A
Warrant Officer (
WO) is a
member of a military organization holding one of a specific group
of
ranks.
The rank
was first used in the (then) English Royal Navy and is today used
in many other countries, essentially the Commonwealth and USA
.
Outside the USA they are effectively senior
non-commissioned officers with long
military experience, although technically in a class of their own
between NCOs and
commissioned
officers.
However in the
United
States, warrant officers are technical leaders and specialists.
They may be technical experts with long service. Alternatively,
they may be direct entrants, notably for
US Army helicopter pilots.
For
comparison, in Germany
, the Army
rank of Hauptfeldwebel and
above is similar to a British Army Warrant Officer; in France
, the
'Adjudant' and
'Major' occupies a
similar role.
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.
These sailors became indispensable to the running of the ship and
were rewarded with an Admiralty warrant. The warrant was a special
designation, designed to set them apart from other sailors, yet not
violate the class system that was prevalent during the time.
Nevertheless, while the class distinctions embodied by the
distinction between commission and warrant were important at Court
and in society both at home and abroad, on board ship a person's
status has always depended more on the practical importance of the
job that he did rather than the formalities of commission or
warrant. Admiralty commissions were therefore never accorded the
unique status that the
Queen's
commission holds in the Army, and in the hierarchy of a Royal
Navy ship important warrant officers such as the Master would
outrank commissioned officers such as the
marine Lieutenants.
Four categories of WOs
Originally, warrant officers were specialist professionals whose
expertise and authority demanded formal recognition. They
eventually developed into four categories:
- Wardroom warrant officers
- Gunroom warrant officers
- Standing warrant officers
- Lower-grade warrant officers
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.
Relative Ranks in the Royal Navy,
c1810
Wardroom warrant officers
Wardroom warrant officers, formally called "Warrant Officers of
Wardroom Rank", were accorded the same privileges as commissioned
officers.
- The Sailing master, or Master,
like a master of a merchant ship, responsible for the navigation
and general sea-handling of the ship.
- The Surgeon
- The Chaplain
- The Purser, responsible for the
provisioning of the ship.
It may be noted that the positions listed above are now equivalent
to commissioned positions in the modern Royal Navy (i.e. navigating
officer, chaplain, medical officer and logistics officer).
Gunroom warrant officers
Gunroom warrant officers, or Cockpit mates, were technically petty
officers, but had high status and they outranked most warrant
officers because they were expected to reach a wardroom rank.
Master's mates evolved into the rank
Sub-lieutenant, and were either trying for a
Master's warrant or experienced midshipmen who either had passed or
were waiting to take the lieutenant's examination. Surgeon's mates
were well paid, but were in a lower category for prize money. A
midshipman was an apprentice officer working toward a commission as
a lieutenant, and were also in a lower category for prize money.
The Captain's clerk was a person employed by the captain, to keep
all the books necessary for passing his accounts. The Regulations
demanded that a purser serve some time as a captain's clerk, so the
clerk was often working toward a Purser's warrant.
Standing warrant officers
The standing warrant officers generally remained with the ship even
when it was out of commission, and often were involved in the
initial fit-out.
- The Boatswain, (pronounced bo'sun)
responsible, under the master, for the rigging, sails and anchors
of the ship.
- The Carpenter
- The Gunner, responsible for the
maintenance of the guns, but not the actual firing of them.
The carpenter was rendered obsolete with the end of wooden sailing
ships (to be replaced by shipwrights and now the civilian
constructors of the
Royal Corps of Naval
Constructors), but the roles of boatswain and the gunner in the
Royal Navy are now carried out by commissioned officers. In smaller
ships, the role of boatswain is carried out by the Chief
Boatswain's Mate.
Lower-grade warrant officers
Below the standing warrant officers were various warrant officers,
such as the
Caulker, the
Master-at-Arms, the
Ropemaker, the
Sailmaker
and the
Armourer, although in the hierarchy
of the ship these warrant officers might be junior to others who
did not hold formal warrants, such as the master's mates or the
midshipmen.
