[Rodney King]

I'm not an army guy, but don't they ever promote you if you have been in that long?

[chesty_puller]

but don't they ever promote you if you have been in that long?

He was a Chief Warrant Officer.

[neodad]

El Paso Bump.

[knarf]

Makes me scratch my head and wonder how he got the way he is.

[geo40xyz]

What rank do you think a Chief Warrant Officer is Rodney??

[AzSteven]

Chief Warrant is a pretty impressive rank - warrant officers are effectively officers but are not commissioned as such. They don't really command but they perform important technical tasks that might oridinarily require a commissioned officer to deal with. For example, helicopter pilots are often warrants.

My nephew once complained warrants are basically enlisted guys with officer perks. He was oversimplifying more than a little of course.

[org.whodat]

Chief Warrant, is not a buck private! Some men just stand a little tailer than other equals and here is one of them.

[Repeal The 17th]

---

This picture is from 1969.
I remember it well.
Almost surreal to think about it now.
Your fate was determined by some suit picking a numbered
ping pong ball out of a gold-fish bowl.

[silentreignofheroes]

This fella had the best of both worlds,,,A Chief Warrant,,He was Top Dog....In '71 only 3 people in our Company were draftees,,The Draft was winding down,

[oh8eleven]

Surely you jest.

[lesser_satan]

I think that's the highest you can go without a college degree. A Warrant Officer isn't really an officer in the same sense as a Lieutenant, Captain, Major, or Colonel. It says he was drafted while he was a college student, and maybe he decided he liked the Army and didn't want or need to finish college.

[doodad]

Valid question from your perspective, but he did well. And, I bet, he carried more weight than much higher ranks where ever he was. Many a Sgt has carried a Lt or Cpt.

[Fiddlstix]

He is CWO. Not too shabby, imho.

[calex59]

There are only 4 levels of warrent officer.He is at the top rank, can't go any higher unless he went to OCS and was commissioned as an officer.

[silentreignofheroes]

Would like to see that Plymouth..?

[kms61]

Rangel's years in the Army included more than 200 parachute jumps with a special forces unit in Vietnam and Cambodia

---

There were only a handful of combat jumps during the entire Vietnam conflict, and if he'd been on every single one, he'd have had nowhere near 200. They must be talking about training jumps, which is a little misleading given the context.

Nevertheless, thanks to Chief Rangel for his service, and best wishes for his retirement.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Tops on the list is restoring a 1964 Plymouth Sport Fury. He parked it in his mom's barn when he went off to basic training.

Thanks for posting this great story! Wonder what the total number of Viet Nam era draftees went on to serve until retirement.

[Glenn]

but don't they ever promote you

My brother came out a Warrant Officer. He was a dogface in 1969 and spent 2 tours in 'Nam, 16 years in Germany, and retired after he was sent stateside post a Desert Storm tour. He was a tank guy for his entire enlistment and is now a contractor to the Army. I wish I had his pension and knowledge. He worked damned hard for his rank -- it came with a lot of respect from his commanders.

[digger48]

Doesn't anyone see the irony in the fact that his name is Rangel?

[stylin19a]

My memory is gettin a little hazy, but I seem to recall the WO's were always equal opportunists.
They could equally tell officers and NCO's to get stuffed, with damned near immunity.

[bad company]

You remember this guy? He was in alpha battery when you took over bravo battery. Skinny Puerto Rican guy. He was a cool guy. He got sent to the rear one time during a field problem and came back with about 100 McDonald cheeseburgers. A class act.