Chief warrant officer 3 (W-3)
Chief warrant officer 3 (CWO3) is the third Marine Corps warrant officer rank, pay grade W-3. Its insignia is a silver bar with two scarlet enamel blocks.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The first Marine warrant rank with a silver bar, CWO3 is above chief warrant officer 2 (W-2) and below chief warrant officer 4 (W-4). Like every Marine warrant officer from W-2 up, a CWO3 is a commissioned officer who remains a specialist in a military occupational specialty.
Also searched as: CWO3.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
CWO3 or warrant officer?
The warrant officer (W-1) has the same two scarlet blocks, on a gold bar. The Navy’s officer-training guide describes the CWO3 device as a red background with one silver break, counting the silver between the blocks rather than the blocks themselves.
Marine or Army?
The Army’s chief warrant officer 3 wears a silver bar with three black enamel squares.
Read next
- Next in Marine Corps ranksChief warrant officer 4 (W-4)Chief warrant officer 4 (CWO4) is the fourth Marine Corps warrant officer rank, pay grade W-4. Its insignia is a silver bar with three scarlet enamel blocks.
- The same shape in Road signsDivided highway signA yellow diamond showing a road split around a median. It warns that the highway ahead becomes divided, with traffic in each direction separated.
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Marine Corps Ranks, marines.mil, Ranks, United States Marine Corps, Warrant Officer
- Marine Corps Uniform Regulations (MCO 1020.34H), MCO 1020.34H, 1 May 2018, Commandant of the Marine Corps, para 4005.2.k–o, pp. 1-99 to 1-100
- Officer Knowledge (Officer Development School), Officer Training Command Newport, ODS Knowledge Book, Naval Service Training Command, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Officer Rank Structure
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Officer insignia, warrant officers
- DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), para 21-6a(9), p. 173
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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