Shiny (nonsubdued) pin-on metal rank insignia are worn by Chief Warrant Officers 5 on the left curtain of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) Garrison Cap or centered on the flash of either the standard Black Beret or one of the four colored berets issued as organizational items (maroon for Airborne, tan for Rangers, green for Special Forces, and brown for Security Force). The insignia is arrayed vertically and centered on the flash of the beret.
Veterans who reached the rank of CW5 are likely to have served at least a short time while the first Green Army Service Uniform was still authorized for wear (its wear-out date was 30 September 2015). Its primary headgear was also a Garrison Cap, manufactured in Army Green Shade 491 or 489 (as opposed today's cap made in Heritage Green 564), but its wear began to be phased out when the Black Beret was introduced in 2001. Veterans who need to replace these classic Garrison Caps will be happy to learn that we continue to make and stock the four different versions—for
Generals,
Officers,
Warrant Officers, and
Enlisted Soldiers—of this historic headgear.
Since the mid-1980s, the Army has sought to align Warrant Officers more closely with the command structure of “normal” Commissioned Officers, while at the same time recognizing that such a shift must not come at the expense of the hands-on knowledge and technical expertise that make Warrant Officers both unique and valuable.
More CWO 5 Rank Insignia Pre-2004 Warrant Officer Branch ItemsTo that end, the Army began creating positions for Chief Warrant Officers 5 (CW5) to serve as advisors at different command levels, serving a similar function as Senior NonCommissioned Officers selected as Senior Enlisted Advisors do for enlisted personnel. In 2002, the Army announced that the Assistant Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA), an existing authorized CW5 position, would begin serving as the Warrant Officer Advisor to the CSA. This new advisory position was created to ensure that Army leadership was kept current on issues affecting the Warrant Officer Corps, such as promotion and advancement, professional education, morale, pay, and training.
A dozen years later, Warrant Officer advocacy was boosted even more when Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno established the Army Staff Senior Warrant Officer position. Though tasked with addressing the same sort of issues the Warrant Officer Advisor had dealt with, the Senior Warrant Officer is also able to communicate directly with Warrant Officers and Commanders across the breadth of the service to ensure that their opinions and concerns are considered when decisions impacting the Warrant Officer cohort are made.