Coast Guard - Chief Warrant Officer Appointment Process
Coast Guard - Chief Warrant Officer Appointment Process
Appointment to
Chief Warrant Officer (CWO)
The Coast Guard CWO Role and Responsibilities
Chief Warrant Officers (CWOs) are commissioned officers of the Coast
Guard who serve in grades established by law and have authority commensurate
with this status. CWOs are mature individuals with appropriate education
and specialty experience, who have shown through demonstrated initiative
and past performance 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 that require strong leadership skills. Enlisted
and officer experience provide these officers a unique perspective
in meeting the Coast Guard’s roles and missions.
CWOs
are mature individuals with appropriate education and specialty
experience.
The CWO Appointment Process
The CWO appointment process has three steps. You must first meet the
minimum qualifications and receive your CO's recommendation, then
make the Preboard Eligibility List, and finally the determination
of the CWO appointment board process.
Minimum Eligibility Requirements
Each applicant for appointment to warrant grade is responsible for
completing the eligibility requirements by 1 January of the year in
which the Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Appointment Board (the Board)
convenes. To qualify for appointment to CWO you:
Must be a citizen of the United States
Must be a member of the Coast Guard or Coast Guard Reserve
with at least 8 year’s time in service (TIS) in the Armed Forces
of the United States, with the last 4 having been in the Coast
Guard
Must be serving in pay grade E-6 or above
Note: Enlisted members serving in pay grade E-6 must
display technical ability by placing in the top 50 percent
on the eligibility list for advancement to E-7 as a result
of the most recent Servicewide Examination (SWE).
Members serving in pay grade E-7, E-8, or E-9 are considered
to have already displayed technical ability in their specialty.
Must have no court-martial or civil conviction, or nonjudicial
punishment, and have no unsatisfactory mark in conduct for the
three years immediately prior to the 1 January deadline and for
the entire period from 1 January to appointment
Must not have previously declined appointment to warrant grade,
or voluntarily elected to be removed from an eligibility list
in the past 5 years
Must meet the special requirements for your specific CWO specialty.
(Sea Duty, Color Perception, etc.)
Commanding Officer's Recommendation
The final eligibility step in the warrant officer appointment process
is obtaining your commanding officer's recommendation. After meeting
all of the eligibility requirements, you must submit a request to
your commanding officer to obtain a recommendation for appointment
to warrant grade.
Note: Your commanding officer may determine local policy for
requesting this recommendation, scheduling an interview with the commanding
officer, providing documentation attesting to the completion of the
minimum eligibility requirements, addressing the suitability issues
specified, etc. In addition you must submit this request in time to
obtain the commanding officer's recommendation by the 1 January deadline
date.
The Preboard Eligibility Process
Once your CO has recommended you for warrant grade, the next step
in the CWO process is establishing your Preboard Score. The Coast
Guard Personnel Support Center (PSC) will send you a Personnel Data
Extract (PDE).
Your PDE is a critical document that notifies you of your preboard
scores and the factors used to compute these scores. The PDE also
confirms that you have been included in the process and that you are
eligible to compete for warrant grade.
The preboard score consists of an experience factor (TIG/TIS) and
an evaluation factor (Performance). The experience factor accounts
for 40% of your preboard score and is calculated by crediting one
point for each full month of active service as E-6 and two points
for each full month as E-7, E-8, and E-9. Maximum credit for time
as E-6 is 100 points. Total maximum credit for time as E-6 through
E-9 is 175 points.
The evaluation factor accounts for 60% of your preboard score and
is computed by PSC (adv) based on your performance marks during the
four-year period immediately prior to the 1 January deadline.
Preboard Eligibility List
Based on the estimated number of warrant officer appointments required
for the following year, Commander (CGPC-opm) will determine the number
of candidates to be considered for appointment and establish minimum
preboard scores for primary and alternate candidates in each specialty.
The Preboard Eligibility List containing the names of those applicants
who qualify will be released via ALCGPERSCOM message in April. The
Preboard Eligibility List will not indicate whether you are a primary
or alternate candidate. You must refer to your preboard score on your
profile letter to determine your status.
Note: The preboard score is used only to determine primary
and alternate candidates and is not furnished to the Board. All primary
candidates will be considered by the Board. If primary candidates
are removed from consideration prior to the convening of the Board
or are found not fully qualified by the Board, they will be replaced
by alternate candidates, in order of highest preboard score. Such
alternate candidates are then considered primary candidates.
Once your name appears on the Preboard Eligibility List your Commanding
officer must submit an Officer Evaluation Report (OER), (CG-5310 with
3A variant of page 3). The OERs shall be submitted directly to Commander
(CGPC-opm-1) and shall be prepared using the instructions in . Article
1.D.7.b. Do not use OER preparation instructions contained in section
10.A.
You must submit a resume prepared in accordance with the published
instructions in CG PERSMAN Chapter 1.D.7.c. The submission deadline
date for the OER and resume will be announced in the ALCGPERSCOM message
publishing the Preboard Eligibility List.
The CWO Appointment Board Process
The Board shall consist of at least five officers on the active duty
promotion list who are serving in or above the grade of chief warrant
officer (W-2).
Note: The schedule of Officer Personnel Boards and Panels,
COMDTINST 1401.5 (series) announces the Board’s annual convening date.
Additional information can be found in Coast
Guard Persman Chapter 14.
The board will be provided the following documents:
A listing, by specialty, of all primary candidates for appointment
to warrant grade.
The OER and resume of all eligible primary candidates.
The Headquarters PDR of all primary candidates.
The Board determines if you are fully qualified to become chief
warrant officer. After making this determination, the Board must
then rank order the primary candidates on a best-qualified basis.
Finally, the Board will submit a report of those recommended for
appointment to the Secretary of Homeland Security for appointment
authority.
Announcing the Selection Board Results
After the Commandant has approved the report and the Secretary has
granted appointment authority, you will be promptly notified of
the Board results through publication of the Final Eligibility List
by ALCGPERSCOM message.
Note: If you are found not fully qualified by the Board,
you will receive a letter from Commander (CGPC-opm-1) stating the
reason(s) for the finding.
The Final Eligibility List establishes the precedence of candidates
in each specialty. Commander (CGPC-opm) shall establish cutoff points
for each specialty based on the maximum number expected to be appointed
during the next year to meet Service needs. Those above the appointment
cutoff whose performance continues to be satisfactory shall be appointed
as vacancies occur.
The Coast Guard CWO Role and Responsibilities