Warrant officer (United States)

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In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer (grade W‑1) and commissioned chief warrant officer (grades CW-2 to CW‑5)—NATO: WO1–CWO5—are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest commissioned officer grade of O‑1 (NATO: OF‑1). This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks (NATO: OR‑8 and OR‑9), equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces senior enlisted grades of E‑8 and E‑9 (NATO: OR-8 and OR-9). Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers. While the ranks are authorized by Congress, each branch of the uniformed services selects, manages, and uses warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to the rank of warrant officer-one (W‑1), since 2005, by executive order a warrant of authority is approved by the department secretary (Secretary of Defense or Secretary of...

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