Pay grades
W-1: warrant officer 1
The first warrant grade, held under a warrant from the service secretary. Which services use it, the insignia and the 2026 pay by years of service.
W-1: rank in each service, insignia and 2026 pay
Army, W-1 · Warrant officer
Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)
Warrant officer, appointed by warrant
| Marine Corps | Warrant Officer 1 (WO) |
| Navy | Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) |
| Air Force | warrant officer |
| Space Force | no rank at this grade |
| Coast Guard | no rank at this grade |
| 2026 basic pay, over 2 years | $4,493.70 a month |
Same pay grade means the same basic pay in every service. Basic pay only: housing, food and special pays are not included.
Everything about W-1W-1 is the first warrant officer pay grade. The Army calls it warrant officer 1 (WO1), the Marine Corps warrant officer (WO) and the Navy warrant officer 1 (WO1), according to the Department of War chart; the Coast Guard and the Space Force have no W-1, and the chart shows none for the Air Force either, although the Air Force reinstated warrant officers in 2024. Warrant officers "hold warrants from their service secretary", the chart explains, and receive a commission from the president only on promotion to chief warrant officer 2. They are specialists in a technical field, unlike commissioned officers, who are generalists. Title 37 of the US Code assigns the grade as "Warrant Officer, W-1" for pay. In 2026, W-1 basic pay starts at $4,056.60 a month and reaches $7,010.10 over twenty years.
What is a promotion worth in basic pay?
W-1 to W-2, over 2 years
+$565.20 / mo
| W-1 | $4,493.70 |
| W-2 | $5,058.90 |
| Over a year | +$6,782 |
Same years of service in both grades, 2026 DFAS table.
Ranks and pay tables read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Appointed, not commissioned
The Army describes its WO1 as "appointed by warrant from the secretary of the Army", a technically and tactically focused officer who acts as "technical leader, trainer, operator, manager, maintainer, sustainer, and advisor". W-1 pay sits above the top enlisted rates of the same length of service in the early years: at four years it is $4,859.10 against $4,068.90 for an E-6.
What is a promotion worth in basic pay?
E-6 to W-1, over 8 years
+$971.40 / mo
| E-6 | $4,612.80 |
| W-1 | $5,584.20 |
| Over a year | +$11,657 |
Same years of service in both grades, 2026 DFAS table.
The Air Force and Navy cases
The Air Force, which phased warrant officers out in 1959, graduated its first 30 new ones on December 6, 2024, for fields such as cyber, intelligence and space, as the Air Force announced. The chart has not yet added their titles, so this site shows the grade without a title. The chart does list a Navy warrant officer 1, with its own insignia. The warrant officer page compares every service.
W-1 in the six services
| Service | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Warrant Officer 1 | WO1 | |
| Marine Corps | Warrant Officer 1 | WO |  |
| Navy | Warrant Officer 1 | WO1 |  |
| Air Force | warrant officer (titles not on the chart) | ||
| Space Force | no rank at this grade | ||
| Coast Guard | no rank at this grade |
W-1 basic pay in 2026, by years of service
| Years of service | Monthly basic pay | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or less | $4,056.60 | $48,679 |
| Over 2 | $4,493.70 | $53,924 |
| Over 3 | $4,611.00 | $55,332 |
| Over 4 | $4,859.10 | $58,309 |
| Over 6 | $5,152.20 | $61,826 |
| Over 8 | $5,584.20 | $67,010 |
| Over 10 | $5,786.10 | $69,433 |
| Over 12 | $6,069.30 | $72,832 |
| Over 14 | $6,346.50 | $76,158 |
| Over 16 | $6,564.90 | $78,779 |
| Over 18 | $6,766.20 | $81,194 |
| Over 20 | $7,010.10 | $84,121 |