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. By the time of the
First World
War, the standing warrant officers had been 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). Their ranks had by then expanded with the
adoption of modern technology in the Navy to include
Telegraphists,
Electricians,
Shipwrights,
Artificer
Engineers, etc. Both WOs and CWOs messed in
the Warrant Officers' mess rather than the wardroom (although in
ships too small to have a WOs' mess they did mess in the wardroom).
WOs and CWOs carried swords, were saluted by ratings, and ranked
between
Sub-Lieutenants and
Midshipmen.
In 1949, the ranks of WO and CWO 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 WOs 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.
Return of warrant officers to the Royal Navy
In 1970, the rate of Fleet Chief Petty Officer (FCPO) was
introduced, with equivalent status to a Army/RAF Warrant Officer,
as the most senior rating status. In the 1990s, the rate of FCPO
was renamed to Warrant Officer (now known as Warrant Officer 1st
Class).
Prior to 2004, the rate of Charge Chief Petty Officer was awarded
to Air, Marine and Weapons Engineering Artificers as a technical
(i.e. non-substantive) rate in recognition of their superior trade
knowledge and experience. The Charge Chief rate was eventually
renamed in 2004 during a tri-service review of British ranks, and
given the title Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) to align them with
their Army/RAF counterparts. The rate of Warrant Officer was
renamed Warrant Officer Class 1. The WO2 rank can still only be
attained by engineering artificers (now called Engineering
Technicians). Non-engineering ratings are advanced by selection
from Chief Petty Officer direct to Warrant Officer Class
1(WO1).
Warrant officers in the British Army
Warrant officers were generally introduced throughout the British
Army under Army Order 70 of 1915, although
Regimental Sergeants Major and a
few other appointments (beginning in 1879, when
Conductors of Stores and Supplies
were warranted), had been warranted before that time. These earlier
warranted appointments, and some others, became WOIs. The
appointments that were designated WOIIs had previously been senior
sergeants. Unlike in the Royal Navy,
warrant officers in the Army were not considered officers and were
not saluted.
Warrant officers in the 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
sergeants-major and some other senior NCOs, 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. (See
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31765/pages/1414)
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 closedly
paralleled that of their naval counterparts: as in the RN, by the
Second World War there were Warrant Officers and Commissioned
Warrant Officers, e.g.
Staff
Sergeant Majors, 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.
Australia
Warrant Officers in the
Australian Defence Force are the
senior non-commissioned ranks.
Royal Australian Navy
The
RAN has two Warrant
Officer ranks. The first is
Warrant Officer (WO),
and is equivalent to an Army Warrant Officer Class One (WO1). The
insigne for a WO in the RAN is the Australian coat of arms. Beneath
the rank of WO, and equivalent to the Army's WO2 in status and
responsibility, but not rank, is
Chief Petty Officer (CPO). CPOs are not
classified as Warrant Officers and are in fact Senior
Non-commissioned Officers (SNCO), therefore they are technically a
lower rank than a Army WO2 who holds a 'Warrant' and is not a
SNCO.
The
RAN also has the more
senior rank of
Warrant Officer of the
Navy (WO-N). It is the most senior non-commissioned
rank in the RAN and is also a singular rank. That is, it is only
held by one person at any time.
Warrant Officers are not saluted because they are not a
commissioned rank.
Australian Army
The
Australian Army has three
Warrant Officer ranks. The most senior Warrant Officer rank is that
of
Warrant Officer (WO), introduced in 1991. This
rank is held by the
Regimental
Sergeant Major of the Army (RSM-A). It is the most senior
non-commissioned rank in the Australian Army and is held by only
one person at a time.
A
Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) can hold the
position of
Regimental
Sergeant Major (RSM) or Battalion Sergeant Major (BnSM) of a
battalion or equivalent unit, RSM of a brigade or larger formation,
or occasionally a training or administrative position, particularly
Quartermaster of a smaller unit.
Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) can hold the
position of
Company Sergeant
Major,
Squadron Sergeant
Major or
Battery Sergeant
Major, or a number of training or administrative
positions.
Army WO1s can be promoted to
Captain,
given what is known as a
Prescribed Service Commission.
It is rare for an officer promoted from WO1 to rise past
Major, or to be given a command position.
