Montgomery, Ala. - The training of warrant officers for the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves has changed significantly over the past three years.
In 2006, National Guard Bureau (NGB) worked with the Warrant Officer Career Center (WOCC) at Fort Rucker, Ala., and developed a three-phased Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS) that is now conducted at 22 Regional Training Institutes (RTIs) across the country.
The traditional WOCS program at Fort Rucker consists of four consecutive weeks of resident training after completing 60 hours of distance learning.
"In our program, the training is three-phased and geared toward the traditional guardsman and reservists," explained Chief Warrant Officer 3 William Reynolds, a training, advising and counseling (TAC) officer for the WOCS program here at Fort McClellan.
During the first phase, Soldiers complete the same 60 hours of distance learning as training candidates attending Fort Rucker's WOCS program.
During the second phase, candidates complete five drill weekends of inactive duty training (IDT) at the RTI sites.
In phase three, candidates join candidates from other sites to complete the 15-day training period available at only two locations, Camp Atterbury, Ind. and Fort McClellan.
WOCC instructors visit the Warrant Officer Course at Fort McClellan to examine the candidates' progress.
CW3 Rob Pierce, plans and operations officer for the WOCC at Fort Rucker, visited the RTI WOCS at Fort McClellan recently to certify three TAC officers who work at the RTIs.
When asked how training at the RTI compared to Fort Rucker, Pierce said: "The training is at least equivalent, if not better; based primarily on the fact that Fort McClellan's RTI has a great support staff."
CW2 Thomas Ducket, operations chief for the Fort McClellan WOCS, attributes the success of his RTI WOCS program to experience. He had completed his phase two training at Fort McClellan and phase three training at Camp Atterbury.
"Alabama has been running OCS schools for 52 years now, and they have a lot of experience," Ducket said.
A phase three training session is currently being conducted at Fort McClellan. WOCS Class 08-001, dubbed the Rising Eagles, has 92 candidates from 18 states and territories.
During phase three training, candidates put their classroom training to use. They conduct lanes training, land navigation and undergo urban warfare training. Candidates learn how to react to an improvised explosive devise, civilians on the battlefield, sniper fire and indirect fire.
As the Army has changed, so has the training, said Reynolds. The warrant officer training now consists of more combat arms training.