Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy

For the USN equivalent, see Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.

For the Indian Navy, see Navy Master Chief Petty Officer.

For the RAN equivalent, see Warrant Officer of the Navy.

The Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy (WORN), previously known as the Warrant Officer of the Naval Service (WONS), is the most senior warrant officer and rating of the Royal Navy. The person holding this appointment's main responsibility is to act as a channel between the non commissioned ranks and Senior Naval officers, enabling communication between the Sailors and Marines and the Senior Navy leadership.^[1]

Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Incumbent WO1 Jamie Wright since July 2022
Ministry of Defence
Style	Warrant Officer
Abbreviation	WORN
Reports to	Navy Command
Nominator	Second Sea Lord
Appointer	Navy Board
Term length	Not fixed (typically 1–4 years)
Precursor	Second Sea Lord's Command Warrant Officer
Formation	2010
First holder	Terry Casey
Website	Official Website

The post was created in 2010, replacing the post of Second Sea Lord's Command Warrant Officer.^[2]

Insignia

A command warrant officer badge is worn on the left breast of their uniform during the period of the appointment.^[3]

For ceremonial occasions they may carry a ceremonial cane, made out of wood from HMS Victory.^[3][4]

Appointees

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Casey, TerryTerry Casey MBE	July 2010	December 2013	3 years, 5 months	.
2		Cass, SteveSteve Cass	December 2013	17 March 2017	3 years, 3 months	[5]
3		Sharland, NicholasNicholas Sharland MBE	17 March 2017	Jan 2020	2 years, 11 months	[6][7]
4		Steedman, CarlCarl Steedman (born 1973)	20 January 2020	July 2022	2 years, 5 months	[8][9]
5		Wright, JamieJamie Wright[11]	July 2022	Incumbent	3 years	[12]

See also

• Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force – the Royal Air Force equivalent
• Corps Regimental Sergeant Major – Royal Marines
• Army Sergeant Major – British Army equivalent