References and Bibliography

1 Coast Guard memo “Warrant Officers,” dated 7 August 1985, from Coast Guard historian to Coast Guard chief of staff.
2 This first effort was prompted by the reading of a letter from the retired CDR Raymond M. Gillis to retiree LCDR William Skeen at the April 1963 National Council meeting.
3 “The History Of The Formation Of The Chief Warrant And Warrant Officers Association,” pamphlet from the 19 Sept. 1969 decommissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter AGASSIZ, Training Center Cape May.
4 Coast Guard Magazine, volume 1, number 1, November 1927, page 30.
5 Coast Guard Magazine, volume 1, number 12, December 1927, page 20. The one years service requirement was for Navy or maritime personnel.
6 Coast Guard Magazine, volume 2, number 11, September 1928, page 18.
7 Heikel, who would eventually retire as a lieutenant commander in 1955, was present at the AGASSIZ decommissioning ceremony Sept. 19, 1969 in Cape May, N.J. LCDR Heikel passed over the bar Jan. 31, 1985.
8 Coast Guard Magazine, volume 1, number 10, August 1928, page 12.
9 Beall’s anecdote is from portions of a letter published in Newsletter 9-79, CWOA.
10 Constitution of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant and Warrant Officers Association, Jan. 1, 1929, Article V, Section 1, pg. 4.
11 Based on information in the 3-66 CWOA Newsletter.
12 Internal Coast Guard memorandum, dated Nov. 23, 1933. (CG Historians Office)
13 Letter to a “Mr. Humphreys,” dated May 14, 1939 (CWOA archives)
14 Commandant's Circular No. 28-46, July 1946.
15 Retired Officer Association comments on Hook Commission, 1949.
16 Newsletter 9-51, CWOA.
17 Newsletter 7-56, CWOA.
18 Newsletter 4-61, CWOA.
19 Author’s note: Congressional testimony occasionally yields some historical perspective. For example, on May 16, 1961, the following narrative, “A Brief History of the Warrant Officer Corps in the Coast Guard,” compiled by Mark B. Sandground, was submitted for the Congressional Record by Rep. Robert F. Ellsworth of Kansas:
“The vessels of the original Revenue Marine, founded in 1790, were small cutters carrying three commissioned officers and from 12 to 20 men and boys. To almost the end of the 19th century there was no intermediate rank or grade between that of commissioned officer and the enlisted members comprising the crew. Rates of pay in general paralleled the current wages for like services in the merchant marine.
“As cutter sizes increased and with the advent of steam propulsion, the traditional sailing ship rates of boatswain, gunner, carpenter, cook, as well as specialist engineering ratings (oiler and water tender) had been added.
“However, it was not until 1898 that the status of these specialists was definitely fixed. During that year three General Orders were issued raising boatswains, carpenters, gunners and machinists to a status above enlisted grades. These officers were ‘warranted’ by the Secretary of the Treasury and authorized to be addressed as ‘mister.’
“Distinctive uniforms were prescribed. By the Act of May 26, 1906, further recognition was given by designating their status as ‘warrant officers’ and, in addition, higher rates of pay and retirement benefits were granted. The Act of April 16, 1908, required that candidates for warrant appointments must qualify by examination for promotion to that grade, rather than adhering to the older practice of being appointed by recommendation of Commanding Officers. It was not until 1920 that the officers and men of the Coast Guard attained parity in pay with naval pay scales (Act of 18 May 1920). Since that time there has been a gradual movement toward making the Coast Guard warrant corps as much like that of the Navy as the mission of the Service and essential differences between permit.”
According to Association President Lee Green, CWO4, “The first man to be promoted under this General Order was BOSN George R. D’Orange aboard the Steamer FORWARD homeported at Charleston, SC on August 2, 1898 (Newsletter 2-79, CWOA).” Seventeen years later the Coast Guard was designated a military service, on January 28, 1915, in Title 14 (Section 1) of the U.S. Code. Crew lists for the Cutter EAGLE exist for December 31, 1809 (National Archives Record Group 36, E-802.2), in which a warrant boatswain and carpenter are listed.
20 In 1978, CWO Freddie G. Gillikin, 100, of Marshallburg, NC was the oldest living Coast Guardsman and Association member, having served 41 years after joining the U.S. Life Saving Service in 1900.
21 Newsletter 3-63, CWOA.
22 Newsletter 3-63, CWOA. This figure would climb to 62 years a year later.
23 The club was headquartered in Saigon and a charter was issued September 15, 1967, with 12 original members (Newsletter 11-79, CWOA).
24 Newsletter 8-66, CWOA. Letter from CHSCLK Lee R. Green, CWOA president.
25 Enlisted members accepting appointment to warrant grade were finally authorized an initial $250 uniform allowance under the Coast Guard Omnibus Bill (Public Law 91-278) of June 12, 1970.
26 The requirement for physicals prior to promotion was eventually removed May 13, 1971, and allowed warrants to retire in the grade selected for promotion in the case of being forced to retire for physical disability.
27 Newsletter 10-76, CWOA.
28 Leadership and management training was available to warrants through service schools at Yorktown, VA and Petaluma, CA, but the school curriculums did not contain officer-specific skills and were aimed at raising the standards of the enlisted workforce.
29 In 1994, the warrant corps would finally get mandatory three-week officer indoctrination training for all new appointees at the U.S. Navy Training Center Limited Duty Officer/Warrant Officer Indoctrination School in Pensacola, FL.
30 Newsletter 6-78, CWOA.
31 Newsletter 12-57, CWOA.
32 Newsletter 3-82, CWOA.
33 Newsletter 1&2-87, CWOA.
34 Newsletter 2-89, CWOA.
35 The Coast Guard would later submit the proposal as a Fiscal Year 1991 legislative initiative to Congress in the annual Authorization Bill.
36 This recommendation was adopted a year later, in 1990.
37 Newsletter 1-90, CWOA. Letter from CWOA to Rep. Charles E. Bennett, January 12, 1990.
38 Letter from RADM Passmore to Association, Jan. 4, 1990.
39 Newsletter 6-91, CWOA.