The insignia are a crown for a WO2, the Australian coat of arms
(changed from the royal coat of arms in 1976) for a WO1, and the
Australian coat of arms surrounded by a wreath for the RSM-A. All
these are worn on the sleeve on the upper arm.
Warrant Officers in the Army are addressed by subordinates as "Sir"
or "Ma'am". WO2 are generally addressed by their title by officers
of all ranks and WO1 are generally addressed as Mr, Miss or Ms and
their last name or their title as appropriatte. The RSM is only
addressed as RSM by his Commanding Officer.
Royal Australian Air Force
The
RAAF has one Warrant
Officer ranks. (WOFF) which is equivalent to an Army WO1. The
insignia of a WOFF is the Australian coat of arms. Beneath the rank
of WOFF.
The senior WOFF is
Warrant Officer of the Air
Force (WOFF-AF). It is the most senior non-commissioned
person in the RAAF and like the WO-N in the
RAN and the
RSM-A in the
Army, there is only one WOFF-AF in the
RAAF. The insignia is the
Australian coat of arms surrounded by a wreath. WOFF of the RAAF is
an appointment not a Rank. Under Defence regulations they hold the
substantive rank of WOFF and have no power of command over other
WOFFs.
RAAF Establishments and training schools will have a post of
Warrant Officer Disciplinary (WOD). They are responsible for all
disciplinary actions and carry an
ebony or
rosewood pace
stick. WOD is not a rank in itself, but an appointment.
Candidates must already hold the rank of WOFF or in some cases FSGT
and SGT (with 3 years seniority), and attend a WOD qualification
course at RAAF Base Wagga.
Canada
In the
Canadian Forces, Warrant
Officers are the senior
non-commissioned member (NCM) ranks.
There are three ranks in this group: in the
Army and
Air Force, they are (in
descending order):
Their
Naval
equivalents are, respectively:
The rank insignia of the WO is a royal
crown, worn on both forearms of the Service
Dress tunic; in gold metal and green enamel miniature pins on the
collar of the Service Dress shirt and outerwear coats (Army only);
on
CADPAT slipons worn in the middle of the
chest, embroidered in tan (Army) or dark blue (Air Force) thread;
and in "old gold" thread on blue slip-ons on both shoulders of
other uniforms (Air Force only). The rank insignia of an MWO or
CPO2 is a royal
crown surrounded by
a laurel wreath, while a CWO/CPO1 wears
Canada's coat of arms.
A CWO/CPO1 filling a special appointment wears slightly different
rank badges during the terms of the appointment. For example, the
senior CWO/CPO1 of a military base wears crossed swords below the
Canadian coat of arms, the senior CWO/CPO1 of a functional command
or "branch" of the Canadian Forces wears a small wreath under the
coat of arms, and the senior CWO of the Canadian Forces weats a
wreath of maple leaves around the coat of arms.
A WO of the
Canadian Grenadier
Guards and the
Governor General's Foot
Guards is referred to and addressed as
Colour Sergeant (CSgt). On ceremonial
full dress and patrol dress uniforms, a Colour Sergeant wears a
distinctive rank insignia, but on all other uniforms wears the WO's
crown.
Forms of address
The etiquette of addressing Warrant Officers is as follows
(assuming a member named Bloggins):
- Warrant Officer – initially as "Warrant Officer Bloggins" or
"Warrant Bloggins", thereafter as "Warrant"; except in foot guards regiments, initially as "Colour
Sergeant Bloggins", thereafter as "Colour Sergeant".
- Petty Officer 1st Class – initially as "Petty Officer Bloggins"
or "PO Bloggins", thereafter as "PO".
- Chief Petty Officer 1st/2nd Class – initially as "Chief Petty
Officer Bloggins" or "Chief Bloggins", thereafter as "Chief". The
distinction between 1st and 2nd class (for both Chiefs and POs) is
usually only made during formal awards, promotions or other
presentations.
- Master Warrant Officer – initially as "Master Warrant Officer
Bloggins", thereafter as "Sir" or "Ma'am" by subordinates, and as
"Master Warrant Officer" by superiors. May also be addressed as
"Sergeant-Major" if s/he holds that appointment.
