Into the 1990s: The WOMA Position Solidifies

As the debate over the Warrant Officer Management Act (WOMA) continued into the 1990s, the Association’s position remained firm. Its concerns were both structural and practical.

Major concerns centered on:
• Creation of the W-5 pay grade.
• Funding implications.
• Billet vacancies and promotion flow.
• Ensuring W-5 opportunities for each specialty.
• The possibility of early retirements.
• The impact on careers extending beyond 20 years of service.
Minor concerns included:
• Elimination of annual selection boards.
• Removal of the 80 percent minimum promotion opportunity floor.
In June 1991, independent of WOMA’s final disposition, the Coast Guard implemented several changes to warrant officer promotion, evaluation, and appointment policies. Additional adjustments were anticipated should WOMA ultimately be enacted.
Under revised promotion policies, chief warrant officers would be considered for promotion after their second year of service. After seven years, a warrant would be eligible for consideration for temporary W-4, and seven years later for permanent W-4.
A Coast Guard study group was also established to review regulations, policies, and enlisted selection processes for warrant appointment. During this period, the Coast Guard formally articulated its definition of a Chief Warrant Officer:
“Chief Warrant Officers (CWOs) are commissioned officers of the Coast Guard who serve in those grades as established by law and have authority commensurate with this status.
“CWOs are mature individuals with appropriate education and/or specialty experience who have shown, through demonstrated initiative and past performance, that they have the potential to assume positions of greater responsibility requiring broader conceptual, management, and leadership skills.
“While administrative and technical specialty expertise is required in many assignments, CWOs must be capable of performing in a wide variety of assignments requiring strong leadership skills. Enlisted and officer experience provides these officers a unique perspective in meeting the roles and missions of the Coast Guard.”
Additional changes to the appointment process included:
• Mandatory initial training for newly appointed CWOs.
• Requirement that First Class Petty Officers rank in the top 50 percent of the eligibility list for advancement to Chief Petty Officer before applying for warrant appointment.
• Prohibition on temporary officers competing for appointment to CWO.
• Replacement of the Warrant Officer Selection Battery (WOSB) with the Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) examination.
If WOMA were ultimately enacted for the Coast Guard, the proposed framework included:
• Retention of all warrant billets at the W-4 level.
• Initial appointments to permanent W-2.
• Promotion to permanent W-3 and W-4 after four years time in grade.
• Conversion of existing temporary grades to permanent grades.
Through these debates and adjustments, the Association continued to advocate for stability, fairness, and preservation of a promotion system that had evolved over decades to meet the Coast Guard’s unique mission needs.