Warrant Officer ( 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 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 respective 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 , 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 . Navy . In the Navy , Warrant Officers have traditionally been the technical experts whose skills and knowledge were an essential part of the proper operation of the ship . Navy CWOs serve in 30 specialties covering five categories . Navy Chief Warrant Officers are technical officer specialists who perform duties that require expertise and commissioned officer authority to direct technical operations in a given occupational area . Chief Warrant Officers should not be confused with Limited Duty Officer s in the Navy . Chief Warrant Officers perform duties that are technically oriented , that is , requiring skills directly related to previous enlisted service and specialized training , while not significantly affecting their ability to perform those duties through advancement to other duty positions and responsibilities — allowing the Navy to capitalize on their experience . With the exception of the recently implemented Flying Chief Warrant Officer program that is open to sailors in pay grades E - 5 and E - 6 , all Navy Chief Warrant Officers are recruited and accessed from the Chief Petty Officer paygrades , E - 7 through E - 9 , analogous to a senior non - commissioned officer in the other services . Background . Based on the British Royal Navy warrant ranks that were in place until 1949 , the Navy has had warrant officers among its ranks , in some form or another , since 23 December 1775 , when John Berriman received a warrant to act as purser aboard the brigantine , the USS " Andrea Doria " . That warrant was considered a patent of trust and honor but was not considered a commission to command . Since this first appointment , Navy and Coast Guard Warrant Officers have held positions as surgeons , master mates , boatswains , carpenters , and chaplains . While the United States , lacking an aristocracy , never needed to address the issues underlying the founding of warranted officers in the Royal Navy , a similar issue of rank — that is , highly competent senior non - commissioned officers reporting to inexperienced junior officers — gave rise to special status to the Navy ' s Chief Warrant Officers . In 1975 , the Navy stopped utilizing the grade of Warrant Officer ( W - 1 ) ; the reason for this involved " high year tenure " Chief Petty Officers actually losing pay when appointed to the grade of Warrant Officer . All CWOs in the Navy are now appointed CWO - 2 through CWO - 5 and managed by billets appropriate for each rank . There have also been historical examples of former E - 8s and E - 9s resigning their warrant commission prior to retirement so as to take a greater retirement pay in the senior enlisted ranks . Flying Chief Warrant Officer . As of 2006 the Navy started a test program called the " Flying Chief Warrant Officer Program " for pilots and naval flight officers . Enlisted sailors in the grades E - 5 through E - 7 who have at least an associate ' s degree and are not currently serving in the diver , master - at - arms , nuclear , SEAL , SWCC or EOD communities are eligible to apply . Upon being commissioned as CWO2s , selectees will undergo warrant officer indoctrination and then flight school for 18 to 30 months ; after completion of flight school , will be placed in one of four types of squadrons : anti - submarine , combat support , patrol or reconnaissance . The pilots and naval flight officers will be trained to operate P - 3s , EP - 3s and E - 6s ; for helicopter squadrons bringing in warrant officer pilots , will be trained to operate H - 60s . The program will be evaluated until 2011 when the last of the " flying chief warrant officers " are expected to report to their squadrons . Army . History . The Army Warrant Officer traces lineage to the civilian Headquarters Clerk , later designated the Army Field Clerk . An Army Judge Advocate General review determined they should be members of the military . Legislation in 1916 authorized those positions as military and on 9 July 1918 Congress established the rank and grade of warrant officer concurrent with establishing the Army Mine Planter Service ( AMPS ) within the Coast Artillery Corps . The mine vessels , formerly civilian crewed , would henceforth be crewed by military personnel with the vessel ' s master , mates , chief engineer , and assistant engineers Army Warrant Officers . The official color of the Warrant Officer Corps , brown , was based on the brown sleeve insignia of rank for ship ' s officers of the Army Mine Planter ( AMP ) . Since that time , the position of WO in the Army has been refined . In 1941 , two grades were created , Warrant Officer Junior Grade ( W1 ) and Chief Warrant Officer ( W2 ) . In 1942 , there were temporary appointments in about 40 occupational areas , then in September 1942 the grade of Flight Officer was created in the W1 pay grade and assigned to the US Army Air Force ( USAAF ) . Some of the first Flight Officers were Americans serving as sergeant pilots in the Royal Air Force and were transferred to the USAAF after the U . S . entered the war . Most Flight Officers were graduates of various USAAF flight training programs , including pilot , navigator and bombardier ratings . A portion of each graduating class were commissioned as Second Lieutenant s , while the remainder were appointed as Flight Officers . Once reaching operational units and after gaining flying experience , many Flight Officers were later offered direct commissions as lieutenants . In November 1942 , the War Department defined the rank order as having warrant officers above all enlisted grades and below all commissioned grades . In 1944 , women were appointed to the warrant officer grades . In 1949 , the grades of W3 and W4 were created with Chief Warrant Officer now occupying W2 , W3 and W4 , then in 1953 the Warrant Officer Flight Program was created , which trained thousands of warrant officer pilots . In 1954 , the new era of warrant officer history began . At the end of 1991 the grade of W5 was created . Mission and utilization . Today , the United States Army Warrant Officer is a technical expert , combat leader , trainer , and advisor . The purpose of the Army WO is to serve in specific positions which require greater longevity than the billet duration of commanders and other staff officers . The duration of these WO assignments result in increased technical expertise as well as the leadership and management skills that make them so effective for the Army . Army warrant officers serve as technical and tactical experts and leaders in 45 basic WO Military Occupational Specialties . They serve in 15 branches of the service , spanning the Active service , the Army National Guard , and the U . S . Army Reserve . They also serve at every level , from