:drillsergeant: In September 1947 the United States Air Force was separated from the US Army (USAAF) and became the newest branch of the US Armed Forces. BobbyJim, USAF Veteran
Seven of my immediate family served in the USAF as enlisted or officers, with some lifers. We could start our own alumni association branch. :wow:
My Dad was an Air Force Vet - served in Korea. He was always proud of his service. Happy b-day flyboys!
Enlisted, officer and lifer? If so, congratulations on rising through the ranks. Did my 4 year enlistment and some reserve duty, but then walked. I was offered a commission if I went to navigators training, but declined. Then offered Army chopper and missile warrant officer opportunities – declined those too. Did you know the USAF is the only branch that doesn’t have warrant officers anymore! The last warrant officer retired about 20 years ago, and they haven’t appointed any more.
Warrant Officer's are very strange to me. I only ran into a handful of them while assigned to Army bases, all of them were cool guys and very down to earth. The first time I saw one he came up behind me while we were standing in line for the chow hall. I mistook him for an Officer and told him to cut me in line. The guy just laughed, told me he was a Warrant Officer, and he was fine where he stood. That was my first experience ever seeing a Warrant Officer and every one I met since has followed suit. Just a good group of guys (even though at a glance they look like Officer's :usa2.
All the warrant officers I knew were previously enlisted (usually staff sergeant) and were personnel or maintenance guru’s (except for the chopper pilots). The USAF decided they didn’t need the ‘neither here, not there’ rank, and use the E8, E9’s and Lt's in their place.
Yes, I did. I retired from active duty at 36. Regarding warrants, the Air Force began phasing them out once the supergrades (E-8 and E-9) were introduced in the late 1950's. (Some of those jobs went to junior commissioned officers, others to senior NCOs.) The Air Force, IMHO, is more resistant to enlisted personnel becoming officers. Not hostile, nor even against it, but we don't have some of the other services' pathways (like warrants, or the Navy's Limited Duty Officers, and way fewer scholarship/commissioning opportunities). And when you do get commissioned, everything kind of resets. Sure, you carry forward your awards and decorations, and you get credit for time already served towards retirement and pay calculation, but your enlisted service is forgotten. You tend to be treated just like any other officer. I went from a pretty snappy and clever staff sergeant to a dumb-ass 2Lt in 93 days at Lackland. I didn't get clever again for 4 years when I became a captain. Or so it seemed.
The Warrant Officer grades are a way to promote technical excellence and performance without making everyone a commissioned officer. Warrants tend to be assigned to very advanced responsibilities (like helicopter pilots). They fill a niche. The Air Force decided it could fill that niche with highly trained and educated senior enlisted personnel and new junior officers. Because so much of what we do is technical, one could move up the enlisted ranks largely on that basis and get more-and-more demanding responsibilities, even as an NCO. So our Seniors and Chiefs (E-8 and E9, respectively) are doing what some of the other services' warrants are doing. Conversely, we also have some commissioned officers doing what warrants elsewhere are doing (like flying helicopters--commissioned officers do that in the Air Force).
Technically oriented officer positions in the USMC are quite often filled by LDO’s or Warrant Officers e.g., motor pools, maintenance depots, supply, correctional facilities /Brigs, survey, etc. WO and LDOs are NOT required to possess a bachelor degree; and the USMC rank ceiling for the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) (Title 10, US Code –section 5589) remains limited to LTC (O-5) /Capt. (O-6) Navy. LDO designation is not an indication to level of authority (a few specialty MOSs can even allow LDO commanding officer billets) but to career progression and restrictions –unlike the unrestricted line officer. Within the U.S. Marine Corps, only warrant officers (those with not less than 8 years of warrant officer service “Nor” more than 20 years of active duty service) are eligible to become LDOs. Also, the LDO program is managed within the Recruiting Command because it is an accession board not a promotion board as with unrestricted line officers. Anyway, belated Happy B-Day to the USAF!
