Warrant Officers (Split from Missing career paths)

[WonderGoon]

A character with Education: 5+ and Intelligence: 5+ may become a warrant officer. If so, the character enters the Warrant Officer Candidacy School (WOCS) receives Leadership: 1, Instruction: 1, and Persuasion: 1, then conducts her first term normally. Warrant officers can be members of the following branches: Artillery, Aviation, Special Forces, Engineering, Support, Intelligence, Medical, Quartermaster, and Transportation.
Warrant officers are addressed as “Mr” or “Ms” (depending on sex), and (when promoted) become Chief Warrant Officers.
Warrant officers have nearly the same status and privileges as commissioned officers but are initially appointed by warrant because of their technical expertise. Most army pilots, for instance, are Warrant Officers. The insignia are silver with black bars.

WARRANT OFFICER RANK PROGRESSION TABLE
Rank (W-*)
Warrant Officer (W-1)
Chief Warrant Officer (W-2)
Chief Warrant Officer (W-3)
Chief Warrant Officer (W-4)
Master Warrant Officer (MW-5)

[pmulcahy11b]

Is Master Warrant Officer a new designation? I've always just heard CWO-5s referred to as Chief Warrant Officers.

[WonderGoon]

Is Master Warrant Officer a new designation? I've always just heard CWO-5s referred to as Chief Warrant Officers.

When I joined the Army, I was given a book called ARMY: Guide for new soldiers. In it, it covered the various ranks and their insignia. The information for the Warrant Officer was listed as W-1 Warrant Officer, Chief Warrant Officer-2-4, and Master Warrant Officer MW-5.

The IET Soldier's Handbook lists Warrant Officer and four ranks of Chief Warrant Officer.

I would tend to go with official Army documents given in training. So, regard the Master Warrant Officer as an editorial mistake. My apologies.

Regards,
Goon

[rcaf_777]

Master Warrant Officer is a rank in the Canadian where warrant officers are rank above Sgt, Master Warrant Officer (MWO), typical hold postions of Company Sgt Maj. My had a Punishment Jar

WonderGoon

You left out Chaplain Assit

[chico20854]

(Kato - can we split this to a new thread on Warrant Officers???)

One thought I have on the Warrant Officers - first term soldiers. I believe that, in reality if not in regulation, that its pretty much impossible for a first term soldier to become a US Army warrant officer in any field outside aviation. It relates to the "nature of the beast" - a warrant officer is generally a highly skilled technician, who's skill level is such that his career path demands that he continue to practice that skill (rather than leadership per se) but needs to be compensated (financially, status and otherwise) at a higher level than a NCO. My experience with logistics, military intelligence and maintenance warrant officers in the US Army was that the Army had taken the best supply sergeants, interrogators/analysts and mechanics in the Army and made them warrant officers. They uniformly impressed me as being the most competent soldiers I met, so good that at times it seemed as if they had magical powers. (One MI warrant I knew could open any lock on the planet in under 30 seconds...) But generally the requirements to apply for warrant officer school in non-aviation fields are that the applicant be a NCO in a related field, possibly E-6, I don't recall...

Aviation is a bit different, where the Army needs large quantities of highly skilled people - helicopter pilots - without them needing to exercise command authority, and where there isn't a skill path that leads progressively towards it. As a result, first-term soldiers are eligible.

The USMC runs their process a little differently. Law went through it in the last year or two. He is an infantry warrant officer - his job (as all infantry WO's) is to serve as an infantry battalion commander's weapons and tactics advisor, proficient in all the weapons systems the battalion fields. His training (after completing warrant officer school and after 15+ years as an infantryman including time as a company first sergeant) included pretty much every infantry skill school the USMC offers - rocket launcher crewman, sniper-scout platoon leaders course, mortarman course, AT gunner course, foreign weapons, etc. The US Army doesn't do this because the NCO corps usually fills this role, but the USMC assigns senior NCOs irrespective of MOS (everyone is a rifleman and leading Marines is leading Marines) so its possible to have an infantry battalion sergeant major that spent his entire career on the flight line. The USMC also has technical warrant officers like the Army, I have a friend that's a USMC firefighter warrant officer!

[kato13]

(Kato - can we split this to a new thread on Warrant Officers???)

Done. Five posts is usually my minimum for considering it.

[WonderGoon]

(Kato - can we split this to a new thread on Warrant Officers???)

