Chief warrant officer 5 (W-5)
Chief warrant officer 5 is the highest US Navy warrant officer rank, pay grade W-5. On khakis the insignia is a silver bar with one blue line running along its length.
How to read it
The uniform regulations describe a silver background with one 6 mm (¼ in) blue stripe centred along the bar, the only Navy warrant insignia whose blue runs lengthwise. On the sleeve of the blue coat a W-5 wears one 13 mm (½ in) gold stripe with a thin blue strip broken by one hash mark. It sits above Chief warrant officer 4 (W-4); the Naval History and Heritage Command records chief warrant officers as ranking “with but after Ensign (O-1)”. Navy.com calls W-5 the highest level of technical leadership among warrant officers.
Also searched as: CWO5.
Ranks and insignia as the US Navy’s own uniform regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
A newer grade
The law listing the Navy’s commissioned grades describes them as the grades above chief warrant officer, W-5; a 1991 amendment put W-5 where the text had said W-4.
Read next
- Next in Navy ranksEnsign (O-1)Ensign is the lowest commissioned officer rank in the US Navy, pay grade O-1. On khakis the insignia is a single gold bar.
- The same shape in Geometry symbolsPerpendicular symbol (⊥)⊥ means “is perpendicular to”: the two lines meet at a right angle, 90°. AB ⊥ CD says line AB is perpendicular to line CD.
More navy ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4103: Shoulder insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4103, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4103.4a(8)(a)
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4101: Officer sleeve insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4101, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4101.3b(1)(a), 4101.3b(2)
- Navy Uniform Regulations, article 4104: Collar grade insignia, United States Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665J), art. 4104, Navy Personnel Command (MyNavy HR), art. 4104.2–3
- 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, W-5
- 37 U.S.C. § 201: Pay grades, 37 U.S. Code § 201, Pay grades: assignment to; general rules, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 201(b)
- U.S. Navy Ranks & Insignia, U.S. Navy Ranks & Insignia (navy.com), U.S. Navy Recruiting Command (navy.com), Warrant Officers: W-1 to W-5
- 10 U.S.C. § 8111: Navy grades above chief warrant officer, W-5, 10 U.S. Code § 8111, with historical and revision notes, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Amendments, 1991; § 8111
- History of Warrant Officers in the U.S. Navy, Naval Traditions: Names of Rank, “History of Warrant Officers in the U.S. Navy”, Naval History and Heritage Command, para. on commissioned warrants
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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