Warrant Officer Overview
In 2005, the Department of the Army developed a new definition to encompass all warrant officer specialties and grades.
"The Army Warrant Officer (WO) is a self–aware and adaptive technical expert, combat leader, trainer, and advisor. Through progressive levels of expertise in assignments, training, and education, the WO administers, manages, maintains, operates, and integrates Army systems and equipment across the full spectrum of Army operations. Warrant officers are competent and confident warriors, innovative integrators of emerging technologies, dynamic teachers, and developers of specialized teams of soldiers. They support a wide range of Army missions throughout their career. Warrant officers in the Army are accessed with specific levels of technical ability. They refine their technical expertise and develop their leadership and management skills through tiered progressive assignments and education."(DA Pamphlet 600-3, p. 3-9)
Further clarification of the role of a warrant officer is found in Field Manuals 6-22:
“Warrant officers possess a high degree of specialization in a particular field in contrast to the more general assignment pattern of other commissioned officers. Warrant officers command aircraft, maritime vessels, special units, and task organized operational elements. In a wide variety of units and headquarters specialties, warrant officers provide quality advice, counsel, and solutions to support their unit or organization. They operate, maintain, administer, and manage the Army‘s equipment, support activities, and technical systems. Their extensive professional experience and technical knowledge qualifies warrant officers as invaluable role models and mentors for junior officers and NCOs.” (Fm 6-22, p. 3-12)
Additional expectations are shown in Field Manual 7-0.
Warrant officers must be technically and tactically focused and able to perform the primary duties of technical leader, advisor, and commander. Through progressive levels of expertise in assignments, training, and education, warrant officers perform these duties during all operations and at all levels of command. While their primary duties are those of a technical and tactical leader, warrant officers also provide training and leader development guidance, assistance, and supervision. Warrant officers provide leader development, mentorship, and counsel to other warrant officers, officers, NCOs, and Army civilians. Warrant officers lead and train functional sections, teams, or crews. Finally, they serve as critical advisors to commanders in conducting organizational training.
The Army warrant officer corps is comprised of over 25,000 men and women of the active Army and reserve components. Warrant officers are technical experts that manage and maintain increasingly complex battlefield systems. They enhance the Army's ability to defend our national interests, and to fight and win our nations wars. Candidates who successfully complete Warrant Officer Candidate School are appointed in the grade of Warrant Officer One. 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. However, warrant officers remain single-specialty officers whose career track is oriented towards progressing within their career field rather than focusing on increased levels of command and staff duty positions (FM 7-0, p. 4-22)
Grade Structure
There are five grades within the Army warrant officer corps. A person is initially appointed as a Warrant Officer One (WO1), and progresses to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) after 2 years. Competitive promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) occur at approximately six-year intervals for aviation warrant officers and five-year intervals for those in other branches.
Where They Serve
Warrant officers serve at all levels of the Army. Typically, junior warrant officers are assigned at the tactical level, whereas senior warrant officers are assigned at higher levels such as brigade and above, and also to positions on the Army staff at the Pentagon. In addition, warrant officers serve with Department of Defense, joint organizations, and other military services.
Warrant Officer Candidate School
The mission of the Warrant Officer Candidate School is to educate, train, and inspire candidates so that each graduate is an officer of character; committed to doing what is right legally, morally, and ethically both on and off duty; an officer who is committed to professional growth through life-long learning; and who embraces the requirements of selfless service to subordinates, superiors, our Nation, and the Constitution. Training, Advising, and Counseling (TAC) Officers along with academic instructors prepare, coach, teach, mentor, train, advise and counsel candidates, preparing them to assume responsibilities of a U.S. Army officer. They will also identify those candidates who fail to achieve the academic, leadership, discipline, character, physical, and mental standards expected of an Army Warrant Officer. There are experiential learning events throughout the program, particularly warrior tasks and battle drills related activities that provide leadership opportunities while emphasizing lessons relevant to the OE.
Warrant Officer Advanced Common Core (DL)
The Warrant Officer Advanced Common Core (WOACC) Distributed Learning (DL) is an 18-hour mandatory nonresident Warrant Officer (WO) course consisting of 11 common core lessons that build upon the skills, knowledge, and experiences developed through previous training and assignments.
This course provides CW2s and junior CW3s with material aimed at enhancing and sharpening communicative, leader, and staff skills needed to serve in company and higher-level positions.
This course must be completed within one year of enrollment and prior to attending the resident (branch and/or proponent) WOAC training. Resident WOAC attendance eligibility: RA Technical WOs, all ARNG WOs, and all USAR WOs after promotion to CW2 (RA Aviation WOs after selection to CW3) and after meeting all branch specific prerequisites.
This is a prerequisite for all follow-on WOAC courses. The cumulative (non-resident and resident) training provides the leader, technical, and tactical skills needed to serve in senior positions at the CW3 level.
Warrant Officer Intermediate Level Education (WOILE)
The Warrant Officer Intermediate Level Education (WOILE) is a resident 5-week, MOS-immaterial, professional military education course. This course is only taught at the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career College (WOCC).
Purpose: The WOILE provides CW3s and new CW4s with the intermediate level education and influential leadership skills necessary to integrate their technical expertise in support of leaders as staff officers, trainers, managers, systems integrators, and leaders at the tactical and operational levels of Army, Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) organizations executing Unified Land Operations thru Decisive Action.
Registration: Course dates, course prerequisites, and special information may be found on ATRRS; go to https://www.atrrs.army.mil/atrrscc/, and search for Course Number: 1-250-C8(NS).
Warrant Officer Senior Service Education (WOSSE)
The Warrant Officer Senior Service Education (WOSSE) is a 2 phase DL and resident, MOS-immaterial, professional military education course. Phase 1 (DL) starts 90 days prior to Phase 2 (resident) start date. The instruction is self-paced but only available for 60 days. It will close 30 days prior to Phase 2 start date to allow for student processing. Phase 1 is taught through Blackboard and Phase 2 is taught at the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career College (WOCC).
The purpose of WOSSE is to provide senior CW4s and new CW5s with the senior level education, knowledge, and influential leadership skills necessary to apply their technical expertise in support of leaders on strategic level joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational (JIIM) organizations executing Unified Land Operations thru Decisive Action.
Registration: Course dates, course prerequisites and special information may be found on ATRRS; go to https://www.atrrs.army.mil/atrrscc/, and search for Course Number 1-250-C9.
Training, Advising, and Counseling (TAC)
Training, Advising, and Counseling (TAC) Officers are responsible for training, mentoring, and coaching Warrant Officer Candidates for 17 branches and 67 warrant officer specialties in warrior tasks, leadership skills, and officer attributes for the Army's premier Warrant Officer producing school. A TAC Officer will normally be a senior CW2 or a CW3.
Course Scope and Description: Development of communications, counseling, and mentoring skills required of TAC Officers. Training is a combination of advanced reading assignments, computer based and small group instruction, and practical exercises. Certification consists of two training phases. Phase I is the online Distributive Learning (DL) which must be completed NLT two (2) weeks prior to the Phase II start date.
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