How awesome is the Warrant Officers job in the Army?

Question

Just wanted to know some info on warrant officers. Can you strait up enlist, or is it like any other officer? Do you get to choose which aircraft? Any other info is much appreciated, and personal experiance is helpful as well.

Answer 1

you can enlist. you don't have to have a degree, or be prior service. here is what happens.

you enlist. you are give e5 status. you are then sent through WOCS (Warrant Officer Candidate School) for 4 to 6 weeks, depending on other factors. if you aren't prior service its six weeks. once you graduate you are honorable discharged from the Army and then you receive you wo1 rank. you are wo1 (warrant office 1), then its cw2 (chief warrant 2).

it is not officer, it is warrant, sort of like the gray zone. you are in between enlisted and officer.

you can request what bird you get. but dont hold your breath. what they are doing currently, is they have a class go through and say "you are ALL blackhawks". then later they will say "you are all going to Hawaii". however, if you can manage #1 or 2 in the class, they you are more likely to receive what bird and what station you want. they do reward you for your good grades. so my husband is studying as hard as possible to snag one of those two spots.

also, time from WOCS to your first station is about 24 months right now.

i also wanted to say that for the top two spots, it isn't nessicarly grades. they could go by merit or pt scores to, to determine the top two spots.

Answer 2

Warrant officers are not commissioned officers.  They are skilled specialist in there field.  Most Warrant officers seen are pilots.  Pilots get all the glory.  An old AG Warrant Officer told me, "A Specialist should know where to find the regulations a Warrant Officer should be able to recite them on the spot."  

Most Army pilots enlist with a slot for flight school, pass and you mark Warrant Officer.  Fail and they find another job for you.  Aircraft is based on your skill, ranking in class and need at the time of graduation.

Answer 3

Andy has one critical thing wrong.  In the Army, a warrant officer becomes a commissioned officer by the rank of CW2 (Chief Warrant Officer 2).  Next fiscal year, all new WO-1 will start as commissioned officers; previously they were appointed by the Secretary of the Army.

In other words, CW2 and up are all commissioned officers, and starting next fiscal year, all new warrant officers will start as commissioned officers.

To become a warrant officer you need at a minimum:

a) rank of e-5 with WLC

b) an MOS which qualifies for WOCS.  

Warrant officers are common on certain MOS's like pilot and intelligence fields.  Their job can range from being chief advisor's (subject matter experts), instructors, and sometimes they may be put in command positions in place of an officer (this is more commonly seen in detachment size elements).

Edit:  Wow some people don't get it.  Warrant Officers are commissioned officers by the president when they reach CW2.  Next year all new Warrant Officers will be commissioned.  What do you not understand about this?  They are different from regular officers, but they are still commissioned.

"When promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two, warrant officers are commissioned by the President and have the same legal status as their traditional commissioned officer counterparts. "

source: http://usawocc.army.mil/whatiswo.htm

Answer 4

Yep like stated above by Andy, most Warrants are Aviators. A Warrant that isn't an Aviator is nicknamed a "walking warrant". My stick buddy in Flight School was a W1, former E-7...great guy and stick buddy. We had some "high school to flight school" Warrants too in the class.

WOCS looks pretty lame though, I remember seeing them doing carwashes every Saturday and carrying their suitcases everywhere!

And just to clarify a sometimes confusing point, Warrant Officers are considered Officers. However, Commissioned Officers are 2LTs, 1LTs, CPTs, and so on from Army ROTC, USMA, or OCS.

-Army Officer and Pilot