- Chief Warrant Officer – initially as "Chief Warrant Officer
Bloggins" by subordinates, thereafter as "Sir" or "Ma'am"; "Mr./Ms.
Bloggins" by superiors; and, if s/he holds the title of Regimental
Sergeant-Major, "RSM" by his/her Commanding Officer.
IN Canada's highland regiments all Warrant officers are addressed
as Sergeant-Major normally
Appointments
A WO is usually the most senior NCM in a
platoon,
troop, or
flight, and holds the position of
Second-in-Command and is usually referred to as the Platoon WO (Pl
WO), Troop WO (Tp WO), or Flight WO (Flt WO). This applies to
independent organizations – e.g., an Air Reserve Flight – as well
as sub-units of a larger unit – e.g., a Pioneer Platoon in an
infantry regiment. If necessary, they may also act in the capacity
of second-in-command (2IC) of such a sub-unit under a
lieutenant.
WOs may
also command detachments of larger organizations, for example
Communication Detachment Great Village, near Debert, Nova
Scotia
, which falls under the command of 726 Communication
Squadron at CFB
Halifax
, almost 100 km (60 mi) away.
Commands, Bases and Formations also have Chief Warrant Officers -
sometimes referred to as, for example "Brigade RSM", "Base RSM",
etc.; there are special insignia for these, as well as for the most
senior CWO of the entire Canadian Forces, known as the Canadian
Forces Chief Warrant Officer.
Due to the unified nature of the CF, it is not unheard-of for Air
Force WOs or even Navy PO1s – especially those of the so-called
"purple trades", such as
logistics or
military police – to find
themselves filling WO appointments in what are otherwise considered
"hard" army units (such as Service Battalions or Communication
Squadrons). Conversely, it is not impossible for an Army WO or Navy
PO1 to find themselves filling a WO billet in an Air Force squadron
– an example would be an Army Line Technician as the Technical WO
of an Air Force base's telecommunications and information services
squadron.
Messes and quarters
WOs generally mess and billet with other Warrant Officers and with
Sergeants, and their Naval equivalents,
Chief Petty Officers and
Petty Officers. Their mess on military
bases or installations are generally named the "Warrant Officers
and Sergeants Mess". The Warrant Officers and sergeants mess in the
Guards regiments are larger than that of other regiments, because
of the inclusion of Lance Sergeants (equivalent to corporal in line
regiments) in the same category.
Usage note
The term "Warrant Officer" can be ambiguous; care must be taken to
distinguish between Warrant Officers as a particular Army and Air
Force rank, and Warrant Officers as a cadre, consisting of all
ranks mentioned above (including Warrant Officer). Generally,
whether one is referring to the rank or the cadre will be
determined by context.
Singapore
In the
Singapore Armed
Forces,
Warrant Officers are former
Specialists who have attained the
rank of
Master Sergeant and have
been selected for and graduated from the
Joint Warrant Officer
Course at
SAF Warrant
Officer School. Warrant officers rank between Specialists and
commissioned officers. They ordinarily serve as Battalion, Brigade,
etc.
Regimental Sergeant
Majors. A great deal 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 manpower, intelligence, etc. officers.
Interestingly (and possibly due to the Republic's dwindling
birthrate and consequent reduction in conscripted enlistees
selected for Commissioned Officer training,) Warrant Officers may
also be given appointments usually reserved for commissioned
officers such as platoon commander and
Officer Commanding (company commander) in
certain training units as well as combat and support arms. Having
had extensive practical experience through their career, Warrant
Officers are often given staff officer appointments such as
Quartermaster and
Mechanized Transport Officer in
training and non-combat units.
There are four grades of warrant officer:
These are the successor ranks to the previous warrant officer rank
structure which consisted of Warrant Officer Class II and I only in
the British style. Their rank insignia were the Singapore coat of
arms, and the coat of arms in laurels respectively. A Third Warrant
Officer grade was announced on 14 May 2009 as part of a revised
career structure for Warrant Officers.
