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I never really understood with there are Warrant Officers myself but I do know that all the ones I knew is the USMC were the worst people I ever met in my life. They were terrible leaders and did not inspire confidence at all.
My Army experience was the exact opposite. I had great interactions w/ WO's (Mostly pilots, but 1 or 2 others) and left the service with great respect for them as a group.
I'd never quite understood why anyone would switch to Warrant. They go from the highest ranking enlisted to the lowest ranking officer. I figured it was for the retirement money, which ain't bad.
I was in the army 40 years ago so my information might be outdated.
With the exception of one warrant officer all the warrants I ever met were young (in their 20's) helicopter pilots. If they stayed in they might have gone up one rank in WO status but after that moved on to be commissioned 1st lt. or captain. They were saluted.
The single warrant officer that wasn't a pilot was in charge of the motor pool for the battalion. That one I could never figure out.
But that was back in my day when you still had Spec 5's and Spec 6's.
I was a Army NCO (Staff Sergeant E-6) when I was appointed as a WO1 (I had 5 and 1/2 years of active service at that time). I was a Personnel Technician. As such, I had responsibilities greater than those of an NCO, and since I had worked personnel all my career, and enjoyed this, I felt that as a Warrant Officer, I could contribute more to our soldiers.
I later rose to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three, Regular Army, and at the same time held a Reserve Commission as a Captain. Most of my jobs as a Warrrant officer were interchangeable with junior commissioned officers. I was Chief of Enlisted Management, and when I was reassigned, a Captain replaced me. On another job at the 25th ID in Hawaii, I replaced a Captain.
Although the majority of Army Warrants are aviators, other warrants become specialists in their chosen career fields.
My Army experience was the exact opposite. I had great interactions w/ WO's (Mostly pilots, but 1 or 2 others) and left the service with great respect for them as a group.
To The OP I would say: if it ain't broke....
I guess I should have included the fact that I only knew two of them!
I was on a small MCAS and there weren't too many of them around.
I never really understood with there are Warrant Officers myself but I do know that all the ones I knew is the USMC were the worst people I ever met in my life. They were terrible leaders and did not inspire confidence at all.
I've met several WOs, in various MOSs, in adiition to LDOs that were WOs, and I know SNCOs who became WOs and they have almost all been exceptional WOs and good SNCOs before that.
A regular officer's rank is built upon capacity, a WOs rank is kind of built upon experience. WOs are used in positions where an officer rank/authority is necessary buy technical expertise is also of great importance. The reason you need an officer and not a senior is based upon the differences in the categories. Officers make policy/planning, enlisted carry out and enfore policy/planning.
That being said...I do think the CWO program adds value. I do completely agree that there are absolutely fine senior enlisted who would make miserable officers (and officers who could never cut it as a Master Chief). Few people have both sets of skills. For those who do, the CWO program gives another path for these talented people to serve. IMO there are not enough of them!
Warrant officers are in between enlisted and commissioned personnel. Even if they have to refer to a commissioned officer by sir/mam', he/she does not have to salute them, and he/she can also tell her/him how things are done just like that (eg. "Mam', you're wrong, that's not how you approach a group of newbies in this command"; I actually witness a CW2 tell that to a female navy captain as if it were the most normal thing in the world, and all she said "yes, you're right"). That's one of the reason for their existence: since they have all that technical knowledge they are extremely useful to line officers, and since they're neither enlisted or commissioned, they have that permission.
Even if they have to refer to a commissioned officer by sir/mam', he/she does not have to salute them,
Absolutely incorrect.
Rich
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