Considering the complexity of the equipment and technology employed on today’s Coast Guard Cutters and Boats, it’s no surprise that only Coast Guard personnel from the Operations Specialist are eligible to apply for the Chief Warrant Officer Operations Systems Specialist program. The scope of this CWO specialty can be gleaned in part from the fact that its feeder OS rating was established in 2003 by merging the Quartermaster, Telecommunications, and Radarman ratings.
Operations Systems Specialists are the Coast Guard’s experts in C4IT (shorthand for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Technology), CEI (Command, Control Communications, and Intelligence), information and operations security (INFOSEC and OPSEC), and sector operations. Depending upon their grade, they may sere as security managers at the District level, with their familiarity with security and intelligence making them particularly valuable at providing information and advice on security practices and the training of personnel at sector commands.
The insignia for the OSS Chief Warrant Officer features an early radar display, called an A-Scope, superimposed over an arrow pointing diagonally and to the front (NW on a compass rose).
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