The warrant officer community is as old as navies themselves.  In the
distant past, warfare was conducted by the aristocracy whose livelihood
depended upon the income from agricultural lands given to them by the
king, in exchange for their obligation to provide armed fighting men
when called upon.       The king or prince might command an entire
military expedition, while various aristocrats commanded, as Captains,
their own "companies" of men-at-arms.  There were also junior officers
who would command in "lieu" of the captain if the latter was killed or
wounded -- a lieutenant.

Actual fights at sea were rare in the late middle ages, but if ships
were needed, they were drafted into military service from traders and
merchants.  The ship would then be commissioned and a captain placed in
command.  The land-bound, part-time soldiers knew nothing of piloting,
ship handling or navigation.  The ship' s master, his principal
officers and the sailors or "swabbers" were necessary for the success of
the operation.  As commoners who were employed for their specific skills
, these expert seamen were issued royal warrants which bound them to
serve the king in their special capacities.  Whether the master could be
considered a limited duty officer or a commissioned warrant officer is a
moot point, as rank, authority and precedence were less precise in those
times.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the colonies quite logically
modeled the nucleus of the naval establishment after the British.    Our
history records show that on 13 December 1775, Congress agreed to
construct thirteen frigates. The grades of officers to lead this
force were as follows:

COMMISSIONED                            
Captains of Ships              
Chaplains                                        
Captains of Marines                             
Lieutenants of Ships                                   
Lieutenants of Marines                            
Secretaries of the Fleet                

WARRANTS
Boatswains
Surgeons
Gunners
Carpenters
Mastersmates
Pursers

Contrary to popular belief, most warrant officers of the 1800's were not
Sailors who had begun at the bottom of the Navy's ladder and worked
their way up.  Boatswains, gunners, carpenters and sailmakers were often
appointed directly into the Navy after learning their trades in merchant
vessels or as privateers.         In 1859, most warrant officers had as
little as six months service  as enlisted men.  Some had none at all.

In 1862, the rank of Ensign was introduced.  By 1865,  the Navy had Vice
Admirals, Rear Admirals and Commodores.  Master ranked between Ensign
and Lieutenant until 1881, when the rank was changed to Lieutenant
Junior Grade.  From the end of the Civil War, until 1900, warrant
officers were boatswains, gunners, carpenters, sailmakers and mates. 
The duties of the mate were simple:     "He will perform duties as
assigned by the commanding officer." The mate was junior to all officers
and warrant officers, but senior to all enlisted men and to naval cadets
, as graduates of Annapolis were then known.

Commissioned warrant grades (the chief warrant officer to "rank with but
after ensign") were introduced to the Navy at the turn of the nineteenth
century.

By the beginning of World War I, warrant ranks were used to meet the
demands of the rapidly developing technology of the time.  There
remained on active duty only one chief sailmaker, but added to the
register were 84 chief pay clerks, 101 pay clerks and 52 acting pay
clerks. In the past, pay clerks had received an appointment, after
having been selected by a commissioned paymaster to work for that
officer only.  Very often they came directly from civilian life. 
Warrant pay clerks, on the other hand, had to be chief petty officer
before they could apply for promotion.

It was during this period that the responsibilities of the gunner began
to change, which eventually led to the creation of several new warrants.
 The gunner was also assigned the duty of supervising the electrical
systems of ships.  The original answer for this new specialty
requirement was to split the gunner warrant into gunner and gunner(e)
who was, despite his insignia, the electrical officer.  With the
introduction of wireless, gunner(e)  was further divided to include
gunner(w), which was later changed to gunner(r).

In 1910, Congress authorized the annual promotion of ten warrant
officers to the rank of ensign.  After World War I, almost all warrant
officers and chief warrant officers were former enlisted men.    The
warrant officers mess was the abode of long service enlisted men who had
achieved first class petty officer or chief petty officer status before
becoming warrants.

On the eve of World War II, a chief petty officer or first class petty
officer could be advanced to warrant if:

a.       he was under 35 years of age on the date appointed;

b.      he had no proficiency mark lower than 3.4;

C.      he was able to read and write English, understood the four rules of
arithmetic and proportion, was able to keep accounts of stores and was
thoroughly conversant with all instructions and regulations pertaining
to the grade for which examined;

d.      could pass a professional examination; and

e.      had five years of sea duty, at least one of which was in the rate of
chief petty officer or first class petty officer.

The demands of World War II forced the creation of several new warrant
specialties, and by 1950 there were 12: boatswain, gunner, torpedoman,
electrician, radio electrician, machinist, carpenter, ship's clerk,
aerographer, photographer, hospital corps (formerly pharmacist) and pay
clerk. By the end of the war, approximately one-fourth of the lieutenant
commanders, over 1,000 lieutenants and one-third of the lieutenants 
(junior grade) were either permanent chief warrant officers or permanent
enlisted.

