Alright I am still a little hazy on exactly what WOs are. The only info on the official CG site is pretty vague and basically just says that they are techical experts and masters of their field or something like that. But it gives no info on the process of becoming one or what fields you can become on in? Can any rate become a Warrant Officer? And what defines an expert, do you just need to stay with one rate for a few years or something?

CWO'S are experts in their field. They know everything there is to know about their rate. You need to be an E-6 before your eligible. They usually command a unit, are school instructors, or are responsible for regional operations within their rate. On my boat we have two CWOS, one in charge of the engineering department and the other is in charge of the supply department.

Im pretty sure very rate is eligible to make CWO. A CWO boatswains mate is a BOSUN. A CWO gunners mate is called GUNNER. You get the idea.

CWO's are (I feel) the most respected because of their experience.

Posted By CaptNick on 02 Nov 2011 07:45 PM
CWO'S are experts in their field. They know everything there is to know about their rate. You need to be an E-6 before your eligible. They usually command a unit, are school instructors, or are responsible for regional operations within their rate. On my boat we have two CWOS, one in charge of the engineering department and the other is in charge of the supply department.

Im pretty sure very rate is eligible to make CWO. A CWO boatswains mate is a BOSUN. A CWO gunners mate is called GUNNER. You get the idea.

CWO's are (I feel) the most respected because of their experience.

Thanks! But when you hit E6 do you apply to be a CWO or do you get just get appointed based on expertise and skills? And do you have to go to some kind of OCS type thing for Warrant officers?

You must apply for it. There is a CWO school but I think its optional. Theres also a CWO->Lieutenant program as well. Those individuals are called "Mustangs".

You'll also have to be in the top 50% on the E7 servicewide test. You can't make E6 one day and put in for warrant the next.

Posted By Gandler on 02 Nov 2011 05:44 PM
Alright I am still a little hazy on exactly what WOs are. The only info on the official CG site is pretty vague and basically just says that they are techical experts and masters of their field or something like that. But it gives no info on the process of becoming one or what fields you can become on in? Can any rate become a Warrant Officer? And what defines an expert, do you just need to stay with one rate for a few years or something?

To understand what a Warrant Officer is you have to go back a ways when they truly were Warrant Officers as opposed to today where it is a little different. 

A warrant officer is a military member who became an officer because of his specialization and was given a "warrant" instead of a "commission" to be an officer. Basically they were put in a leadership position to oversee the enlisted members who had the same skill sets as they did. Kind of a conduit between the enlisted members and the commissioned officers. But since they had no commission, they could not take a command and they could not administer UCMJ.  Now, CW2 and above are commissioned officers so they can have a command and admister UCMJ authorities as needed.

To become a warrant officer you have to have definable experience. As noted above, for the Coast Guard that is defined as being an E-7 or being an E-6 that has scored well on the service wide. You also have to have good marks that show you actually are an expert in you field.

No, not every rate can become a warrant officer. At least not in their field. The AST is the best example. There is not an AST warrant officer but a good AST can become as warrant officer in the Marine Safety field. Don't ask to have it explained because nobody understands it.

I was a CW3 in another service before coming over to the Coast Guard but the rules there were different depending on the specialty.

Hope that helped a bit.

the best answer i could come up with is attention to detail for the M-warrant from the AST and also dealing with safety manuals but that is stretching

Posted By CaptNick on 02 Nov 2011 09:28 PM
You must apply for it. There is a CWO school but I think its optional. Theres also a CWO->Lieutenant program as well. Those individuals are called "Mustangs".

"Mustang" has a far broader definition than that. Depending on which source you use, a mustang is any commissioned officer who earned their commission after being enlisted. Some move the bar even further saying you could not have a break in military service so those who got out pursued a degree and came back in wouldn't be mustangs. And others even say you have to have at least a good conduct medal. No matter what you want to rule it as, a mustang was simply enlisted before they became an officer.

The CWO school is mandatory but there are far more warrant officers than there are slots at school so many never get there.

Since no one asked, here's why I want to be a Warrant. Many moons ago, when I was on my first cutter, I met a Warrant (name withheld for privacy). I was working on my engineering drawings and struggling a bit. The Warrant recognized I needed a hand, and stepped in. From main control in the engine room, he verbally walked me through a ship's system in Aux I, two compartments away. He gave me starting point, walked me through a part of the system, and told me to draw that part. So, I did and came back. We repeated this process several times, until I had the system in that space complete. After reviewing the drawing he explained how everything worked, from main control. He explained a complex system in vivid detail, without getting up. I was in awe. And, I said to myself, "Self. One day you are going to be a Warrant Officer. And, you will be that awesome."

