How to best find the right Warrant Officer for a letter of recommendation, if none are in my unit?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 18:30:49 -0500

I'm in the process of putting together a warrant officer packet. Everything is going according to plan except for one part. I'm having difficulty on earning a letter of recommendation from a CW3-5 how would I go about this or even make the connection between the infantry and aviation world. Everyone keeps telling me to walk down to the aviation side of post and start asking asking for letters. Any advice?

Response by SFC Rocky Gannon made Dec 4 at 2013 6:33 PM

SFC Rocky Gannon — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 18:33:47 -0500

SGT M

I would go down and talk to some SR NCO's and CWO's make it like a board or interview. Sell yourself to them on why you want to be a aviator, they know you need the letter most of them had to get them. Just be confident and go talk to them.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made Dec 4 at 2013 7:01 PM

SSG Laureano Pabon — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:01:11 -0500

SGT is your going to Flight School then yes go to the airfield, where all your aviators are. warrant Officers in my point of view are excellent listeners and very helpful.

However, if your going to be a warrant officer for ATC, then the tower would perhaps be a good choice. Air Traffic Controllers are some of the greatest people you will ever want to talk too, so great that the FAA took Army ATC to help with the ATC Strike during the Ragan administration. Today there are WO for ATC, now if you have another field you want to go to WOC school for, then in your base you can still talk to both Pilots and ATC WO.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 4 at 2013 10:38 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:38:58 -0500

Thank you guys for all the information. My unit has been very vague with everything due to it being an infantry company haha but this is all very help full thanks so much.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 8 at 2013 4:22 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 16:22:31 -0500

Indeed... I would go over to the Aviation Side of post and find one.. However, WE AS TECH WARRANT OFFICER's are all about finding THE ANSWER... On the off chance that we don't already know THE ANSWER ;-)  I am new to this site but here is what I just did... 1) I used the advance search option and look for a CW3.  2) Select the Post for FT HOOD. The Aviation Warrant Officers are all 150 series (150,151,152,153...etc...) I came up with: CW3 Joseph BeauchampCW3 Michael TaylorCW3 Joshua NutterCW3 Thomas Hamiltonand CW3 Matthew Metcalf They are all Aviators. Once you find someone on this site, send them an E-mail. you can also change the rank and find CW4's and maybe even CW5's that are already on this site.

Response by CSM Stuart C. O'Black made Dec 8 at 2013 5:07 PM

CSM Stuart C. O'Black — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 17:07:18 -0500

First if you are in a BCT then you should have a BAO in your Brigade HQs. They are the Brigade Aviation Officer who is the liaison for operations between the BCT and the CAB. If your Brigade does not have one then you need to make a connection with the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the CAB that is on your post. I know some Officers who want to have a chance to sit down with a NCO before recommending them. Bring your personnel files with you in case they want to review it. Also, going to outlook and sending an introductory e-mail as suggested works.

All else fails do exactly what everyone is telling you - head over to the airfield and seek out help. Again, going to the BDE HQs and setting up an appointment with the Command Chief Warrant Officer is about the best letter of recommendation you can get. There are also other CW5s at the brigade level.

Good Luck and study for the tests. Ensure your records are squared away and if you don't get selected the first time keep trying. I have seen several selected later.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 12 at 2013 12:40 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:40:07 -0500

Don't ask for a letter. Ask for an interview. I wouldn't walk the flight line either, I would look for them in their company/battalion areas. Is there a shopette in their AO? Subway? Go have lunch there and I'm sure you will find someone to strike up a conversation with. If you bump into a CW2, tell him about your packet progress and that your looking to ask someone if they are interested in interviewing, I guarantee he has CW3 coworkers. I couldn't track down a WO Pilot to save my life. I bumped into an LT who is a pilot and told him I was seeking a WO for an interview and he was nice enough to take me to his company and introduce me to his platoon of WO's. Almost every single one of them was an 11B or 11C prior to becoming an Aviator, and not only did they all offer to do the interview and letter, but they sent my info to a CW5 who called me the same day and said he would interview me. They told me the CW5 letter would look better than a CW3's (Rank) and I'm pretty sure they did this because they are former Infantry. My big recommendation is that you have as much of your packet, if not all of it completed before you ask a WO for an interview. That's simple proof that you are not only proactive but serious about your packet, and that's what the senior WO's want to see. Good luck!

Response by CW2 Kameron Read made Dec 24 at 2013 8:33 AM

CW2 Kameron Read — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 08:33:00 -0500

I responded to a similar question on rallypoint earlier. Most of the responses on here are great suggestions. Only thing that I think is missing is that you MUST complete your application and resume first. It shows those leaders who will write your letter of recommendation that you mean business and that you aren't just talking about making the change. It also provides that senior warrant officer or commanding officer a summary of your experiences and shows how well you communicate in writing. Do everything you can for yourself, get the DA photo, physical, transcripts, etc out of the way. Check the WO recruiting website often, you might even benefit from attending a WO recruiting briefing on your post, the recruiter might be able to point you in the right direction as far as finding senior WOs for you.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2014 4:02 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 04:02:17 -0500

If I was still at Ft. Hood I would introduce you to some of my pilots. The best thing to do IMO is to go down to HAAF, and walk into one of the Battalion AOs. Most Pilots are more than willing to help with letters. Ask for an interview and let them get to know you a bit. If you already have a letter from your Company commander that would help since they arent going to know you or what you have accomplished, and definitely bring your resume as WO1 Read stated. Show that you are serious so he knows hes not wasting his time and just a suggestion....look for an Apache Pilot....

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2014 5:19 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:19:48 -0500

Another option, instead of just a WO, is to get a letter from a Brigade Commander who is also an Aviator. This can be a long shot but I wanted to share this since it hasn't been put out yet. Also look into what airframe you would like to fly. If you don't know that is not a problem. Ask any crew chief about their airframe and they will tout their particular Airframes performance over the others for hours. I have been told by my Pilots that if you know a little about the aircraft you want to fly they are more willing to write letters of recommendation. If you plan on walking the flight line to look for aviators I would suggest going to the PC (production control) office first to find the WOs. That is usually where you will find the senior pilots and maintenance test pilots. These guys know everyone on the flight line and can be a great resource.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 7 at 2014 9:49 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:49:53 -0500

SGT Abbas,

based on your question you are considering a flight Warrant Officer career. I would suggest to get in touch with a flight Senior Warrant Officer which is a CW4/CW5. We have in our Division an Aviation unit, the 166th Aviation brigade, call the S1 officer and get ask for the Senior Warrant Officer's email address.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Response by SPC(P) Nathan Stewart made Mar 13 at 2014 7:48 PM

SPC(P) Nathan Stewart — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:48:53 -0400

I really want to go to WOCS, but I was told I can't get a waiver for my LOD knee injury because it's not combat related. It's looking like I'm going to be on a permanent profile, if it wasn't for my knee I might be able to get an age waiver for aviation but it would be extremely difficult. I considered with my knee issue going the Transportation Warrant route but was told that the Guard is kicking back guys with waivers. Is there any way that I could get a waiver to attend WOCS or am I totally screwed.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2014 6:12 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 18:12:02 -0400

I'll tell you what I told one of my Soldier's who asked for me to "hook him up" with a Warrant Officer for a letter. "If you wanna be a Warrant Officer, grow some you know what and go talk to a #^$&@ Warrant Officer".