Officer or warrant officer (army)?

Question

i had asked this earlier, but my computer had a moment of a lag and i accidently put it into voting...so let me try again.

my husband is enlisted army(25u). he loves what he does, but with three kids...we want more money to take better care of them. he knows that the training that he loves to give to his soldiers will not be what he will be doing as he goes up in rank. so why not get paid more for doing the paperwork.

he wants to see about ocs or warrant. now i'm wondering which career path do you think is better? what experience do you have to say so? also which one is better for the family(as in free time to spend with the family)?

Additional Details

he has the requirments to go either way. it's which one do you think is the better one as a career and a family man? family means alot to us. we want to make sure that the kids still is able to get some time with him when he is home. as well as which one has the better chance of him gaining the rank to get a good retirement? i've seen some officers stuck at O3 for forever, but i've also seen very few WO3 or WO4's out there also.

Answer 1

First let me say thank you for supporting your husband the past 25+ years in his military career.  It also becomes the whole family' way of life.  I have been retired from the Army 4 years now.  I was enlisted for 6 years and had the rest of my time as a commissioned AG (personnel officer).  I would lean toward advising him to go for warrant officer.  He will be a technical expert in his field and his expertise will be sought after.  As a commissioned officer, the pay is more but you might have any variety of leadership or administrative jobs that may not have anything to do with your branch, example Recruiting Battalion Operations officer, etc.  All jobs will be demanding but in a different way.  With 25 years in, he may also want to see what is available in the civilian sector, i.e. Federal civil service.  Hope this helps.  God Bless You!

Answer 2

nothing will guarantee more family time. in my personal opinion, go warrant officer, i think they are more respected. not that there is anything wrong with being an officer. if you guys figure out a way to get more family time, please let me know. my husband is navy and even while in port, he's never home.

Answer 3

I am an Army officer.

The amount of family time will depend upon assignments needed to advance in rank.  At the company grade level (2LT - CPT), your husband must exercise more leadership than management, which will mean more time than usual away from the family, as his "family" becomes those privates and sergeants that he commands, and they will need his signature authority daily.

My advice:  You or your hubby need to get a copy of "The Officers Guide" from the PX or from the base library (it is applicable for both commissioned and warrant).  Check out the chapters on "Family Time" and compare it to the rest of the book.  While reading, dogear the pages discussing pay and entitlements.  While there are a few paragraphs, the rest of the book will be about what he has to do receive those pay and entitlements.  There is a reason why The Officers Guide is thicker than the NCO Guide.

While increased family time may be of importance to you, your husband/future officer career may not be in a position to guarantee that.  And, that is the last thing the officer corps need:  a disgruntled officer who leaves service before his or her eight year obligation

Answer 4

If I remember correctly the 25 series is signal corps - he would be better off going commissioned officer as there is more room for advancement in that field.  If he was in a maintenance MOS or supply MOS warrant is the way to go.

Answer 5

You're asking an almost impossible question to answer. This is something that he will have to decide base on the career field he's in. I prefer the warrant officer direction myself, but that that is me. Don't let money be the sole factor that makes you choose a career. Just ask for Gods help and I'm sure y'all will make the right choose. Good luck and thanks for serving. (Being an Army wife is just as important as serving.)