[4] This benefit does not affect their rank and is used simply for reward and incentive purposes in recognition of their prior enlisted (or warrant officer) experience.
By law, regulation, and traditional customs and courtesies across the military services, warrant officers serving in pay grade W-1 have the same privileges as commissioned officers (with certain exceptions grounded in the distinction required in the Constitution that all "officers of the United States" be commissioned,[26] which affects the command authority and specific standing of W-1's under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial).
[32] U.S. statutes no longer include any pay grade for cadets or midshipmen;[1] as "inchoate officers"[33][34] appointed using the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution[35] as "inferior officers," they are recognized as having only a precedence below the most junior warrant officer, and above the enlisted grades, and almost entirely lack any authority over any other servicemembers (including other cadets and midshipmen) except for specific internal Academy functions, or very narrowly drawn training purposes while serving with their Service for leadership and skills development.
[41][42][43][3][44][45] Cadets and midshipmen from both the USMMA and ROTC are appointed as "inchoate officers"[33][34] without a commission or warrant,[33] but unlike the other four Federal service academies, they are also appointed under Article II as "inferior officers" in their respective reserve component,[35] and only serve on active duty during authorized training events (typically the "Sea Year" for USMMA midshipmen,[17] or for ROTC during the summers between years of college).
[4][45][42] They share the ill-defined precedence, and lack of statutory pay grade, of cadets and midshipmen of the Academies, and have even less apparent authority (since they are generally not in any official duty status) beyond their internal USMMA and ROTC requirements, although they—like the cadets and midshipmen serving in the Regular Component at the Federal Service Academies—have the innate potential to command troops in emergencies, and otherwise perform duties far beyond their academic environment, as required by competent authorities.
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