO, we say Captain Bloggins because his rank is Captain, IAW the CF Rank Structure.  Whether he/she is a 2Lt, Capt of BGen, they are all Officers.

However, Warrant Officer is a rank.  

Could it be that simple?

Edit - Mr O'Leary beat me to it. 

 

[helpup]

United States Army warrant officers are comissioned officers. This is not a title but actual rank. They are specialist officers as oposed to generalists like other officers.

http://usawocc.army.mil/whatiswo.htm

I sit corrected ( and not suprised by that ) been a bit since I had to deal with a U.S WO

 

[Harley Sailor]

Wow, Wikipedia is really great for answering quesitons such as "What exactly is a Warrant Officer?"

I never knew that "Warrant Officer" started out as a Navy term. 

 

[vonGarvin]

- Non Commissioned Members  - NCMs - were known as 'Other Ranks' (ORs) until the mid 1980s.  They then morphed into "Members Other Than Officers" (mercifully briefly), then into NCMs.

not quite, but very close.  "Other Ranks", as I recall, certainly did not apply to non-commissioned officers nor to warrant officers.  Leaving, I suppose, privates.  Colloquially, we referred to Cpls as "other ranks"; however, that wasn't quite correct, they are, after all, non-commissioned officers (junior, at that).

So, we have "Junior Ranks" (Pte, Cpls), "Junior Non-commissioned officers (Cpls) "Sr. NCO's" (Sergeants) and "Warrant Officers" (WO, MWO, CWO).  Please note that some people (erroneously) refer to Warrant Officers as Senior NCOs.

Non Commissioned Member refers to all of the above.  We never really had a term that encompassed all that.  Oh, and "other ranks" were also known as "men" at one time.  Or was it all NCMs?

As for officers...well...that's another thread!

As for MCpl, that is an appointment, so where you see "Cpl" above, you can also insert "MCpl".