Whats the difference between Warrant Officers & Commissioned Officers?
A Commissioned Officer (Second Lieutenant up to Field Marshal) holds the Sovereign’s Commission to act as an Officer. It automatically makes him a ‘gentleman’ and in the peace time Services means that person has undergone specialised training, usually at University level and for a period of years. The drop out rate is very high, as are the entrance standards. Some Commissions are offered to experienced men in the ranks and their training is for a shorter time but their ability to reach the top levels is severely hampered. In war time men can be commissioned “in the field”. A Warrant Officer (WO1 or WO2) is a senior NCO (Sergeant or Staff Sergeant) who has been offered the Sovereign’s Warrant to carry out the duties of the most senior non-commissioned ranks of the Service. Warrant Officers are more highly respected than junior Commissioned Officers because they have “been there, done that” whereas the junior Officer has a lot of book learning but no experience. He is also likely to be 1
