The Association in the 1940s

As the Association entered its second decade, it had already achieved significant milestones. Carlin L. Brinkley, who served as CWOA President in 1934, outlined several accomplishments of which the organization was especially proud:

• Raising the morale of the warrant officer corps.
• Increasing respect for the corps and elevating its professional standing.
• Ending the routine assignment of warrant officers to minor clerical duties at Headquarters.
• Preserving retired pay for Coast Guard officers.
• Helping prevent the Coast Guard from being absorbed into the Navy.
• Securing an Executive Order that continued temporary warrant officers in the War Department after they had received separation notices.
• Converting temporary warrants to permanent status.
• Expanding access to medical treatment for families.
One of the first amendments to the Association’s By-Laws during the 1940s permitted warrants holding temporary commissions (ensign and above) to serve in Association leadership positions.
Throughout the federal budget process, congressional bills to amend military pay were introduced annually. With the onset of World War II in 1941, the Association closely monitored proposed legislation. Detailed analyses of pay scales—showing increases and reductions—were prepared and distributed to members.
Though modest by modern standards, pay was significant at the time. A Chief Warrant Officer with more than 18 years of service received approximately $392 per month in pay and allowances, while a Warrant Officer with more than 21 years earned about $304.21. Promotions, however, were substantial. In 1941 alone, nearly one-third of the Chief Warrant Officer corps—over 200 officers—were promoted. Those with more than six years as a CWO advanced to lieutenant, while others were promoted to lieutenant junior grade.
A major milestone occurred on January 8, 1941, when all warrants serving in temporary grades received permanent commissions.
As the war progressed, the Association continued refining its By-Laws. Amendments strengthened language protecting members’ rights to organize, clarified the role and benefits of local Clubs, and formalized procedures for proposing changes within the organization.
One particularly notable change came in 1943, when membership was closed to new applicants except for former members or those applying before November 5, 1943. According to then-President F. J. Bennett, the decision was driven by the rapid wartime expansion of the service.
“Due to the expansion of the Service, we have admitted quite a few new members into the Association from both the Reserve group and those which received temporary promotions. In certain cases those officers did not remain Warrant Officers long enough to become familiar with the spirit of the Warrant Corps. This rapid promotion from Warrant Officer grade to the Commission grade will continue for the duration of the war, and your Association can offer nothing to Warrant Officers of either the Reserve or those holding temporary promotions except the stipulated death benefit.”
The wartime years brought both growth and transition. Through legislative vigilance, structural refinement, and continued advocacy, the Association strengthened its identity as the professional voice of the warrant officer corps during one of the most consequential decades in American history.