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 wear their
insignia on their epaulettes like officers, instead of on the
sleeve like specialists and other soldiers. This signifies that
Warrant Officers often have similar responsibilities to
commissioned officers. Warrant Officers are addressed as "Sir" by
those junior to them or by "Warrant (Surname)". They are also
commonly addressed "Encik" ("Mister") by commissioned officers.
They are not, however, saluted by enlisted ranks.
South Africa
The South African armed forces have traditionally used the 'Warrant
Officer Class One' (WO1) and 'Warrant Officer Class Two' (WO2)
ranks in the British tradition. Senior WO1s were given appointments
(Levels 1 to 4 - senior to junior)
From 1 June 2008, the Warrant Ranks (Army/ Navy/ Air Force)
are:
Master Chief Warrant Officer (formerly level 1) -
e.g.
Master Chief Warrant Officer of the South African National
Defence Force.
Senior Chief Warrant Officer (formerly level 2) -
e.g.
Senior Chief Warrant Officer of the South African
Army.
Chief Warrant Officer (formerly level 3)
Master Warrant Officer (formerly level 4A)
Senior Warrant Officer (formerly level 4)
Warrant Officer Class One
Warrant Officer Class Two
Switzerland
In the
Swiss Army, warrant officers are
senior NCOs (
höhere Unteroffiziere/sous-officiers
supérieurs/sottuficiali superiori). The reforms in 2001
increased the number of Senior NCOs
ranks from three (
Feldweibel,
Fourier and
Adjutant Unteroffizier) to seven
(
Feldweibel, Hauptfeldweibel
, Fourier
,
Adjutant Unteroffizier
, Stabsadjutant
,
Hauptadjutant
, Chefadjutant
). But only
the Adjutant Unteroffizier
, Stabsadjutant
,
Hauptadjutant
and Chefadjutant
are referred as warrant
officers (Nato-Code OR-8, OR-9)
| Rank code |
WO-3 |
WO-4 |
WO-5 |
WO-6 |
| Designation |
Adjutant Unteroffizier
Adjudant sous-officier
Aiutante sottufficiale |
Stabsadjudant
Adjudant d'état-major
Aiutante di stato maggiore |
Hauptadjudant
Adjudant-major
Aiutante maggiore |
Chefadjudant
Adjudant-chef
Aiutante capo |
| English equivalent |
Warrant Officer |
Staff Warrant Officer |
Master Warrant Officer |
Chief Warrant Officer |
| Insignia |
 |
 |
 |
 |
United Kingdom
In the British armed forces, a warrant officer is the highest
non-commissioned rank (however, they are not technically
non-commissioned officers, but an
additional rank structure above Senior NCOs), holding the
Queen's warrant, which is signed by the
Secretary of State for
Defence. Warrant officers are not saluted, but are to be
addressed as 'Sir/Ma'am' by subordinates. Their seniors may address
Warrant Officers either by their appointment (eg QMSI, RSM or
Sergeant Major) or as "Mister, Mrs or Ms" and then their last name,
e.g. "Mr Smith". Warrant officers have all been promoted from NCO
rank.
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
Officers (FCPOs), but were renamed Warrant Officers in
the 1980s. They always ranked with Warrant Officers Class I in the
British Army and Royal Marines and with Warrant Officers in the
Royal Air Force.
In April 2004, the RN renamed the top rate
Warrant Officer
Class 1 (WO1) and created the new rate of
Warrant
Officer Class 2 (WO2) immediately below it, to replace the
appointment of
Charge Chief
Petty Officer. The latter was a senior
Chief Petty Officer, but not a
substantive rank in its own right. Only those who held the specific
appointment of Charge Chief Artificer (a CCPO in a skilled
technical trade) gained partial recognition as NATO OR-8
equivalent, as with WO2s. In the Fleet Air Arm, the Charge Chief
Artificer was commonly referred to as the Senior Maintenance Rating
(SMR) but continued to wear the traditional badges of the CPO which
made it difficult to distinguish his seniority from the others on a
Squadron or ship. With the advent of the WO2 the SMR is now
referred to as the Warrant Officer Engineering on most Naval
Squadrons.
