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Recently, some policymakers and analysts have suggested that the Department of Defense might consider making greater use of the warrant officer ranks as a tool for attracting and retaining high-quality, skilled individuals, particularly in occupations with attractive civilian alternatives. Warrant officers, who account for only about 1.1 percent of active-duty military personnel, currently serve as senior technical experts and managers in a wide variety of occupational specialties and, in the Army, as pilots of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. In rank, they fall between enlisted personnel and commissioned officers (second lieutenant or ensign through general or admiral). Because the number of warrant officers is small, few people outside the individual services' communities of warrant officers know very much about their roles and management. That lack of knowledge hampers any discussion of possible new roles for warrant officers.

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper describes current management practices for warrant officers and for a related group, called limited duty officers, in the Navy and the Marine Corps. It also examines the potential for increasing the number of warrant officers as a way to attract well-qualified individuals to serve in technical occupations, retain personnel in whom the services have invested substantial training resources, and retain exceptional performers regardless of occupation. The paper was prepared at the request of the Subcommittee on Personnel of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective and nonpartisan analysis, the paper contains no recommendations.

Richard L. Fernandez of CBO's National Security Division prepared this paper under the general supervision of Deborah Clay-Mendez and Christopher Jehn. The author wishes to thank CBO colleagues Dawn Regan, Mark Musell, David Moore, and Barbara Edwards for their thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. Christine Bogusz edited the manuscript, Leah Mazade proofread it, and Cindy Cleveland prepared it for publication. Kathryn Winstead produced the cover, Lenny Skutnik produced the printed copies, and Annette Kalicki prepared the electronic versions for CBO's Web site.

Dan L. Crippen
Director
February 2002
 
 

I - INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

• Why Is There Interest in Warrant Officers?
• An Overview of Warrant Officer and LDO Programs

II - THE ROLES AND OCCUPATIONS OF WARRANT OFFICERS AND LIMITED DUTY OFFICERS

• Roles
• Occupations

III - MANAGEMENT OF WARRANT OFFICERS AND LIMITED DUTY OFFICERS

• Management Models
• Accession
• Promotion
• Separation

IV - WHO BECOMES A WARRANT OFFICER OR LIMITED DUTY OFFICER?

• Compensation of Warrant Officers
• The "Quality" of New Warrant Officers
• Opportunities to Become a Warrant Officer or LDO

V - ADAPTING THE WARRANT OFFICER SYSTEM TO MEET NEW GOALS

• An Early-Select Model to Aid Recruiting
• A Midcareer Approach to Improve Retention
• A Midcareer Approach to Improve the Quality of Career Personnel
• Combining Approaches
• Cost-Effectiveness Considerations
• Conclusion

APPENDIXES

A - AN OVERVIEW OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR ENLISTED PERSONNEL AND COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

• Enlisted Personnel
• Commissioned Officers

B - MILITARY BASIC PAY AND REGULAR MILITARY COMPENSATION
 

TABLES
1.	Existing Models of Warrant Officer Management
2.	Distribution of Active-Duty Personnel by Group and Service, Fiscal Year 1999
3.	Distribution of Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers and of Commissioned Officers in Pay Grade O-4, by Officer Occupational Category, Fiscal Year 1999
4.	Distribution of Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers and of Enlisted Personnel in Grades E-6 and Above, by Enlisted Occupational Category, Fiscal Year 1999
5.	Distribution of Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers by Pay Grade Within Each Service, Fiscal Year 1999
6.	Distribution of Warrant Officer and Limited Duty Officer Accessions by Last Pay Grade, Fiscal Years 1998-1999
7.	Median Months in Pay Grade at Promotion and Implied Years of Warrant Officer Service, Fiscal Year 1999
8.	Recent Promotion Opportunities for Warrant Officers
9.	Comparison of the Quality of Warrant Officer and Limited Duty Officer Accessions with That of Peers in Their Enlisted Occupational Specialties, Fiscal Years 1998-1999
10.	Measures of the Opportunity for Enlisted Personnel to Serve as Nonaviator Warrant Officers or Limited Duty Officers
B-1.	Annual Basic Pay and Regular Military Compensation for Selected Years of Service, by Pay Grade, as of July 1, 2000
FIGURES
1.	Distribution of Warrant Officer Accessions by Years of Service at Accession, Fiscal Years 1998-1999
2.	Distribution of Limited Duty Officer Accessions by Years of Service at Accession, Fiscal Years 1998-1999
3.	Distribution of Warrant Officer Promotions, Within Pay Grade, by Years of Service Completed, Fiscal Years 1998-1999
4.	Survival Rates for Warrant Officers Eligible to Retire
5.	Typical Pay Profiles for Direct-Select and Early-Select Warrant Officers and Other Personnel, by Age, Based on Army Selection and Promotion Practices
6.	Typical Pay Profiles for Midcareer Warrant Officers and Other Personnel, by Age, Based on Army Selection and Promotion Practices
7.	Typical Pay Profiles for Limited Duty Officers, Late-Career Warrant Officers, and Other Personnel, by Age, Based on Navy Selection and Promotion Practices
BOXES
1.	The Services' Definitions of Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers
2.	The Navy's Description of Differences Among Its Senior Noncommissioned Officers, Warrant Officers, and Limited Duty Officers

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