Warrant officer (United Kingdom)

WO1 (GSM) Bill Mott, Welsh Guards.

A warrant officer (WO) in the British Armed Forces is a member of the highest group of non-commissioned ranks, holding the Queen's (or King's) warrant, which is signed by the Secretary of State for Defence. Warrant officers are not saluted as they do not hold the Queen's Commission, however they are to be addressed as 'Sir/Ma'am' by subordinates. Commissioned officers may address warrant officers either by their appointment (e.g. QMSI, RSM or sergeant major) or as "Mister", "Mrs", or "Ms" and then their last name, e.g. "Mr Smith". Although often referred to along with non-commissioned officers (NCOs), they are not NCOs, but members of a separate group (traditional official terminology for the personnel of a unit is "the officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men"), although all have been promoted from NCO rank.

Royal Navy

A boatswain of the Royal Navy in about 1820.

Use of the term 'warrant officer' dates from the beginnings of the Royal Navy, a time when ships were commanded by noblemen who depended on others with specialist skills to oversee the practicalities of life on board. Specialists such as a ship's carpenter, boatswain and gunner were vital to the safety of all on board, and were accordingly ranked as officers - though by warrant rather than by commission. These and other specialists retained their distinctive rank and status until 1949, when the rank of warrant officer was abolished.

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, superior to the rate of chief petty officer. They were ranked as equivalents to warrant officers class I in the British Army and Royal Marines and with warrant officers in the Royal Air Force. The rank was initially titled as fleet chief petty officer, becoming warrant officer in the 1980s.

In April 2004, the Royal Navy created the rate of warrant officer class 2 (WO2), superior to the CPO and subordinate to existing warrant officers who were retitled as warrant office class 1 (WO1). The WO2 replaced the non-substantive appointment of charge chief petty officer (CCPO) in the technical branches. Prior to this change the CCPO was considered as a NATO OR-8, equivalent to WO2. In non-technical branches, there is still no requirement to hold WO2 rank before promotion to WO1. Warrant officers wear the same rank insignia as their counterparts in the Royal Marines.

In 2005, the Royal Navy introduced the appointment of executive warrant officer (EWO) in all ships and shore establishments. The EWO is the senior warrant officer within the unit, and a member of the senior command team. The appointment is intended to be filled by an experienced WO1.^[1] Above these are four command warrant officers: CWO Surface Ships, CWO Submarines, CWO Royal Marines (subordinate to the Corps RSM), CWO Fleet Air Arm and CWO Maritime Reserves.^[2]

The most senior warrant officer is the Warrant Officer of the Naval Service (WO(NS)), a position to be held by WO1 Steve Cass from December 2013.^[3][4] This post replaced the Command Warrant Officer working under the Second Sea Lord^[5] in 2010^[6]

The WO2 rank started to be phased out in April 2014, with no new appointments, with existing holders of the rank of WO2 to retain the rank until they are either promoted or leave the service.^[7]

Royal Marines

Before 1879, the Royal Marines had no warrant officers,^[8] but by the end of 1881, warrant rank was held by sergeant-majors and some other senior NCOs, in a similar fashion to the Army.^[9] Warrant officers were given equivalent status to those in the Royal Navy from 1910, with the Royal Marines gunner (originally titled gunnery sergeant-major) equivalent to the Navy's warrant rank of gunner.^[10][11]

Shortly after the Army introduced the ranks of warrant officer classes I and II in 1915, the Royal Marines did the same.^[12] From February 1920, Royal Marines warrant officers class I were once more retitled warrant officers and given the same status as Royal Navy warrant officers^[13] and the rank of warrant officer class II was abolished in the Royal Marines, with no further promotions to the rank, although men who already held it retained it.^[14]

As in the Royal Navy, 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. These all became (commissioned) branch officer ranks in 1949, and special duties officer ranks in 1956.

