"Thomas Schoene" wrote in message
ink.net...


This is a fairly recent change, but a Chief Warrant Officer is now
categorized as a "commissioned warrant officer," which is a class of
officer
distinct from both "warrant officer" and "commissioned officer."


Around 1867 the RN began rewarding its long-serving warrant officers with
commissions. The USN followed suit in the Naval Personnel Act of 1899 (the
same act that eliminated the rank of commodore and the Engineer Corps). The
grade was commissioned warrant officer, but the actual titles were "Chief
Boatswain," "Chief Gunner," "Chief Carpenter" and so on, and the "C's" for
"chief" and "commissioned" have become confused over the years. Since 1899,
USN commissioned warrant officers wore the regular officer's cap bade with
shield and eagle. The old WO cap device, plain crossed anchors, has
disappeared along with the "pin-striper" WO-1 rank.

The Marines adopted CWOs in the 1920s, the Army in WW2. I'm not sure about
the USCG. At some point after WW2, legislation officially replaced
"commissioned" with "chief" in the title.

--Justin