Silent, but Crucial

The Relationship between Lieutenant and Warrant Officers

By 1LT Alex Greene, Military Intelligence

Article published on: April 1st 2025, in the April-June 2025 Edition of Strength in Knowledge: The Warrant Officer Journal

Read Time: < 5 mins

While in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and the Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC), my instructors emphasized the importance of building strong relationships with non-commissioned officers (NCOs). This relationship significantly shapes a young officer’s development. Commissioning programs and BOLCs should stress the importance of this relationship, as every lieutenant going to their first unit will be working with an NCO counterpart. These programs often overlook another critical relationship: the partnership between lieutenants and warrant officers. Many lieutenants go to maneuver units where the only two warrant officers are on the battalion staff, not at the company level. However, many new lieutenants report to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN), military intelligence (MI), signal, and logistics companies. These highly specialized technical companies require a technical expert at the company level. At these companies, a new lieutenant will find themselves working side by side with a Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) or Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2). In these types of companies, this relationship is critical to mission success. CBRN, MI, signal, and logistics BOLCs can better prepare new lieutenants for these relationships by incorporating warrant officer roles into programs of instruction (POI) and by conducting joint training with lieutenants and warrant officers.

Discussion

Arriving at my first assignment in South Korea, the number of warrant officers at my CBRN battalion surprised me. I initially assumed that warrant officers primarily served as helicopter pilots and did not really understand what non-pilot warrant officers did. I soon discovered that warrant officers play a vital role in technical units, especially at the company level.

In a standard CBRN Hazard Response (HR) Company, a CW2 serves as the Company Executive Officer (XO) per the modified table of organization and equipment (MTOE). Unlike most standard companies, this role is not filled by a first lieutenant (Headquarters, Department of the Army, N.D). This position is called a company CBRN warrant officer (CW). In CBRN technical escort companies, a WO1 serves as an assistant team leader (ATL), providing technical advice to the lieutenant team leader and team sergeant (Operations Division…, 2019). The positions of CW and ATL are key development positions for WO1s and CW2s and are among the most rewarding points in a WO’s career (Garcia, 2025). The professional development of WO1s and CW2s focuses on proficiency in their military occupational specialties, aligning with all warrant officers’ career paths (Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2023). In most CBRN HR companies, there are still lieutenant XOs who typically perform XO duties but are not in MTOE positions. A warrant officer serves as the XO because CBRN companies require a technical expert to oversee the specialized CBRN equipment and training. When I became a platoon leader (PL) in a CBRN company, the CW was invaluable to my platoon’s success. The CW helped me craft a platoon training plan based on our company’s mission essential tasks. He instructed my Soldiers on the various CBRN detectors and equipment our platoon had and coached my NCOs on creating maintenance plans for them. As PL, I observed how my XO at the time worked seamlessly with the company warrant; while essentially doing the same job, they split the duties based on their strengths and assisted each other in their weak areas.

I eventually became the XO of my company and got to work with a new CW. I wanted to have a similar working relationship with my old XO and CW that they had when I was a PL. Our relationship was probably the second-most important in the company, next to the commander and first sergeant, because we ultimately ran the company’s daily operations. I would focus on typical XO duties, including maintenance, supply, training management, and day-to-day operations. The CW focused specifically on CBRN training and equipment maintenance, and served as a technical advisor to the command team on training guidance and CBRN equipment maintenance. Even though we separated the duties, we ensured we understood each other’s responsibilities to build situational awareness and cover for each other in the event one of us was absent. I taught the CW how to use systems like the Range Facility Management Support System (RFMSS) to reserve locations for training events and the Global Combat Support System – Army to view the status of our CBRN equipment. In turn, the CW would teach me more detailed aspects of CBRN training and equipment. This better informed me when we had to plan a company-sized field training exercise (FTX). I used his expertise to reserve RFMSS training areas suitable for CBRN training and to create a training plan nested in our commander’s intent. I assisted him by resourcing his training lanes and advised him on the feasibility of specific training lanes given our company’s capabilities. Our relationship helped ensure a successful FTX. I relied heavily on my CW’s technical expertise and his tactical experience as an NCO. Although this discussion focuses heavily on CBRN companies, this relationship also exists in other technical and specialized companies. In Military Intelligence Companies, warrant officers exist at the platoon level, like in a signal intelligence (SIGINT) platoon, providing that technical expertise. At the platoon level, these warrants must work closely with the platoon leader.

Recommendation

Although I had successful relationships with my warrant officers while I was a lieutenant, I lacked sufficient knowledge to work directly with warrant officers. I had to quickly adapt and use my interpersonal skills to work through it, but it would have been helpful to have some baseline knowledge to build on. These are sentiments my peers in CBRN and in other branches share. BOLC and WOBC programs for CBRN, MI, signal, and logistics must adjust their POIs to prepare officers for these relationships better. At BOLC, this can involve classes taught by warrant officers and the roles they play in technical and specialized companies. Another option is to introduce joint training events between BOLC and WOBC classes. In some BOLCs and WOBCs, this has already occurred. When my 2nd CW was going through his WOBC at Fort Leonard Wood during the fall of 2022, his WOBC class conducted joint decontamination training with a BOLC class. This is a perfect opportunity for new Lieutenants to learn from brand-new warrant officers and for warrant officers to practice working with and mentoring lieutenants. BOLCs and WOBCs should have more of these trainings built into their training. These joint trainings benefit small branches like CBRN because building relationships early, especially in a small branch like the Chemical Corps, helps create trust and strong foundations (Garcia, 2025).

Conclusion

The relationship between lieutenants and warrant officers in technical companies is critical for mission success. This relationship is mutually beneficial, as it supports the professional development of both groups. BOLCs and WOBCs for these branches can better prepare these officers for these assignments by explaining this relationship and incorporating joint training between lieutenants and warrant officers.