Monday, June 6, 2011

Vietnam -- Warrant Officer

Warrant Officers are a truely unique blend of trained talent the military knew they had to maintain in order to effectively run the military. I've seen a SP4 go to flying school and come out as a WO1. I've seen E-7s cross over in their field of expertise into CW3 level warrant officers.
 
I have even seen a few warrant officers become Officers later, too.
 
Most of the warrant officers I knew were pilots fresh out of flying school. Some of these men literally died almost as soon as they arrived in Vietnam. Some lived through Vietnam and became CW5s.
 
The role of the warrant officer in my unit was to fly front seat and be the gunner where the pilot in the back seat. This meant the warrant officer not only had to know how to fly the Cobra, he had to know how to use the gunner's sights and fire off the mini gun and 40mm grenade launcher.
 
Some warrent officers were simply trained specialists in fields such as logistics, administration, and finance. These men know the rules and regulations, the proceedures and modify them when conditions and situations force changes in the system.
 
  

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