A warrant officer (WO) 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 typically by virtue of seniority.
The warrant officer's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert, providing valuable skills, guidance, and expertise in their particular field.
ARMY WARRANT OFFICERS
Warrant Officers are the technical experts of the Army. They have specific technical or tactical specialties (e.g., helicopter pilots), and manage and maintain many of the Army’s combat systems, vehicles and networks. Once they reach the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2), the President of the United States gives them the same status as a Commissioned Officer.
NAVY WARRANT OFFICERS
Most Navy warrant officers are highly trained technical specialists such as electronics techs, software experts, or pilots. They receive a presidential commission as a warrant officer after a rigorous selection process. The warrant officer program was reconfigured in 2002 largely to enable the US military to retain senior technical personnel by paying them at officer grades. Warrant officers tend to have specific technical responsibilities, and not the more general management duties of commissioned officers.
For more information:
http://www.armyenlist.com/mos/warrant-officer-corps/
What's next for X?
X is for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). What does an EOD do? In which branches of the military would you find one? Come back tomorrow and find out!
Interesting that they transfer to commissioned officer status after reaching a certain point. Weekends In Maine
ReplyDeleteThe military is full of interesting information =)
DeleteI'd always heard the term Warrant Officer, but never really knew what it meant.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both. But now we both know =)
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