b. Temporary warrant officer appointments were decentralized in 1942 based on the concept that commanders
best knew their own needs. Appointments by quota were made from the list generated by the competitive examinations
until the end of World War II. These decentralized appointments were not competitive in an Armywide sense, although
the examinations were generally used as a selection device. Most of these appointments were based on the results of a
"promotion board" appearance by those personnel who met statutory requirements.
c. Also, in 1942 the Army created flight officer positions which corresponded to the warrant officer grades. The
flight officers' pay scale was the same as that of warrant officers, they received flight pay, and they had blue on their
insignia rather than brown. They were not addressed or referred to as warrant officers. They served as pilots,
bombardiers, and navigators and in other jobs to relieve commissioned pilots of administrative and technical details. By
June 1945, the Army had 32,413 flight officers. When the US Air Force was established by the National Security Act of
1947, Army flight officers were phased out. Today's aviation warrant officers can trace their heritage to these flight
officers.
7. APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN WARRANT OFFICERS
The appointment of women as warrant officers was first authorized in January 1944, and the first four women
were appointed in March of the same year. By the end of World War II, 42 women warrant officers were serving on active
duty. The types of positions in which a woman may be appointed a warrant officer have steadily increased until the only
significant restriction remaining today is that women may not fill combatant slots.
8. WARRANT OFFICER OCCUPATIONAL AREAS INCORPORATED INTO THE COMMISSIONED OFFICER MOS
STRUCTURE
a. Warrant officer appointments virtually ceased after World War II. Early in 1946, the 40 warrant officer
occupational areas authorized in 1942 were incorporated into the same MOS structure used for commissioned officers.
Continued decentralization of appointments to major commanders resulted in inconsistent usage and uncertain concepts
of the warrant officer's role and function. By the end of World War II, there was a growing question as to the intended
purpose of the Warrant Officer Corps.
b. After World War II, the concept of using the Corps as an "incentive" rather than as a "reward" was instituted.
The rank of warrant officer was to be a capstone to which enlisted personnel could reasonably expect to advance in
connection with the Enlisted Career Guidance Program. The use of the warrant officer grade as a reward before World
War II and as an incentive after
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