One thought I have on the Warrant Officers - first term soldiers. I believe that, in reality if not in regulation, that its pretty much impossible for a first term soldier to become a US Army warrant officer in any field outside aviation. It relates to the "nature of the beast" - a warrant officer is generally a highly skilled technician, who's skill level is such that his career path demands that he continue to practice that skill (rather than leadership per se) but needs to be compensated (financially, status and otherwise) at a higher level than a NCO. My experience with logistics, military intelligence and maintenance warrant officers in the US Army was that the Army had taken the best supply sergeants, interrogators/analysts and mechanics in the Army and made them warrant officers. They uniformly impressed me as being the most competent soldiers I met, so good that at times it seemed as if they had magical powers. (One MI warrant I knew could open any lock on the planet in under 30 seconds...) But generally the requirements to apply for warrant officer school in non-aviation fields are that the applicant be a NCO in a related field, possibly E-6, I don't recall...

Aviation is a bit different, where the Army needs large quantities of highly skilled people - helicopter pilots - without them needing to exercise command authority, and where there isn't a skill path that leads progressively towards it. As a result, first-term soldiers are eligible.

The USMC runs their process a little differently. Law went through it in the last year or two. He is an infantry warrant officer - his job (as all infantry WO's) is to serve as an infantry battalion commander's weapons and tactics advisor, proficient in all the weapons systems the battalion fields. His training (after completing warrant officer school and after 15+ years as an infantryman including time as a company first sergeant) included pretty much every infantry skill school the USMC offers - rocket launcher crewman, sniper-scout platoon leaders course, mortarman course, AT gunner course, foreign weapons, etc. The US Army doesn't do this because the NCO corps usually fills this role, but the USMC assigns senior NCOs irrespective of MOS (everyone is a rifleman and leading Marines is leading Marines) so its possible to have an infantry battalion sergeant major that spent his entire career on the flight line. The USMC also has technical warrant officers like the Army, I have a friend that's a USMC firefighter warrant officer!

Given that information, and considering the information I linked to when I posted the USMC information, an extensive rewrite is needed of the warrant officer information I presented above.

However, one thing to keep in mind is the game mechanics for becoming a warrant officer mirror those of OCS. For the sake of simplicity, it may be best to leave the system I've outlined as is.

Of course, you, or anyone, really, are free to alter or ignore this information as you see fit.

I would also ask, given what you've written above, do you have a better suggestion of how to handle warrant officers within Twilight: 2000?

Regards,
Goon

P.S.- Kato, thanks for the split. This topic needs to be delved to compile the most accurate information.

[pmulcahy11b]

One thought I have on the Warrant Officers - first term soldiers. I believe that, in reality if not in regulation, that its pretty much impossible for a first term soldier to become a US Army warrant officer in any field outside aviation.

Actually, if you have a peculiar specialty the Army wants but doesn't warrant (pardon the pun) a full commission, they can give someone a warrant commission instead. One of our computer specialists in Korea, an, er, rehabilitated hacker, was given a CWO2 commission directly when he went into the Army. But you're right, these are rare.

Warrant officers that are directly commissioned tend to have not regular college, but are graduates of technical-orientated non-universities. I've heard (but never met) of graduates of places like Hallmark or ITT going in as warrant officers.

Supposedly, Delta's "funny platoon" has some Warrants with interesting specialties. Of course, this sort of thing is impossible to confirm (as is the existence of the funny platoon itself...)

[pmulcahy11b]

It should also be noted that in the US military, if you are of higher rank than E-7 (Sergeant First Class) and/or older then 35 years of age, you are ineligible for any type of commission -- Warrant or regular Officer. If you've reached your 30th birthday, you face an extra uphill climb towards commission.

[Targan]

It should also be noted that in the US military, if you are of higher rank than E-7 (Sergeant First Class) and/or older then 35 years of age, you are ineligible for any type of commission -- Warrant or regular Officer.

Huh. All the Warrant Officers I ever met in the Australian Army were older than 35. They were all company or batallion Sgt Majors though.

[pmulcahy11b]

Huh. All the Warrant Officers I ever met in the Australian Army were older than 35. They were all company or batallion Sgt Majors though.

That's the different way we use Warrants. In the US, Warrants are specialists at their job. I've noticed in most countries with a British-based rank structure, Warrants were what we would call E-7s, E-8s, and E-9s (Sergeant First Class, First Sergeant, and Sergeant Major).

[Legbreaker]

Over here if a senior NCO is making noises about retirement but is seen to be a useful member of a unit, chances are they'll be offered a commission as a Lieutenant (if Sergeant), Captain (if WO2) or Major (is WO1).
Age doesn't really come into it - skill and knowledge are all important.