Chief Warrant Officer 5
George T. Reno

Chief Warrant Officer Five George T. Reno was born in Long Beach, California on August 18, 1937. In February 1956, he enlisted in the California National Guard and on November 12, 1962 received a direct appointment to Warrant Officer One and was concurrently called to active duty as an automotive maintenance technician.

His warrant officer career began as the Battalion Maintenance Officer for the 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor, Fort Riley, Kansas. During the next sixteen years, he served as a maintenance officer with various Armor, Infantry, Engineer, Air Defense Artillery, and support units. In 1979, he was selected for assignment to the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center as the Ordnance Warrant Officer Career Manager. There he was responsible for the accession, career development, and worldwide assignments of over 1500 Ordnance warrant officers.

When the Army's Personnel Proponent System was initiated in 1982, he was selected to become Chief, Warrant Officer Branch, Office Chief of Ordnance. In that position, he made the recommendation which led to the establishment of the Ordnance Warrant Officer Candidate Course in 1982, and by the end of 1983, the program was producing enough qualified warrant officers to fill the active Army's worldwide requirement. He also developed a proposal to divide the Automotive Repair Technicians' career field into five Military Occupational Specialties, thus creating a progressive career plan encompassing entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level requirements. His proposal was approved for implementation in 1984 and became the template for the grading of all warrant officer positions in the Army. He became the Army's first Chief Warrant Officer Five on October 1, 1992.

He returned to the Office Chief of Ordnance in December 1992, where he continued to oversee the quality and professional development of all Ordnance warrant officers until his retirement in July 1994. Mr. Reno is currently the Executive Secretary of the U.S. Ordnance Corps Association.