'Twas asked of me. I said I’ll consult my sources.
In the US military, fixed-wing pilots are all comissioned officers, while at least in the Army, helicopters are typically flown by warrant officers. No idea about Navy, USMC or USAF helicopter pilots.
The US military is trying to decide whether drone pilots should be required to be commissioned.
No idea about other world militaries.
Argh… somehow got a simulpost.
Warrant officers are commissioned officers. Prior to 1986 WOs in other branches were commissioned by the President and Army WOs were made by appointment by the Secretary of the Army. After 1986 WOs in the Army received commissioned status. While it is not generally part of their job, Warrant Officers can be put in command of a unit.
Nonetheless, “commissioned officers” is a common figure of speech when specifically referring to the O-Grade officer corps. It’s hard to identify a term that describes officers while specifically excluding warrants, since warrant officers are now fully integrated with the officer corps. We usually resort euphemisms like “Regular Line Officer” (or “Real Live Officer” depending on how disgruntled the speaker is).
Also, while **Bump’s **post is fundamentally correct there are a tiny number of aviation warrants that fly fixed wing.
Like this Gulfstream V (I assume):
The RAF insists these days that they should be commissioned officers, although the Army Air Corps seems to be alright with Warrant Officers and Staff Sergeants.
A historical perspective:
It has been a while since I have had any first hand knowledge of his stuff but, for what ever it might be worth here we go:
Warrant officers are not commissioned officers, pretty much by definition. WOs hold their position by virtue of a warrant issued by the secretary of the particular armed force. Commissioned officers hold their position under the authority of a commission also issued by the secretary of the particular armed force but the commission continues in force at the pleasure of the President. That may be a distinction without a difference. Nonetheless the oldest Chief WO is outranked by the greenest 2LT. Once upon a time commissions were signed by the President and approved by Congress but I think that is only the case with general/flag officers today. My father’s line was that Congress could make me an officer but it could not make me a gentleman.
50 years ago almost all the pilots I dealt with, choppers or fixed wing, were WOs. The few commissioned pilots were usually the aviation detachment/section leader and the second in command. WOs were not restricted to aviation. Senior technicians in charge of the maintenance of missiles, heavy equipment and vehicles, medical equipment, food service and administration were often WOs. The younger WOs tended to be pilots but the old guys were people who knew where all the bodies were buried and were as responsible as the senior NCOs for keeping the Green Machine running.
In the US, this is true only for Warrant Officer (WO1). Chief Warrant Officers (WO2 through WO5) are commissioned. Here is a good read on that.
The current US WO situation is that as an Army pilot you can be warranted *at entry * in grade W1/rank WO, and this is still a Secretary’s warrant, but after you complete your required post-warranting courses and two years in grade w/o messing up, a commission and advancement to grade W2/rank CWO2 are nearly automatic. In the Navy/Coast Guard OTOH there are not WOs at entry-point, theirs are all required to be already experienced NCOs before applying, and start right out with commissions at W2. The Air Force did away with WOs long ago.
Ever since they did that, USAF has only commissioned-officer pilots; meanwhile Navy/Coast Guard/Marine pilots all are required to be commissioned Line Officers.
I saw one of the very last of the USAF WOs at a HQ back in about 1984. He was old then.
Late add:
In my time in USAF I did see one USAF enlisted pilot. But he was a very, very rare bird. As in probably the only one USAF had had since the USAAF days.
He had been a commissioned officer and a pilot. In fact he was a USAF Academy grad. Had fought in Viet Nam. He didn’t adapt too well to peacetime. Somehow he ended up in enough trouble they took away his commission and busted him back to sergeant in lieu of just firing him out to civilian. This way he could stay in and retire with a sergeant’s pension.
I met him a few years later when he was almost eligible to retire and was counting the days. Along with losing his commission he lost his pilot rating, the actual right to be in a pilot job, fly aircraft, or get flight pay. But he was allowed to still wear the wings since he’d earned them. It sure looked funny to see officer pilot wings on an otherwise enlisted uniform.
Similar to the Navy all Marine Corps aviators are officers.
Thanks re pilots. Wiki cite above on WO (thanks) says call them “Mr.”
So, nominally, this guy (photo of bemedalled Marine Chief WO 4: Warrant officer (United States) - Wikipedia can be reprimanded for not saluting a green 2LT?
#/media/File:Marine_Ribbons_and_Badges.jpg){kind=link}
This is obviously about the culture of rank, which has always interested me.
Waitasec. I can’t understand a single one of the ribbons and whatnot, but aren’t those captain’s bars?
ETA: just found this wiki Captain:
In some militaries, such as United States Army and Air Force and the British Army, captain is the entry-level rank for officer candidates possessing a professional degree, namely medical professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists) and lawyers. (In the United States Army, lawyers who are not already officers at captain rank or above enter as lieutenants during training, and are promoted to the rank of captain after completion of their training if they are in the active component, or after a certain amount of time, usually one year from their date of commission as a lieutenant, for the reserve components.)
still don’t get it.
Who’s going to reprimand him? It’s a touchy issue, experienced NCOs or WOs with 20 years or more time in service being commanded by 2nd Lts/Ensigns (O-1). The base pay for a WO-4 is equal to that of an O-4 (Major or Lt Cdr). Most O-1s receive some serious counseling from their immediate superior concerning their treatment of senior NCOs and Warrants before they’re introduced to their Platoon Sergeant/Leading Chief/Warrant. It’s their job to train the new officer and they’re generally authorized, when they deem it necessary, to… um… request a meeting with the new O-1’s superior.
In the last linked picture that’s a CWO4 rank bar: silver bar with red enamel broken twice.
That Wiki article’s reference to “lawyers who are not already at captain or above” I’d imagine acknowledges both civilian entrants and people who are lawyers by training and licensing who are already serving in other roles and ranks and who may want to move into JAG roles (You are a supply Staff Sergeant in the National Guard and just passed your law bar; you are a graduated, licensed lawyer and are an infantry company commander). You are commissioned as a first lieutenant upon entry, and after you complete your required courses and probationary period, you are automatically made a captain (for the Medical Corps that’s how you get Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John).
Do I understand correctly that medical professionals and lawyers are also unlikely to gain ranks above major with lt-colonel being uncommon and colonel about as high as they can expect?
Nurses are made captain?