Figure. Rank Insignia of the First Warrant Officers.
4. APPOINTMENT OF WARRANT OFFICERS IN ADMINISTRATIVE, CLERICAL, AND BAND-LEADING
ACTIVITIES
a. Congress expanded the role of warrant officers by the Act of 1920 which authorized 1,120 warrant officers to fill
clerical, administrative, and band-leading positions. The War Department supported this expansion for the purpose of
having warrant officers supplant field clerks and having them, instead of commissioned officers, perform certain duties at
higher echelons. Perhaps the most significant reason was stated in the qualifications established for appointment: "a
desire to reward enlisted men of long service and also to reward former commissioned officers of World War I who lacked
the educational or other eligibility requirements necessary for continuance in the commissioned status."
b. Appointment and assignment procedures published in 1920 provided for appointments in the Army at large rather
than in specific branches. Assignments were authorized at various headquarters and in tactical units for clerical,
administrative, and supply duties. Only one pay grade existed except in the Army Mine Planter Service.
c. In 1921, warrant officers were excluded from performing those duties from which enlisted men were excluded.
These duties
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