By 1948 the Navy realized that it often lost critical skills and
knowledge that was learned as enlisted men or warrant officers when
these individuals were promoted to commissioned status in the
unrestricted line community because, all too often, this "Mustang"
officer was not competitive for promotion with other commissioned
officers.  To retain these skills and to provide a fair competitive
position for officers promoted from the ranks, the Limited Duty officer
Program was established.

In 1948, the Limited Duty Officer category was established under the
Officer Personnel Act of 1947. The community was envisioned as a
relatively small, elite group of officers who would retain their
specialties acquired as enlisted men and warrant officers and support
the unrestricted line community during periods of personnel shortages or
when technological advances required.  They were not to compete with the
unrestricted line officers.  Limited duty officers commissioned after
inception of the Limited Duty Off icer Program through 1956 were given
permanent appointments under Title 10 USC, Section 5589.  As these
permanent limited duty officers progressed through the grade structure,
they were given promotion opportunity equivalent to that experienced by
unrestricted line officers.

The Defense Reorganization Act of 1949 created four warrant officer
grade levels: Wl, CWO2, CWO3 and CWO4.

Commencing in 1957, all initial appointments to limited duty officer
were temporary appointments under Title 10 USC, Section 5596.    The
input to the program increased markedly beginning in 1957 so that, by
1959, of the 2,502 officers comprising the total strength of the limited
duty officer community, 1,148 were temporary officers.

In 1958, the Career Compensation Act was amended to establish pay grades
E-8 and E-9.  In 1959, the "Williams Board" was convened to study the
warrant officer and limited duty officer programs in relation to the new
E-8/E-9 pay grades.  The board recommended that the limited duty officer
program be expanded to meet the shortage of experienced junior officers
and that the warrant officer program be concurrently phased out,
utilizing senior and master chief petty officers to assume some of their
duties.  As a result, input to the limited duty officer community was
increased, including the selection of warrant officers to limited duty
officer status.  By the mid-1960's, the limited duty officer (Temporary)
structure reached a peak population of about 7,500 officers.

Four years later, in October 1963, the "Settle Board" was convened to
restudy the issue.  It concluded that the expected functional
overlapping of the duties of warrant officers and the new senior
enlisted grades had not been demonstrated.  The phaseout of warrants had
created a void not effectively filled by LDOs and master chiefs -- a
void incompatible with the Navy's needs for more, not fewer, officer
technical specialists.  Accordingly, the warrant officer program was
revitalized, with a corresponding reduction in the limited duty officer
program.  There were no new limited duty officer accessions in FY-66, 67
and 68.

In 1974, a study directed by the Chief of Naval Operations was conducted
under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Naval Personnel Career Planning
Board.    The following recommendations, designed to improve the limited
duty officer and chief warrant officer programs and to improve stability
in those communities, were approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 5
December 1974:

a.      Retention of both the limited duty officer and chief warrant officer
programs, but with functional role definitions developed separately for
each.

b.      Separate billet structures for the limited duty officer and chief
warrant officer communities, based on the criteria expressed in the new
functional role definitions.

c.      Realignment of the limited duty officer and chief warrant officer
designators and categories to provide warfare community identification
and to facilitate centralized management of these two officer groups.

d.      New procurement and appointment procedures to provide separate paths
to either limited duty officer or chief warrant officer directly from
enlisted status, as well as the retention of a path to limited duty
officer, lieutenant (junior grade) from chief warrant officer.  The
changes created a younger LDO, capable of promoting to LCDR/CDR well
before statutory retirement (30 years total active naval service), and a
more seasoned, experienced and capable warrant officer.

In the 1970's, warrant officer (W1) was  abolished;  qualified
enlisted personnel were promoted directly to chief warrant  officer,
receiving commissions as chief  warrant  officers,  CWO2.  In  1980,
the requirement that applicants for limited duty officer  and  chief
warrant officer be under 35 years of age was discontinued.

Subsequently, master chief petty officers with up to 24 years of service
became eligible for promotion to chief warrant officer.

In 1985, Congress lifted the "0-5 cap", authorizing LDO promotions to
captain.  The first LDO captain was promoted in 1986.  By 1991, there
were 24 LDO captains on active duty.

As a result of the Warrant Officer Management Act of 1991, the warrant
officer grade of CWO5 was authorized, at service secretary discretion,
effective 1 February 1992. It is anticipated the Navy will see the first 
selections to W-5 early in FY04.

Over the years, the duties, responsibilities, authority and status of
limited duty of officers and chief warrant officers have grown from
those of common seafarers, reluctantly admitted to officer status by
aristocrats, to today's highly respected technical managers and
technical specialists, essential to the successful operation of modern
naval forces.