 Music Alpha Alpha Lemusier, this is Alpha Alpha Charlie Teller. Alpha Alpha Charlie 2, this is Alpha Alpha Lemusier. Alpha Lemusier. Alpha Alpha Charlie 2, this is Lemusier. Roger your message, Lemusier out. The master of this tug is not in the Navy or the merchant marine. He's a sea-going soldier with a special rank. Do you recognize it? The distinctive bar in his collar identifies him as a highly skilled technician, a man with a mission, and a member of a very select but little-known corps in the United States Army. But the man who wears this insignia does a lot more than just operate vessels. He's a specialist in the intricate process of photomapping. He's the automotive maintenance technician charged with keeping the Army's wheel and track vehicles operational. He's the bandmaster. She's a unit personnel technician. He's a unit supply technician whose office is a landing zone in Vietnam. He's the man responsible for keeping a Nike Hercules missile battery equipment operational. He's the pilot of an Army aircraft. He's the man who operates a floating nuclear power plant. Who is this man who performs so many vital functions in our Army? He's a technical expert, but neither an enlisted man nor a commissioned officer. He's the officer with a warrant. The insignia, less than 20,000 are authorized to wear it. Another reason you don't see these bars around is that they're usually where the hard work is being done. In the engine room of a ship, inside a radar van, underneath a tank turret, deep in the recesses of a laboratory, beneath a mound of paperwork, because they work in civilian clothes as criminal investigators. Now, what a warrant officer is, is to see what he does, and he does a lot of things. Altogether, there are over 70 military occupational specialties performed by warrant officers. In terms of numbers, however, more than one-third of all warrant officers are in the aviation field. This rapidly expanding branch of the Army, there is a need for 2,500 new pilots a year to transport troops and supplies. To evacuate the wounded, to fly reconnaissance missions, and to provide air cover and fire support. Army get these pilots? Primarily through the warrant officer flight training program, which is open to any high school graduate who can pass the mental and physical tests. During the 34-week course, pilot candidates receive basic military training and attend ground school classes, where subjects such as heliborne troop-lift operations are studied. Helicopter flying instruction is given in the highly maneuverable TH-55 training ship, and each pilot trainee is taught to fly by expert instructors who have flown thousands of hours in rotary wing aircraft. Finally, the fledgling pilot is ready to solo. As the helicopter rises slowly from the ground, the student realizes that for the first time, he is performing all by himself. Due to his thorough training, he does well, and suddenly has a sense of exaltation and confidence. He begins his fly-by in front of the observation tower, and a helicopter pilot is born. Operational helicopters of the type used in Vietnam must next be mastered, and many hours are spent in practice flights. At the conclusion of the training program, those who have completed the course receive their wings and are appointed warrant officers by the Secretary of the Army. Unlike a commissioned officer, the warrant officer pilot has no command function. His job is to fly. He's a specialist, trained to maneuver 33,000 pounds of aircraft as easily as we swivel around in a chair. And if you don't think that takes skill, try it sometime. Although he doesn't have the military responsibility of a commissioned officer, the warrant officer does receive the same respect and the same privileges. He advances from warrant officer W-1 to chief warrant officer W-2, W-3 to the top warrant officer grade of W-4. After graduation from flight school, some warrant officer pilots qualify for the aircraft repair technician course at Fort Eustis, Virginia. There, together with non-rated warrant officers, they take a comprehensive course which familiarizes them with all aspects of aircraft maintenance. Their instructors are warrant officers themselves, and they really know their business. Let's talk about field conditions now. When I was an aircraft maintenance officer in Vietnam, we were often called upon to make major repairs to the tail boom section and to the tail rotor of the Huey. These repairs were quite extensive and made often under emergency conditions. Mr. Davis is a veteran of 23-year service, 12 as a warrant officer. This is the new Huey Cobra. Chief warrant officer Brashers, who is also a pilot, was appointed three years ago, after one year as an enlisted man. During the 15 weeks of instruction, the warrant officer students learn how to inspect, service and repair both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and their major components. They really get their hands dirty. But they also study maintenance management procedures, such as stock control, personnel training, safety procedures, production control, and office management. This prepares them to take charge of maintenance for an aviation company in