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 — let alone how to navigate such a vessel — 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 : 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 telegraphist s , electricians , shipwright s , 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 - lieutenant s 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 . Modern usage . 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 major s . 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 . United Kingdom . 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 officer s ( 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 major s ) , 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 , unit s , 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 .