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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Agback" data-source="post: 1074670" data-attributes="member: 5328">Re: Warrant OfficersIn Commonwealth armies, warrant officers hold senior NCO appointments such as company sergeant-major, regimental quartermaster sergeant (for WO2s) and regimental sergeant-major (for WO1s). These postings make them variously responsible for administrative tasks (such as organising the forward supply of ammunition from battalion reserves to units in combat), discipline, and training. They also provide an alternative channel to the battalion commander for soldiers and junior NCOs who develop issues with their officers. But God help you if you use it.Now, Commonwealth army units are organised differently from US Army units. In the Australian Army (and the British Army) each infantry section is led by a corporal with a lance-corporal for his assistant. I'm not sure, but I think that the nearest equivalent in the US forces is a squad led by a sergeant. So it's hard to draw comparisons, but I think a Commonwealth WO1 is roughly equivalent to a US sergeant major or command sergeant major, and a WO2 to a US First Sergeant. Perhaps someone with experience of combine operations or combined exercises can tell us.Originally, NCOs held their appointments at the whim of the CO of their unit. Warrant officers were appointed by Royal warrant to put them in a position to stand up to tyrannical officers. That has become much less of an issue as the armies have got more professional, but the tradition survives.Since someone has mentioned navies and air forces I'll alert you to the fact that the Commonwealth systems of rank in the navies and air forces are respectively different and very different from the US system. Check out the tables on the following very ugly website <<a href="http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~vinol/angloranks.htm" target="_blank">http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~vinol/angloranks.htm</a>>, but be aware that 'marshal' is in fact spelled with only one 'l'.Regards,Agback</blockquote>

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