Vietnam. Or if rated, that is qualified to fly to flight test aircraft. Other aircraft repair technicians serve in larger installations, such as the Army's first floating aircraft maintenance depot, Corpus Christi Bay, anchored in Cam Ran Bay, South Vietnam. Another broad field of service for warrant officers is mechanical and electrical maintenance. Many are in ordnance, supervising the repair of armaments or the handling of ammunition. Others maintain vehicles and engineer equipment. In electrical maintenance, warrant officers supervise radio and communication centers, such as this 41st Signal Company site in Vietnam. They serve as data processing equipment repair technicians at computer centers. And they are nuclear power plant technicians, like Chief Warrant Officer E.R. Loyville, who is responsible for the safe operation of the world's first floating nuclear power station, the Sturgis. Actually, I'm second in command under the officer-in-charge, a Lieutenant Colonel. You might call me to plant superintendent. It's my responsibility to maintain and operate this facility and to supervise the 65-man military crew. The Sturgis is a World War II Liberty ship, which has been rebuilt into a steam power plant using nuclear fuel. The reactor itself is inside this floating structure, but deep in the hull below the water line. Heat removed from the reactor is converted to steam through a heat exchanger. The steam, in turn, drives a huge turbine generator, which produces electric power. The entire process is monitored from a master control room. By speeding up or slowing down the nuclear reaction, the reactor heat can be regulated. At full capacity, the Sturgis generates 10 million watts of power, enough to supply this entire Army post for a city of 20,000 people with electricity. The Army Nike Hercules missile battery is well guarded and for good reason. Within these fences are the tracking radars and Hercules missiles which defend us against high-altitude air attack. It is vital that this complex weapon system be kept operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The responsibility for this rests on the shoulders of men like Chief Warrant Officer Lee, an air defense missile fire control technician. He not only has to be an expert in radar and missile electronics, but he has to train his men to maintain fire control systems, computers, and power supply equipment. Most warrant officers are also qualified to assume the duties of battery control officer if necessary. In the launcher area, missile assembly technicians like Chief Warrant Officer Smith supervise the assembly of the missiles and the testing of their complicated guidance systems, warheads, and propulsion units. And whenever the missiles are erected for firing, they see that the equipment functions properly and that safety precautions are observed. Because of its highly technical nature, electronics maintenance requires many warrant officers like Mr. Lee and Mr. Smith. Both are long-time missile men with over 18 years' service. Both work their way up through the ranks to Sergeant First Class and then accepted an appointment as warrant officer. Both have been highly trained and are indispensable members of the Army team. But let's not forget the see-going warrant officer. It takes hundreds of masters and mates and engineers to man the Army's fleet of ships. Left full rudder. Left full rudder, sir. Forward head one-half. Forward engine ahead half, sir. Qualified men are selected and then trained at the Transportation School, Fort Eustis, Virginia. During their 19-week course, the student deck officers learn to operate ocean-going tugs, LCUs, and large freighters. Everything that the student deck officer must know is taught here. Correct docking procedures are practiced over and over again. Every man learns to handle the ship's docking lines. The engineers spend their time below decks running 1,500 horsepower diesels, pumps, and other equipment. Classroom work in seamanship teaches a wide variety of subjects. The movement and effect of ocean currents is studied with the aid of a realistic model of land and sea. Navigation is a subject of vital interest to every ship's officer. Here a scale model of a sextant is used to demonstrate the science of shooting sun bearings. Cargo handling and mechanics is supplemented by actual practice at the school's harbor facilities and on extended training cruises. After graduation, the newly appointed warrant officer is likely to spend a tour of duty in Vietnam. But that is where the greatest concentration of Army shipping is. Without the tons of material and supplies which Army vessels handle in Southeast Asia, our military effort would be seriously curtailed. These ships and the men who sail them perform a vital function. He may skipper a tugboat, keep the engines running on an LCM, serve aboard a beach discharge lighter like the PAGE, one of the larger U.S. Army vessels in Vietnam. Its skipper is Chief Warrant Officer Greg. Well, our mission in Cameron Bay primarily is to discharge the roll-on roll-off type vessel. We have been working the coastline, the tranship and material out of Cameron to the different ports of Quynom, Van Rang, and