Pay, Promotion & Retirement

Coast Guard chief warrant officers continued to see meaningful opportunities for advancement during this period. The CWO-to-Lieutenant program remained in place, and a CWO College Program was established, offering postgraduate education opportunities to selected warrants from designated specialties each year.

Warrant officers in the Boatswain specialty were also guaranteed command afloat opportunities. At one point, 15 warrants were serving as commanding officers of black hull cutters. Two years later, when the Coast Guard introduced the 110-foot patrol boats, two warrant officers were assigned as commanding officers.
Despite these responsibilities, inequities remained. While officers in pay grades O-3 through O-6 were eligible for responsibility pay, warrant officers serving in comparable command roles were excluded under existing U.S. Code provisions and did not receive that compensation.
In 1988, the Association formally addressed this issue in correspondence to Commandant ADM Paul Yost, highlighting the disparity. ADM Yost responded:
“Your point is well taken and I agree that the level of compensation for warrant officers commanding Coast Guard cutters deserves investigation. I have asked the Chief of the Office of Navigation Safety and Waterway Services to review this matter and, if appropriate, initiate a proposal of legislation amending 37 USC 306.”
ADM Yost later approved the Association’s proposal, which ultimately extended benefits not only to warrant officers but also to O-2s serving in command afloat billets.
Another significant development occurred in 1987 when the Board for Correction of Military Records ruled that a lieutenant could retire with the retired pay of a CWO4—even if retiring as an O-3 and never having served in the CWO4 grade—provided the member had been selected for CWO4. The decision recognized that the officer would otherwise have received lower retired pay for answering the Coast Guard’s need for lieutenants, despite eligibility for a higher retired pay grade as a CWO4.
The following year brought improvements to the CWO-to-Lieutenant program. The minimum time-in-service requirement was reduced from 18 years to 13 years, while the maximum eligibility was increased from 22 to 26 years. According to the Office of Personnel, the reduction in minimum service time allowed those selected the opportunity to compete for advancement to commander. The number of annual selections was also increased by one-third.
The Association itself underwent structural changes during this period. In 1988, the By-Laws were amended to establish a formal Board of Directors composed of the Association’s officers. That same year, the Association incorporated and installed a new computer system to improve recordkeeping, correspondence, and office administration.
Two additional clubs were chartered in December 1988: the Southern New England Club at Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the Rocky Coast Club in Portland, Maine.