Royal Navy warrant rates are thus now the same as those in the Army
and Royal Marines, and wear the same rank insignia. Like RM WO2s
(but unlike Army WO2s), all RN WO2s wear the crown-in-wreath
variation of the rank insignia.
In 2005, the Royal Navy introduced the appointment of
Executive Warrant Officer (EWO) equivalent to that
of the US Navy's
Command Master Chief Petty
Officer (CMCPO) and the Canadian Navy's
Command
Chief Petty Officer (CCPO). The position of EWO is
potentially filled by an established WO1 however significant
numbers of 'first appointment' WO1s have taken up these posts. This
fact is at odds with the relative comparison with other military
forces and their "senior" cadres. The appointment as EWO on a
non-capital ship will automatically mean that the incumbent is the
senior non-commissioned Rank of the ship as there are no other WO1s
borne in the ship's company. This is not the case on ships such as
aircraft carriers where up to nine WO1s are borne during
non-Operational deployments. Equally, the same situation applies to
RN Dockyards, shore based establishments and Royal Naval Air
Stations where the majority of WO1s are borne. Unlike its US Navy
and Canadian Forces counterparts, the Royal Navy EWO
does
not wear a different or modified rate badge to that of a
normal WO1. Every Royal Navy establishment and ship has an
EWO.
Royal Marines
The Royal Marines now has the same warrant ranks as the Army,
Warrant Officer Class 1 and
Warrant
Officer Class 2. The insignia are the same, but all RM
WO2s wear the crown-in-wreath variation. As in the Army, all
warrant officers have appointments by which they are known,
referred to and addressed.
WO2 appointments are:
WO1 appointments are:
The rank below WO2 is
Colour
Sergeant, the RM equivalent of
Staff
Sergeant.
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).
WO1s wear a royal coat of arms on the lower sleeve, except for the
Regimental Sergeants Major of
Foot Guards Regiments who wear a
larger version of the same coat of arms on the upper sleeve. The
insignia of those holding the most senior WO1 appointment of
Conductor is the coat of
arms surrounded by a wreath.
The four most senior warrant officer appointments in the British
Army according to Queens Regulations are, in descending order of
seniority:
Appointments
Every warrant officer has an appointment, and is usually referred
to by his appointment rather than by his rank. Appointments held by
WO1s include:
WO2s wear a crown on the lower sleeve, surrounded by a wreath for
Quartermaster Sergeants and all WO2s in the Royal Army Medical
Corps (The wreath was used for all WOIIs from 1938 to 1947).
Appointments held by WO2s include:
From 1938, there was also a rank of
Warrant Officer Class
III (
WOIII). The only appointments held
by this rank were
Platoon
Sergeant Major,
Troop Sergeant
Major and
Section Sergeant
Major. The WOIII wore a crown on his lower sleeve (which is why
all WOIIs switched to a crown in a wreath during this period). The
rank was placed in suspension in 1940 and no new appointments were
made, but it was never officially abolished.
Forms of Address
How warrant officers are addressed depends, as does much else in
the British Army, on the traditions of their regiment or corps.
However, there are some general rules of thumb:
- WO1s are usually addressed as "Mr. surname" by officers and by their peers, and as
"sir" or "Mr. surname, sir" by their
subordinates (for female WO1s, "Mrs., Ms. or Miss surname", "ma'am", and "Mrs., Ms. or Miss surname, ma'am", respectively); in some Regiments
only the RSM's Commanding Officer , and he alone, has the privilege
of addressing him as "RSM"; all others use the normal form of
address for WO1s;
- WO2s are commonly addressed by their appointment, for example
"Sergeant Major", "Corporal Major", "Q" for Quartermaster Sergeants
or "RQ" for the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant by their peers
and superiors. They are addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by
subordinates.
- A notable exception to the above is the Foot Guards and Honourable Artillery Company
where the Regimental Sergant Major is known as, and addressed by
officers as, the Sergeant Major and the Company (HAC Squadron)
Sergeants Major are addressed as Company (Squadron) Sergeant
Major.
