INDIANAPOLIS – Army warrant officers, drawn from the ranks of noncommissioned officers and enlisted Soldiers, become experts in diverse fields at Warrant Officer Candidate School.
For National Guard Soldiers, Warrant Officer Candidate School consists of three phases, starting with distance learning.
"Phase two is conducted over five drill weekends," said instructor Mariah Nunley, chief warrant officer 2, supply systems technician with 38th Sustainment Brigade, 38th Infantry Division, Indiana Army National Guard.
The second phase includes a 6.2-mile ruck march, Army Physical Fitness Test and two exams.
The final, phase three training for the reserve components is at Fort McClelland, Alabama, and Camp Atterbury, Indiana, which graduated its largest class ever in September.
Phase three takes place mostly in a field environment and tests candidates' leadership skills through various situations: fill roles in a tactical operations center, negotiate an obstacle course as a team, conduct entrance control point operations on a forward operating base, conduct military briefings, perform land navigation and defend a forward operating base following chain of command and assigned tasks.
"During the course, we try to transition noncommissioned officers who have excelled in their field to the mindset of a warrant officer – to take them from being the executors to the planners," Nunley said.
Avery J. Frantzen, a systems technician with the Kansas National Guard, chose to be a warrant officer because of the impact warrant officers had on his military career. He said becoming a warrant officer has opened up career opportunities both as a traditional Guard Soldier and professionally in his full-time job as a federal technician.
"People see the difference warrant officers make in Soldiers' lives," he said. "All it takes is one instance of a positive leadership effect on an individual for them to recognize that they can do the same kind of thing."
Frantzen said teamwork was the most significant challenge at warrant officer school.
"You build that teamwork you need to succeed here. You can't succeed as an individual in this environment," he said.
Frantzen said warrant officers teach and enhance the abilities of teams to meet the commander's intent: provide counsel, guidance and mentorship.
"It's a good career path," he said. "Warrants are uniquely positioned to do that, I think. They work for the commander, but they have the ability to speak truth to power that others might not."
Hosting the phase three site at the Indiana National Guard Regional Training Institute requires coordination.
"We build a product and environment for the nationwide staff to fall in on and execute," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jarred Stettler, the course manager at the RTI.
That includes securing the training areas, providing the training equipment and ensuring that candidates have everything they need.
"The end product is a battalion formation of staff from 22 states and candidates from 29 states. It's a busy job," said Stettler.
About 225 warrant officers will join the reserve components this year, with 176 graduating phase three at Camp Atterbury, he said. Atterbury typically graduates about 120 warrant officers per year.
Next year, the distance learning portion of the program will be eliminated. Phase one will be weekend drills over five months. Phase two will be two-week annual training.
The growing interest in noncommissioned officers transitioning to the warrant officer corps can be attributed to increased awareness of the program, according to Stettler.
While warrant officers don't have to have a college degree, significant technical expertise is required. Many proponents need three noncommissioned officer evaluation reports to show leadership and experience.
Warrant officers must possess a feeder military occupational specialty, with the exception being aviation. However, those with aspirations to become Army aviators have other criteria.
"Those are the challenges getting here, but we're doing a great job of getting out and presenting the program and letting young [Soldiers] know it's out there," said Stettler.
Nunley, the instructor, said prospective warrant officers need to demonstrate they are a leader of character and a subject matter expert in their field.
"Ultimately, we are the commander's advisers in our field because [commissioned officers] are generalized. We help them make good decisions based off our recommendations and evaluations of the situation," said Nunley.