Posted By sardaddy on 03 Nov 2011 01:47 PM

Posted By CaptNick on 02 Nov 2011 09:28 PM
You must apply for it. There is a CWO school but I think its optional. Theres also a CWO->Lieutenant program as well. Those individuals are called "Mustangs".

"Mustang" has a far broader definition than that. Depending on which source you use, a mustang is any commissioned officer who earned their commission after being enlisted. Some move the bar even further saying you could not have a break in military service so those who got out pursued a degree and came back in wouldn't be mustangs. And others even say you have to have at least a good conduct medal. No matter what you want to rule it as, a mustang was simply enlisted before they became an officer.

The CWO school is mandatory but there are far more warrant officers than there are slots at school so many never get there.

Very interesting to hear the true meaning of the term!

My ex-husband is a Mustang. Going with one of the descriptions from Sardaddy... he was enlisted, no break in service, has a good conduct and is now an officer. Because he was enlisted for 5 years as an Ensign, LtJG & LT his rank was actually O-1E, O-2E, O-3E... that authorized him a bit more pay and that was because of time in service already. I believe it is 4 years enlisted to get the "E" designator on your rank. As far as anything extra with the "E" designator, it means next to nothing. A few extra bucks on the pay scale, that's about it!

In my career so far, I have been an E1, E2, E3, E5, WO1, CW2, CW3, O1, O2, O3, O4. Hopefully I will keep adding to the collection. I did get the "E" pay for O1-O3. Old Guard you were close. You must have 4 years as enlisted or warrant officer to get it. And yes the extra pay was nice.

I think Jim regrets never making Chief. He has never said one way or the other about Warrant. I'm sure had he not been picked up for OCS he would have tried for Warrant. He has no complaints about his service but I think never getting that anchor... oh well, can't go back again I suppose.

How did you just skip right over E-4? Didn't you say you started in the Army? My mind is getting old, I forget details! I wasn't sure if CW got the "E" pay as O-1... I figured they must since it would be rare to meet a CW with less than 4 years.

Is it exactly 4 years enlisted to get the "E" pay or can it be more than 4 years... say 6?

4 or more years.

Old Guard,

I skipped E-4 in an odd way. Remember, you asked.

I was an E-3 in the Army and was supposed to be promoted to E-4 but my platoon leader stopped the promotion because I was selected for flight school and would be leaving in 5 months so they didn't want to "waste" my promotion so I wasn't promoted. However, the Battalion commanding officer got wind of the slight and thought I deserved to be promoted. I was supposed to be promoted to E-5 to the day I left for flight training but the Admin officer found out that they could promote me whenever they wanted to. So, they promoted me a few months early from Private first class to Sergeant. It was kind of cool.

So, they promoted me a few months early from Private first class to Sergeant.

The CG needs that program.

That's pretty cool! I like it that they could promote you like that. I agree with Gears, why can't the Coasties get something like that?

The Coast Guard actually does. If you are an E-4 or below, you will be advanced to E-5 to attend OCS. So you could be an E-2 and the next day be an E-5. That is supposed to happen the day you leave for OCS or in my case it was WOCS. In my situation however, the Admin department did some magic and made it happen much earlier than it was supposed to happen.

Jim was an E-6 when he left for OCS so I guess I never realized/knew about the E-5 promotion. I think I heard that somewhere along the way but I wouldn't have remembered hearing that.

Posted By sardaddy on 03 Nov 2011 01:35 PM

Posted By Gandler on 02 Nov 2011 05:44 PM
Alright I am still a little hazy on exactly what WOs are. The only info on the official CG site is pretty vague and basically just says that they are techical experts and masters of their field or something like that. But it gives no info on the process of becoming one or what fields you can become on in? Can any rate become a Warrant Officer? And what defines an expert, do you just need to stay with one rate for a few years or something?

To understand what a Warrant Officer is you have to go back a ways when they truly were Warrant Officers as opposed to today where it is a little different. 

A warrant officer is a military member who became an officer because of his specialization and was given a "warrant" instead of a "commission" to be an officer. Basically they were put in a leadership position to oversee the enlisted members who had the same skill sets as they did. Kind of a conduit between the enlisted members and the commissioned officers. But since they had no commission, they could not take a command and they could not administer UCMJ.  Now, CW2 and above are commissioned officers so they can have a command and admister UCMJ authorities as needed.