Royal Air Force
The
Royal Air Force inherited the
ranks of
Warrant Officer Class I and II from the
Royal Flying Corps, part of the
Army, in 1918. It also inherited the rank badges of the Royal Arms
and a crown respectively. Until the 1930s, these ranks were often
known as
Sergeant Major 1st and 2nd Class. In
1939, the RAF abolished the rank of WOII and retained WOI as simple
Warrant Officer, which it remains to this day. The
RAF has no equivalent to WO2 (NATO OR-8), WO being equivalent to
WO1 (NATO OR-9) and wearing the Royal Arms. Warrant officers are
addressed as Warrant Officer or sometimes this is abbreviated down
to just "Warrant". The correct way to address a Warrant Officer is
"sir" or "ma'am" by the airmen and "Mr or Warrant Officer -Name-"
by the officers. They do not have appointments as in the Army or
Royal Marines. They rank above
Flight
Sergeants.
In 1946 the RAF renamed its
aircrew warrant
officers
Master
Aircrew, a designation which still survives. In 1950,
it renamed warrant officers in technical trades
Master
Technicians, a designation which only survived until
1964.
Cadet organisations
SCC
An eligible CPO(SCC) or C/Sgt(SCC) may apply for a Warrant
Officer's Selection Board (WOSB) at national level, providing he or
she meet the necessary requirements. Upon successful completion of
this board, a CPO(SCC) will be rated WO2(SCC)RNR, or a C/Sgt(SCC)
will be promoted to WO2(SCC)RMR. SCC WOs are permitted to use the
postnominals RNR / RMR. Each area may select one WO from its pool
of WO2(SCC)RNR/RMRs, to undertake the role of Area Executive
Warrant Officer (AEWO), and with that responsibility be rated
WO1(SCC)RNR/RMR. In addition the Marine Cadet Section was an RSM,
who is also a WO1(SCC)RMR.
ACF and CCF (Army)
The rank of warrant officer does not exist in the
ACF and
CCF (Army) - it is often misused by
those holding appointments as Sergeants Major or Sergeants Major
Instructor (either Cadets or AIs) in the CCF (Army) and ACF who are
not holders of Warrants and thus not Warrant Officers.
ATC and CCF (RAF)
The
Air Cadet Organisation
has a single Cadet Warrant Officer rank in the same way as the RAF
- they are always addressed as "Warrant Officer", "Warrant", "CWO"
or "Cadet Warrant Officer" (Warrant Officer is the correct form of
address), and not as "Sir/Ma'am". ATC Adult staff promoted to
Warrant Officer have the title WO (ATC), and are addressed in the
same way as regular RAF Warrant Officers - i.e. as 'sir' by
subordinates and as Mr/Mrs/Miss by Officers. Officers may choose to
call them by their rank, e.g. Warrant Officer Matthews (or Warrant
Matthews), assuming the Warrant Officer has a surname of Matthews.
Both types wear a crown as insignia, rather than the royal coat of
arms — the insignia for a Cadet WO has a laurel wreath to
distinguish it from WO (ATC). Some WOs (ATC) are authorised to wear
the coat of arms (referred to coloquially as "
Tate & Lyles", either as ex-regular WOs
or, in the past, for time served. New WO's (ATC) having previously
served as a WO (RN, RAF) or WO1 (RM, Army) may wear the Royal Arms
upon appointment .
See also
References
- Hansard, 29 July 1879
- London Gazette, 2 December 1881
- London Gazette, 12 November 1915
- London Gazette, 15 November 1910
- London Gazette, 15 June 1917
- see Army Senior Noncommissioned Officer and Warrant Officer
Commissioning Scheme and Prescribed Service Officer
- Australian Government, Department of Defence, Australian Defence Force Badges of Rank and Special
Insignia, accessed 19 March 2007.
- MINDEF, History Snippets, 1992 - The SAF Warrant Officer
School, 7 January 2007. Accessed 19 March 2007.
- RMAS Lecture OS005 - The Exemplary Officer, Military
Etiquette
- [1]"ACP 31 Section 1", HQAC Official
Site]
- [2]"ACP 31 Section 5", HQAC Official
Site]
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