so forth. How many people do you have in your crew? We have eight warrant officers and 36 men. And they're all under your command? Yes, sir. That's correct. Another warrant officer with great responsibility is the Harbor Planet. At Quignon, he's on duty seven days a week, providing safe passage for ships and tugs through some of the busiest waterways in the world. Before going on active duty, however, all newly appointed warrant officers, with the exception of those who have taken flight training, are required to attend a special three-week orientation course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. For most of them, living in this new high-rise BOQ is the first taste of what it's like to be an officer. That's one purpose of the course, to make the transition from enlisted man to officer smoother and less difficult. Another is to familiarize the new warrant officer with his role in the Army and what he may expect when reporting for his first duty assignment. Each class receives 132 hours of instruction. The men study map reading, counterinsurgency operations, leadership, military justice, communications, logistics, code of conduct, and other subjects. This does not change a highly skilled technician into a combat commander, but it does give him a needed orientation in the basic military skills. Officers were authorized by Congress in 1918. They were men appointed to serve as masters, mates, and engineers aboard vessels of the U.S. Army Mine Planner Service. The facts are not very clear, but precedent for the rank seems to stem from the U.S. Navy sailing master of the early and mid-1800s, later known as a naval warrant officer. In addition to being the navigator of the ship, he was charged with the general upkeep of it. Even earlier, English kings bestowed warrants on ship captains, which made them part of the Navy. In 1920, the U.S. Army was authorized 1,120 warrant officers. By 1921, they began serving as band masters and administrative and supply specialists. During World War II, the size of the warrant officer corps increased rapidly, and by the time of the Korean War, appointments were being made in 60 occupational areas. The competitive examinations and received my appointment as warrant officer. In 1953, however, a cutback in Army strength brought on a study of the warrant officer corps to determine whether it should be abolished and the duties assigned to other ranks. Instead, it was found that a genuine need existed in the Army for a separate category of personnel between the enlisted grades and commissioned officer grades. The Army required technicians with the skill and training to operate and maintain vehicles, missiles, electronics, and other complicated equipment. The warrant officer is job-oriented. He stays in one field and obtains a degree of technical proficiency that is not possible for a broadly trained commissioned officer. The data processing technician, for example, must know the operation of punched-card equipment, accounting machines, and electronic computers, and be able to train people to use them properly. But he also has the task of analyzing logic flow charts and translating computer operations into a program of coded instructions. That takes knowledge. There are communication specialists like this chief warrant officer who is a voice intercept technician. You don't learn this skill overnight. To supervise the operation of complex equipment, you must be trained in depth. Another specialist is the food service technician. This warrant officer is usually an ex-mess steward who has spent his Army career in the kitchen. He is intimately familiar with all the requirements for a continuing day-to-day mass feeding program. When he makes a courtesy call on one of his 30 mess halls, you can be sure he'll know if the roast beef is cooking at the right temperature to reduce shrinkage. He'll know if the mixing machines are clean. And he'll know if the steward is using as much split preparation as he should. This kind of experience is not acquired overnight. That's why the warrant officer is so valuable to the Army. He does a job that no one else is trained to do. Today's warrant officer is a specialist among specialists. A man with skill and experience, trained to perform highly specialized jobs and to supervise complicated technical work. His importance cannot be measured by his numbers, only by the responsibilities assigned to him. Future for the warrant officer looks very bright. We now know there's a definite place for us in the Army. Today the Army is expanding the number of military occupational specialties that warrant officers can hold. Many new career fields are opening up for warrant officers. Under our new career program, the warrant officer will have more opportunities to continue his schooling and keep abreast of developments in his field. No longer is his rank just a reward for long service. Now it's an incentive which an enlisted man can work toward and once obtained, grow it. We have the officer with a warrant. We couldn't picture all the vital tasks he performs, but enough I hope to show that the man or woman who wears this insignia is an indispensable member of the Army team.