In 1973 the Royal Marines reintroduced the same warrant ranks as the Army, warrant officer class 1 and warrant officer class 2, replacing the ranks (as opposed to appointments) of quartermaster sergeant and regimental sergeant major.^[15] The insignia are the same, but all Royal Marines WO2s wear the crown-in-wreath variation. As in the Army, many warrant officers have appointments by which they are known, referred to and addressed.

WO2 appointments are:

• Company sergeant major
• Regimental quartermaster sergeant
• Bandmaster
• Corps drum major

WO1 appointments are:

• Regimental sergeant major
• Bandmaster
• Corps bandmaster
• Corps bugle major

The most senior Royal Marines WO1 is the Corps Regimental Sergeant Major. Directly junior to him is the Command Warrant Officer.^[2]

The rank below WO2 is colour sergeant, the Royal Marines equivalent of staff sergeant. The Royal Marines rank of warrant officer class 2 is unaffected by the 2014 phaseout of the rank in the Royal Navy.

British Army

Arm badge of a WO1 Conductor RLC (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 sergeant majors 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.

Historically, the four most senior warrant officer appointments in the British Army according to Queen's Regulations were, in descending order of seniority:^[16]

• Conductor, Royal Logistic Corps
• Royal Artillery Sergeant Major, Royal Artillery
• Academy Sergeant Major, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
• Garrison Sergeant Major, London District

In 2015, the new appointment of Army Sergeant Major was introduced. The holder of this appointment is now the most senior warrant officer in the British Army.

Appointments

The insignia of a warrant officer class one

Most warrant officers have an appointment, and they are usually referred to by their appointment rather than by their rank. Appointments held by WO1s include:

• Academy Sergeant Major (AcSM)
• Accountant Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Armament Sergeant Major^[17] (obsolete)
• Armourer Sergeant Major^[18] (obsolete)
• Army Sergeant Major
• Artificer Sergeant Major (ASM)
• Bandmaster (BM)
• Clerk of Works Sergeant Major
• Conductor (Cdr)
• Farrier Corporal Major^[18] (obsolete)
• Farrier Sergeant Major^[18][19]
• Foreman of Signals (Information Systems) (FofS IS)
• Foreman of Signals (FofS)
• Foreman of Signals Sergeant Major^[18] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Works Sergeant Major^[18]
• Garrison Sergeant Major (GSM)
• Instructor (Educational)^[20] (obsolete)
• Master Gunner 1st Class
• Master Gunner 2nd Class
• Mechanist Sergeant Major^[17][19] (obsolete)
• Pipe Major
• Regimental Corporal Major (RCM)
• Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)
• Saddler Sergeant Major^[18] (obsolete)
• Schoolmaster^[18] (obsolete)
• 1st Class Schoolmaster^[18] (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Artillery Clerk^[18] (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Instructor (SMI)
• Staff Sergeant Major (SSM)
• 1st Class Staff Sergeant Major (obsolete)
• Sub-Conductor (obsolete)
• Superintending Clerk^[18][20]
• Yeoman of Signals (YofS)

The insignia of a warrant officer class two (quartermaster sergeant appointments only)

WO2s wear a crown on the lower sleeve, surrounded by a wreath for quartermaster sergeants and all WO2s in the Royal Army Medical Corps and the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (The wreath was used for all WOIIs from 1938 to 1947).

Appointments held by WO2s include:

• Accountant Quartermaster Sergeant (obsolete)
• Armament Quartermaster Sergeant^[17][18] (obsolete)
• Armourer Quartermaster Sergeant^[18] (obsolete)
• Artificer Quartermaster Sergeant (AQMS)^[21]
• Band Corporal Major (BCM)
• Band Sergeant Major (BSM)
• Battery Sergeant Major (BSM)
• Clerk of Works Quartermaster Sergeant
• Company Sergeant Major (CSM)
• Drill Sergeant (DSgt)
• Drum Major
• Farrier Corporal Major^[22]
• Farrier Quartermaster Corporal (obsolete)
• Farrier Quartermaster Sergeant^[17][18][19]
• Fitter Quartermaster Sergeant^[17] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Signals (Information Systems) (FofS IS)
• Foreman of Signals (FofS)
• Foreman of Signals Quartermaster Sergeant^[18] (obsolete)
• Foreman of Works Quartermaster Sergeant^[18]
• Garrison Quartermaster Sergeant^[18]
• Master Gunner 3rd Class (obsolete)
• Mechanist Quartermaster Sergeant^{[17][18][20][23]} (obsolete)
• Orderly Room Quartermaster Sergeant (ORQMS)^[18][24]
• Orderly Room Sergeant (ORS)^[18][24]
• Pipe Major
• Quartermaster Corporal Major^[18] (obsolete)
• Quartermaster Sergeant Artillery Clerk^[18][20] (obsolete)
• Quartermaster Sergeant Instructor (QMSI)
• Regimental Motor Transport Warrant Officer (RMTWO)
• Regimental Quartermaster Corporal (RQMC)
• Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS)
• Saddler Quartermaster Sergeant^[17][18] (obsolete)
• Schoolmaster^[18] (obsolete)
• Sergeant Major Signals (SMS)
• Squadron Corporal Major (SCM)
• Squadron Sergeant Major (SSM)
• Staff Quartermaster Sergeant (SQMS)^[25]
• Technical Quartermaster Sergeant (TQMS)^[26]
• Troop Sergeant Major^[18]
• Trumpet Major

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).
• WO2s should only be 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 should be addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by subordinates. It is common for a WO2 not in a CSM/SSM or RQMS appointment to be addressed as "Mr surname" by officers.
• A notable exception to the above is the Foot Guards and Honourable Artillery Company, where the regimental sergeant major is known as, and addressed by officers as, "Sergeant Major" and the company (or squadron in the Honourable Artillery Company) sergeant majors are addressed as "Company Sergeant Major" or "Squadron Sergeant Major".^[27]

Royal Air Force

An RAF warrant officer saluting the colours.

The Royal Air Force first used the ranks of sergeant-major class I and II which it inherited from the Royal Flying Corps. It also first used the rank badges of the royal coat of arms (commonly referred to as the 'Tate and Lyles' - a reference to the similarity to the logo used by the Tate and Lyle Company) and the crown respectively. In the 1930s, it changed to the Army-style warrant officer class I and II. In 1939, the RAF abolished the rank of WOII and retained only the WOI rank, referred to simply as warrant officer (WO), which it remains to this day. The RAF has no equivalent to WO2 (NATO OR-8), an RAF WO being equivalent to WO1 in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines (NATO OR-9) and wears the same badge of rank the royal coat of 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. RAF warrant officers do not hold appointments as in the Army or Royal Marines. However, the station warrant officer is considered "first amongst equals" by the other warrant officers on an RAF station. Warrant officers are the highest non-commissioned rank and 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.

The most senior RAF warrant officer is the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer.^[28]

Cadet organisations

Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force (Army)

The rank of warrant officer does not exist in the Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force (Army). Instead, the ranks of sergeant major instructor (SMI) or regimental sergeant major instructor (RSMI) are used.^[29] Their rank insignia is the similar to that as worn by Army warrant officers, but with the addition of the letters ACF or CCF. As with adult staff, cadets should not use the ranks of warrant officer. The ranks of cadet company sergeant major and cadet regimental sergeant major are used instead. Their rank insignia is similar to that worn by army warrant officers but with the addition of the word "cadet".

Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force (RAF)

Cadets in the Air Training Corps and the RAF Section of the Combined Cadet Force may hold the rank of cadet warrant officer. ATC adult staff promoted to warrant officer are known as warrant officers (Air Training Corps) (WO(ATC)); as with other ATC adult NCO ranks, they are civilian members of the ATC and not members of the Royal Air Force.

See also

• Ranks and insignia of NATO Armies Enlisted
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Navies Enlisted

References