down at the section and platoon all the way to the upper echelons of the Department of the Army . Warrant officers command the Army ' s vessels and most bands and aircraft . In addition , they may be found in command of various small units and detached teams . Regardless of rank , Army warrant officers are officially addressed as Mr . ( Mrs . , Miss , Ms . ) . Unofficially , the informal title of " Chief " is often used as a familiar form of address . Training . The body of warrant officers in the Army comprises two communities : technicians and aviators . Technicians typically must be enlisted in the rank of Sergeant ( E - 5 ) or above in a related specialty to qualify to become a Warrant Officer . The aviation field is open to all applicants , military or civilian , who meet the stringent medical and aptitude requirements . Civilian applicants to Warrant Officer Flight Training ( WOFT ) are occasionally referred to as going from " high school to flight school " because a college degree is only a recommended qualification , compared to other service aviation programs . After selection to the Warrant Officer program , candidates attend the Warrant Officer Candidate Course which is developed and administered by the Warrant Officer Career College at Fort Rucker , Alabama . Active duty Army candidates attend the course at Fort Rucker ' s Warrant Officer Candidate School ( WOCS ) , while Army Reserve or National Guard candidates attend the course either at Fort Rucker or else one of the National Guard ' s Regional Training Institutes . After graduation , all candidates are promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer One ( WO1 ) . Technicians attend training at their respective branch ' s Warrant Officer Basic Course ( WOBC ) where they learn advanced subjects in their technical area before moving on to their assignments in the Army . Aviation warrant officers remain at Fort Rucker to complete flight training and the Aviation WOBC . Upon completion of their training , aviation warrant officers receive the Army Aviator Badge . Special Forces Warrant Officer Candidates , from both the active and reserve force components , attend the Special Forces Warrant Officer Technical and Tactical Certification Course ( SFWOTTC ) at the Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute , John F . Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School , Fort Bragg , North Carolina . The course includes both WOCS and WOBC , tailored to the unique training and experience of the Special Forces Sergeant . Candidates must be Staff Sergeant ( E - 6 ) and above and have served three years on an operational detachment . The Army in 2009 began training a limited number of its warrant officers at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth ( training at the college in the past was reserved almost exclusively for majors ) . Ranks . Warrant Officer , One ( WO1 ) Chief Warrant Officer , Two ( CW2 ) Chief Warrant Officer , Three ( CW3 ) Chief Warrant Officer , Four ( CW4 ) Chief Warrant Officer , Five ( CW5 ) Coast Guard . The Chief Warrant Officers in the Coast Guard may be found in command of larger small boat stations and patrol boats , as specialists and supervisors in other technical areas , and as special agents in the Coast Guard Investigative Service ( CGIS ) . They wear insignia essentially like that of their Navy counterparts , but add the USCG shield between the rank insignia and the specialty mark , as Coast Guard commissioned officers do with their rank insignia . Like their Navy counterparts , candidates for Chief Warrant Officer must typically be serving in the Chief Petty Officer grades ( E - 7 through E - 9 ) , however , the Coast Guard also permits selection of First Class Petty Officer ( E - 6 ) in the top 50 % of the promotion list to E - 7 . Like the Navy , the Coast Guard also does not use the rank of Warrant Officer ( WO1 ) . While the Coast Guard has been authorized use of the W - 5 grade , to date , it has not done so . Marine Corps . The Marine Corps has had warranted officers since 1916 as technical specialists who perform duties that require extensive knowledge , training and experience with particular systems or equipment . Marine warrant officers would be selected from the ranks of non - commissioned officers and given additional training in leadership and management . In 1943 , all Marine warrant officer ranks were aligned with the other services . They were Warrant Officer ( W1 ) and Commissioned Warrant Officer ( W2 ) . The duties Marine warrant officers typically fulfill are those that would normally call for the authority of a commissioned officer , however , require an additional level of technical proficiency and practical experience that a commissioned officer would not have had the opportunity to achieve . An enlisted Marine can apply for the Warrant Officer program after serving at least eight years of enlisted service , and reaching the grade of E - 5 ( Sergeant ) for the administrative warrant officer program or after serving at least sixteen years of enlisted service and reaching the grade of E - 7 ( Gunnery Sergeant ) for the weapons warrant officer program . If the Marine NCO is selected , he or she is given additional training in leadership and management . Air Force . The United States Air Force no longer uses the warrant officer grade . The USAF inherited warrant officer ranks from the Army at its inception in 1947 , but their place in the Air Force structure was never made clear . When Congress authorized the creation of two new senior enlisted ranks in 1958 , Air Force officials privately concluded that these two new " super grades " could fill all Air Force needs then performed at the warrant officer level , although this was not publicly acknowledged until years later . The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in 1959 , the same year the first promotions were made to the new top enlisted grade , Chief Master Sergeant . Most of the existing Air Force warrant officers entered the commissioned officer ranks during the 1960s , but tiny numbers continued to exist for the next 21 years . The last active duty Air Force warrant officer , CWO4 James H . Long , retired in 1980 and the last Air Force Reserve warrant officer , CWO4 Bob Barrow , retired in 1992 . Upon his retirement , he was honorarily promoted to CWO5 , the only person in the Air Force ever to hold this grade . Barrow died in April 2008 . Since Barrow ' s retirement , the Air Force warrant officer ranks , while still authorized by law , are not used . Public Health Service Commissioned Corps . , and of the U . S . Code of law establishes the use of warrant officers ( W - 1 to W - 4 ) with specific specialties to the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps for the purpose of providing support to the health and delivery systems maintained by the service , however the grades have never been used in Public Health Service history to date .