To become a warrant officer you have to have definable experience. As noted above, for the Coast Guard that is defined as being an E-7 or being an E-6 that has scored well on the service wide. You also have to have good marks that show you actually are an expert in you field.

No, not every rate can become a warrant officer. At least not in their field. The AST is the best example. There is not an AST warrant officer but a good AST can become as warrant officer in the Marine Safety field. Don't ask to have it explained because nobody understands it.

I was a CW3 in another service before coming over to the Coast Guard but the rules there were different depending on the specialty.

Hope that helped a bit.

Any chance you can direct me to a list of which rates have Warrant Officers?  Also, do you know if ME has them?

Posted By NargilFenris on 16 Dec 2011 10:58 AM

Ok found the offical list and feeder rates. m1000.3 CH. 1.D.4.a

Enlisted Rating	Warrant Specialty
AMT and AET	Aviation Engineering (AVI)
AST	Marine Safety Specialist Deck (MSSD)
BM	Boatswain (BOSN)
DC	Material Maintenance (MAT) or Marine Safety Specialist Engineering (MSSE)
EM	Naval Engineering (ENG) or Marine Safety Specialist Engineering (MSSE)
ET	Electronics (ELC)
FS	Finance and Supply (F&S)
GM	Weapons (WEPS)
HS	Medical Administration (MED)
IS	Intelligence Systems Specialist (ISS)
IT	Information Systems Management (ISM)
Special Agents IV (Reserve Rating)	Criminal Investigator (INV)
ME	Maritime Law Enforcement and Security Specialist (MLES)
MK	Naval Engineering (ENG) or Marine Safety Specialist Engineering (MSSE)
MST	Marine Safety Specialist Deck (MSSD)
MU	Bandmaster (BNDM)
OS	Operations Systems Specialist (OSS)
PA	Public Information (INF)
SK	Finance and Supply (F&S)
YN	Personnel Administration (PERS)

Thanks! 

Posted By sardaddy on 04 Nov 2011 01:11 PM
In my career so far, I have been an E1, E2, E3, E5, WO1, CW2, CW3, O1, O2, O3, O4. Hopefully I will keep adding to the collection. I did get the "E" pay for O1-O3. Old Guard you were close. You must have 4 years as enlisted or warrant officer to get it. And yes the extra pay was nice.

I though the CG does not use the WO1 paygrade?

We don't. Sardaddy is prior service Army. They use W-1, we start at W-2.

I thought this would have been brought up,

but.. it would be a good idea to make chief and be chiefly for a while before going warrent. The chief's mess is much more likely to invite a warrent if they were prior chief.

However, maybe not, maybe they wont get invited no matter what. Our MPA said our cheifs mess was the only one that invited him. And this guy is what I would think is similar to Gears old MPA. He was awesome.

Chiefs have things like magic chief mustaches, and 1st classes dont. So to be awesome, you need to be a chief first, and have some chiefly magic, and then you can be awesome.. one day...in many years (for all the spring chickens out there).

Bells, at the same time, if you were up for Chief and got accepted by the CWO Board, You have to think about your career goals and not what others would think about you. I would glady take CWO over Chief, you may not feel the same.... just based on career desires.

Our MPA said our cheifs mess was the only one that invited him. And this guy is what I would think is similar to Gears old MPA. He was awesome.

If he can describe in perfect detail every space on the ship while sleeping in his rack, then yes he is just like my old CWO.

And, going from 1st to Warrant is possible. I'm sure it's happened, but I've never met anyone who did it.

We have a warrant here who went from YN1 to W2. All the Warrants here say the samething though, get your anchors first before applying.

Posted By Gears on 20 Dec 2011 07:35 AM

And, going from 1st to Warrant is possible. I'm sure it's happened, but I've never met anyone who did it.

It happens quite often. I know quite a few who have done that.


For others wondering if they should make Chief first, it is a personal decision. Bottom line, if your goal is to make Chief then don't apply to be a WO until you make Chief. If your goal is to be a WO then why put one more hurdle in your way. You will be respected for who you are not if you made Chief or not.

Would you really turn down warrant officer because somebody once told you it would be cooler if you made Chief first?

It happens quite often. I know quite a few who have done that.

No kidding. What rates? I've heard the jump is tough, but if I had the opportunity I would take it.