As someone about to enter the Australian Army, I have to say I've found this thread very enlightening.
Before this I had absolutely nil real understanding of ranks other than where they fit on the "Ranks and Insignia" chart, but now I feel like I've got much more sense of "my place" once I start (I'll be an Officer Cadet for about 18 months, then a 2nd Lt for a while before I even make it to full Lt).
I had an experience recently where I witnessed a very young (21) Lieutenant speaking to a couple of Warrant Officers under his command. He was, I thought, extraordinarily "familiar" with them - he displayed no apparent respect for them or their level of experience in their jobs, and threw in several attempts at humour that missed their mark entirely and were not well received. As he turned away from these two WO's, the look they gave him was one of pure murder. Not exactly high on the "natural leader" qualities, this bloke.
So ... I look forward to NOT being like that guy, and I thank all of you who have contributed to this thread, for several reasons.
First, it helps me understand why Americans have WO pilots - and how they compare to our rank structure. Really, New_WO1, you are a Cadet, pure and simple. Your rank is a training rank, you've said so yourself. To compare your rank with a grizzled veteran of many years service, well what can I say.
Second, it helps me understand our NCO ranks, and gives me a much greater respect for them, for which I thank the UK guys.
New_WO1, go back and read your leadership manual, it's FM 22-100, I've got a copy if you can't find yours. You'll find a whole bunch of great info in there that it seems you've missed.
Knuckle down to your study, finish your training, and get on with the job. Be good at it - that's your main responsibility right now. Nobody even cares who you are until you're a useful member of a unit, so stop being so self-centred and focus on learning how to fly.
Cheers, mate.