On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:51:14 -0600, "Gene Storey"
wrote:

"Ed Rasimus" wrote

Yep. Lots of losses of helicopters. Lots of helicopters. Lots of
intrepid Army aviators shot down multiple times. An incredibly
hazardous mission.

So hazardous the missions were flown by Warrants:

"These commissioned warrant officers are direct representatives of
the president of the United States. They derive their authority from the
same source as commissioned officers but remain specialists, in contrast
to commissioned officers, who are generalists."

To put it nicely.


Yes, a lot of Army aviators are warrant officers. A lot are also
commissioned officers.

Don't know the source of your quote, but it starts out with an
oxymoron, "commissioned warrant officers". They area either one or the
other.

Whether or not a warrant officer is an appropriate rank for a job has
nothing at all to do with the hazard involved.

One might want to review the ranks of the POWs in the Vietnam war to
check regarding the hazard and warrant relationship.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8