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Chief warrant officer is a seniorwarrant officer rank, used in many countries.
In theCanadian Armed Forces (CAF), achief warrant officer orCWO is the most seniornon-commissioned member (NCM) rank for army and air force personnel. Its equivalent rank for navy personnel ischief petty officer 1st class (CPO1). TheFrench language form of chief warrant officer isadjudant-chef (adjuc).
A CWO is senior to the rank ofmaster warrant officer[1] (MWO) and its navy equivalent ofchief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2).
The rank insignia of the CWO is a simplified version of the 1957coat of arms of Canada, worn on both forearms of the service dress tunic; in gold metal and green enamel miniature pins on the collar of the service dress shirt and outerwear coats (army only); onCADPAT ranks worn in the middle of the chest, embroidered in tan (army) or blue (air force) thread; and in pearl-grey thread on blue slip-ons on both shoulders of other uniforms (air force only).
The insignia lacks the annulus, from 1985 changes, behind the shield bearing the motto of theOrder of Canada. It also differs from both the 1957 and 1985 versions through a lack ofcompartment andmantling.
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CWOs are generally initially addressed as "Chief Warrant Officer", and thereafter as "Sir" or "Ma'am" by subordinates; and as Mr. or Ms. bycommissioned officers. If they hold the appointment ofregimental sergeant major, they may also be addressed as "RSM" by thecommanding officer, other officers, or when referred to in conversation. CWOs are never addressed as "Chief", this being a form of address reserved forchief petty officers. Civilians can address them as "Chief Warrant Officer", "CWO", or "Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms" (followed by surname).
CWO/CPO1 may fulfill roles in a number of key positions. These positions require the incumbent to act in an advisory or liaison role to a non-command position such as assistant Assistant Judge Advocate General Liaison Chief Petty Officer, Corps Sergeant-Major, or Defence Ethics Program Chief Warrant Officer, for example.
CWOs may hold a number of appointments, some of which are:
Due to the unified nature of the Canadian Armed Forces, it is not unheard-of for air force CWOs or even navy CPO1s – especially those of the so-called "purple trades", such aslogistics ormilitary police – to find themselves filling the appointment of RSM in what are otherwise consideredCanadian Army units (such as service battalions or communication regiments). Conversely, it is not impossible for an army CWO or navy CPO1 to be the squadron CWO of aRoyal Canadian Air Force squadron.
Senior appointments for chief warrant officers and chief petty officers 1st class entitle the incumbents to wear a modified rank badge or an addition to the rank badge. They are as follows:[2]
The coat of arms over the central insignia of the badge of the Canadian Armed Forces (crossed swords, an anchor and an eagle in flight). This appointment is given to CWO assigned to commanders at the base, brigade, wing, and division levels. Specific examples include base chief warrant officer, brigade sergeants-major, wing chief warrant officers, the division chief warrant officer (DCWO) of1 Canadian Air Division and the division sergeant-major (Div SM) of3rd Canadian Division (3 Cdn Div). A formation chief warrant officer would typically be seen with a colonel or brigadier-general, but may occasionally be seen with a lieutenant-colonel or major-general.
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The coat of arms with a wreath of laurel wrapped around the base. This appointment is given to CWO/CPO1 assigned to commanders of commands including to the commanderCanadian Special Operations Forces Command, commanderCanadian Forces Intelligence Command and commanderCanadian Joint Operations Command. The command chief warrant officer appointed to the commander Canadian Army is called the Canadian Army sergeant-major, while the command chief warrant officer appointed to commander RCAF is known asChief Warrant Officer of the Air Force. The command chief warrant officer of the RCN is known as the RCN Command Chief Petty Officer. A command chief warrant officer/chief petty officer would be seen with a major-general/rear-admiral or lieutenant-general/vice-admiral.
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CWOs generallymess and billet with otherwarrant officers and withsergeants, and their navy equivalents,chief petty officers andpetty officers. Their mess on military bases or installations are generally named the "Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess".
Although NCMs, CWOs generally wear the uniform accoutrements of commissioned officers; for example, officer cap badge, waistcoat instead of cummerbund with mess dress, etc.
In 2008[3] the Warrant Officer ranks of theSouth African National Defence Force were expanded and the rank of Chief Warrant Officer was created.In theSouth African Navy a Chief Warrant Officer is the senior NCO in Fleet Command. In theSouth African Army the equivalent is the senior NCO in an Army Formation, such as Armour, Infantry etc.
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Chief warrant officer in the United States Armed Forces refers to any warrant officer in pay grades CW2 and above. All warrant officers (WO1 to CWO5) are officers and rate a salute by all enlisted NATO other ranks personnel. The U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps use WO1/WO through CW5/CWO5 as designators and the U.S. Navy uses WO1 for one specialty (cyber warfare); all other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces use CWO2 through CWO5. The U.S. Air Force, although authorized to appoint warrant officers, does not utilize those grades in any capacity. All warrant officers dine in the officers' mess but rate just below O-1 (NATO rank code OF-1).
On 4 June 2018, the Chief of Naval Operations announced the reestablishment of the rank of warrant officer one (pay grade W-1), for cyber warrant officers, and solicited applications for the rank/grade. These warrant officers will receive their appointment via warrant and not via commission. They will incur a six-year service obligation once promoted to W-1. A minimum of three-years in grade with a total service time of 12 years must be achieved before appointment and commission to chief warrant officer (W-2). However, the President also may grant appointments of warrant officers in the grade of W-1 via commission at any time as well as the Secretary of the Navy may also appoint warrant officers in that grade via commission, through additional regulations. In mid-December 2018, the Navy announced that six selectees had been named. They will wear a distinctive cap badge with two crossed anchors.
Warrant officer rank insignia is the only officers' insignia that is not the same for all branches of the U.S. military, with one exception. The rank insignia for a CW5 became the only universal insignia within the warrant officer ranks when the U.S. Navy promoted its first CWO5 in 2002 and the Army adopted the emblem in 2004.
Warrant officers in the United States are classified as officers and are in the "W" category (NATO "WO"); they are technical leaders and specialists. Chief warrant officers are commissioned by the president of the United States[4] and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers do. They may be technical experts with a long service as enlisted personnel or direct entrants, most notably as U.S. Army helicopter pilots.
| Uniformed services pay grade | W-5 | W-4 | W-3 | W-2 | W-1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States Army[5] | .svg) | .svg) | .svg) | .svg) | .svg) | |||||
| Chief warrant officer 5 | Chief warrant officer 4 | Chief warrant officer 3 | Chief warrant officer 2 | Warrant officer 1 | ||||||
 United States Marine Corps[5] |  |  |  |  |  | |||||
| Chief warrant officer 5 | Chief warrant officer 4 | Chief warrant officer 3 | Chief warrant officer 2 | Warrant officer 1 | ||||||
 United States Navy[5] |  |  |  |  |  | |||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Chief warrant officer 5 | Chief warrant officer 4 | Chief warrant officer 3 | Chief warrant officer 2 | Warrant officer 1 | ||||||
 United States Air Force |  |  |  |  |  | |||||
| Chief warrant officer 5 | Chief warrant officer 4 | Chief warrant officer 3 | Chief warrant officer 2 | Warrant officer 1 | ||||||
 U.S. Coast Guard |  |  |  | |||||||
| Chief warrant officer 4 | Chief warrant officer 3 | Chief warrant officer 2 | ||||||||
| Uniformed services pay grade | W-5 | W-4 | W-3 | W-2 | W-1 | |||||
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