Army Warrant Officer and Commissioned Officer Rank Structure and Insignia

A Warrant Officer is a soldier that has been selected by the Secretary of the Army or the President of the United States to specialize in a certain technical field in the Army. Warrant Officers can be pilots, mechanics, or any other job in the Army, and since they have gone through extensive training on that one job, they are considered experts in that field, using their skills and knowledge to guide and train their unit.

Warrant Officers fall between Enlisted Soldiers and Officers on the rank scale which means that they outrank all Enlisted ranks, but they are still under the Commissioned Officers ranks. As Warrant Officers progress through their ranks, they acquire more knowledge and expertise in their field and assigned to higher levels of responsibility in support of their unit.

There are two ways to become a Warrant Officer:

1. A civilian who meets certain requirements can go to Warrant Officer Flight School or Warrant Officer Candidate School right after they complete Basic Training.
2. Once an Enlisted soldier is promoted to the rank of E-5, he or she can apply to become a Warrant Officer and must complete specialized training.

Warrant Officer 1 / WO1 / W-1 / "Mr., Mrs., or Ms. (Last Name)"

While all other Warrant Officers are appointed through commission by the President of the United States, WO1s are appointed through warrant by the Secretary of the Army. W-1 is the lowest rank on the Warrant Officer Rank scale, but they have a lot of responsibilities. A WO1 is expected to proficiently operate equipment, train soldiers on that equipment, and give the leaders above them advise
on their technical specialty.


Chief Warrant Officer 2 / CW2 / W-2 / "Mr., Mrs., or Ms. (Last Name)"

From the rank of CW2 on up, the President of the United States appoints Warrant Officers to their position by commission. CW2s have more experience in their field than CW1s, and they can work at a higher level in a unit (usually at the Battalion level).


Chief Warrant Officer 3 / CW3 / W-3 / "Mr., Mrs., or Ms. (Last Name)"

With higher rank, a CW3 has more knowledge and expertise in his or her chosen field. This also means that a Chief Warrant Officer 3 has more responsibilities such as supervising other Warrant Officers and working in support of higher units, anywhere from Battalions to Divisions.



Chief Warrant Officer 4 / CW4 / W-4 / "Mr., Mrs., or Ms. (Last Name)"

CW4s have more leadership responsibilities including advising unit Commanders and providing training and guidance to lower ranking Warrant Officers.



Chief Warrant Officer 5 / CW5 / W-5 / "Mr., Mrs., or Ms. (Last Name)"

CW5 is the highest rank a Warrant Officer can achieve. They are the best of the best in their technical field. A Chief Warrant Officer 5's duties can range anywhere from being the technical expert at the Division or Corps level to representing Warrant Officers to Commanding Officers.

Commissioned Officers are the Army's leaders. They are responsible for the management and leadership of an entire unit.

No matter what rank an Officer is, he or she has basically the same responsibilities: make precise decisions, keep their unit organized and running efficiently, look out for the welfare of their soldiers, ensure that any mission is completed successfully, be a leader for other soldiers to look up to, and live the Army Values. Officers work at the top leadership level of their unit, whether it a platoon or a division, ensuring that orders and missions that are given to them are executed by their NCOs and soldiers.

There are 4 ways to become a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army:

1. Get accepted into and graduating from West Point, the United States Military Academy.
2. Graduating from Officer Candidate School after completing college and Basic Training.
3. Attending ROTC while in college.
4. Getting Directly Commissioned as an Officer in the Army after completed army and becoming certified in certain professional fields.

Second Lieutenant / 2LT / O-1 / "Sir or Ma'am"

Second Lieutenant is the entry-level rank for a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army. A second Lieutenant usually commands a Platoon of about 20 to 40 Soldiers. Sometimes a 2LT will be referred to as a "Butter
Bar" or "LT."

First Lieutenant / 1LT / O-2 / "Sir or Ma'am"

First Lieutenants have more experience than Second Lieutenants, and are usually promoted to their rank after about 18 months in Service. Since a 1LT has more experience, he or she might be put in the position
of Executive Officer (XO) for a Company.

Captain / CPT / O-3 / "Sir or Ma'am"

A Captain is usually a Company Commander, managing 100 to 200 soldiers.



Major / MAJ / O-4 / "Sir or Ma'am"

Majors can serve as XOs for Battalions or hold a staff position at the Brigade level.


Lieutenant Colonel / LTC / O-5 / "Sir or Ma'am"

A Lieutenant Colonel commands a Battalion of about 400-1200 soldiers.



Colonel / COL / O-6 / "Sir or Ma'am"

Colonels, sometimes called "Full Birds", are typically put in command of a Brigade (3,000 - 5,000 soldiers).





Brigadier General / BG / O-7 / "Sir or Ma'am"

Brigadier Generals usually do not command units; instead they serve as Deputy Commanders to the commander of a Division,
planning and coordinating missions.

Major General / MG / O-8 / "Sir or Ma'am"

A Major General will typically command a Division of about 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers.


Lieutenant General / LTG / O-9 / "Sir or Ma'am"

A Lieutenant General commands an entire Corps with between 20,000 to 45,000 soldiers.


General / GEN / O-10 / "Sir or Ma'am'

General is the highest rank that a Commissioned Officer can achieve in the U.S. Army. Instead of commanding an actual unit, a
General is responsible for a specific region and all
the units that fall under that region.

General of the Army / GA / Special / "Sir or Ma'am"

The General of the Army is a special rank that is used during wartime when there needs to be one senior ranking Officer above all of the other commanders. There have only been 8 Generals of the Army, the last one being General Omar Bradley during and after WWII.

Thank you to all of our veterans and the soldiers that are serving now. We appreciate everything you do to keep the United States safe and free!