Posted on Nov 11, 2013
Making the switch from Enlisted to Warrant Officer
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I am giving a lot of thought to attempting a Warrant Officer Packet. Being an 11C (Mortarman) my choices are limited. So, like most in my position I have chosen 153A Rotary Wing Pilot. I love my profession but being that I enlisted late in life (31 to be exact) I am looking forward as to what will benefit me more when I decide to ETS and what is something I would really enjoy doing. Any guidance, experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Warrant Officers
Warrant Officers
Posted 12 y ago
Responses: 19
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I waited longer than was probably necessary, almost 5 years. As soon as you meet the requirements don’t hesitate and drop your packet. I was always one requirement short, before a new requirement was needed. In my opinion the benefits of being a warrant are awesome. You get paid to do what you love for the rest of your career. Unlike the enlisted and officer ranks that seems to move further away from their MOS the higher they moved up the ranks. Keep in mind that signal and mobility are open to any MOS, not just aviation.
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Thanks for all of the feedback. I have done some research into what the requirements are. the only waiver I would need is for my age. I am good on Pt, my GT is 127, I have received very good NCOER's and I feel that my most difficult task will be brushing up on the tasks in the test. I have downloaded the information from the Warrant Officer Recruiting site with the subtests to get an idea of what to expect. I have also signed up on one of the links on AKO that help you brush up on math, reading and vocabulary skills (OASC I believe). I want to be prepared as possible before even attempting to take the SIFT. Unfortunately I do not have much opportunity to "shadow" a Warrant in my unit but I will definitely seek one out to get as much advice and feedback as possible. I appreciate all of the responses and advice.
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SGT Anderson,
I hope you're still working on this. Unfortunately I think you are to late for the current board however I received a note recently from the SIG Center stating among other things that this board has a shortage of people applying for 255A and 255N. They actually extended the board date out due to it. The note also said that branch would CONSIDER exceptions to the NCOER rule. While you have missed this board, you might consider submitting it for the next one. I can't make any promises that they will actually grant the weaver but you never know until you try.
Best of luck to you.
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SGT (Join to see)
Thank you for the insight sir. As of right now I am working towards my 255A packet but I am missing my mandatory English creditswhich are non-waiverable. The biggest issue I face now is trying to find a senior signal warrant on Carson. Thanks again.
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By all means, apply. 1979 I was a 12B Combat Engineer with absolutely no aviation experience but I had a strong desire to become an Army Aviator. I past the FAST and went to WOCD and then flight school. I retired as a CW4 in 1999.
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CW4 William Van Almsick
Please forgive my grammar. How in the world can I get back into one of my posts to edit?
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Aveesh Singroha
Hello Sir. I am going to enlist as a 12b but i am wondering if 3 years contract would be a good idea if i am looking for becoming an aviator .. My ultimate is becoming an aviator in the army. I could alos go to 15t but this is a six years contract and i am impatient.I have a bachelors degree in elctronics an dcommunication , my gt score is 132 and my age is 26. Any suggestion would be highly highly appreciated..
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After talking with a few warrants in my BDE, the best advice they could give me (as I am thinking of switching from officer to warrant after I make CPT) is to shadow a warrant in the branch you want to go into. And not talk to just one, but as many as you can. They also mentioned to talk with some of the senior NCO's in that field to get their input about what the warrants do and the culture of them. Each branch will be different.
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CPT Brandon Christensen
I really enjoy working with the troops and being that SME (especially with Transportation/Logistics). CPT is really the last rank in an officer that you get to spend with the troops. So I will do my command time, more BN/BDE staff time, and then switch to warrant to finish my career. I look at it as the only way our organization is going to get better is to have warrants that stay in that unit and help spread the knowledge to the younger generations coming through.
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CW3(P) (Join to see)
I know a MAJ that switched to WO so he could keep flying and doing what he loved.
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CW3 (Join to see)
Agreed, talk to several. Everyone's experience is different. What got a CW2 promoted to CW3 ten years ago, probably won't be the same thing they are looking for on a board five years from now. CW3/4/5 experience and knowledge is invaluable, but things change often so seeking information from WO1 and CW2 grades in addition will aid in getting a broad view. Some of the best advice I've received was from an E-7 and a CW5... "don't view anything from the front row, the bigger picture is everything".
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If you are thinking this much about it, do it now. I made the mistake of waiting until I had certain "checks in the block" before applying for a program here in the Navy that would have taken me into the Commissioned route with in my Rate (MOS), and it took longer then expected. Now I am too far along in my career and over the Time in Service limit to even apply. Looking back I would have had enough to be selected prior to this point base on friends of mine getting accepted. When you have the opportunity, take it.
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SGT Anderson,<div><br></div><div>The HQUSAREC warrant officer recruiting page normally has the most up to date information out there. As a recruiter I am constantly referring people to that we page. I know in your post you are looking for a little more in depth answer so my suggestion and I know this works for people, go to the contact us section and look up the POC for the region to which you are currently assigned and give them a call. They are a great group of people and you will be sure to get your answer from the source. Good luck with your packet.</div><div><br></div><div>SFC Adam J Rosenlund</div>
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SGT (Join to see)
Thank you for the help SFC Rosenlund. I usually avoid trying the contact us section of most websites because I have found little to no help most times. I will check this one out and see what they say.
SGT Anderson
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SGT Howard,
Recently on the Warrant Recruiting website there was a message posted listing various MOS's that were currently experiencing shortages for board packets, with 153A being one of them. They stated that selection chances for 2014 were "extremely high". This probably changed, since the entire message is no longer on the main page of the website.
While you cannot be older than 33 at the time of your board convene date, they do make exceptions for age for "applicants with exceptional qualifications and only on a case by case basis".
There are other Warrant MOS's that you can feed into from Infantry, such as UMO and I believe a networking job, however I do not know the other prerequisites.
The Army NO longer uses the AFAST as the criteria for potential rotary wing pilots. The new test is the "SIFT", and I do not believe there is a study guide available. I have personally been studying different sections from an AFAST study guide, as well as sections from Marine Corps/Navy/Air Force flight tests. Another book called "Principles of Helicopter Flight" (W. J. Wagtendonk) is a very useful book and packed full of information!
A minimum score of 40 on the SIFT is required for flight school, with a maximum score of 80. It is not a paper test, and as far as I know all education centers administer the SIFT electronically, simply requiring a signed 4187 by your commander. Test results are immediate.
Hope this helps!
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SSgt (Join to see)
I had a chance to be a warrant officer but chose weather forecasting. The biggest problem I have is seizures and operating a Helicopter is not an option.
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SGT (Join to see)
I've been all over the website and have downloaded as much as I could. I believe there is a study guide on OASC. I am not 100% sure that is the right name. It's a link under "My Education" on AKO. It's free to sign up. You take a few tests to gauge what areas you need to focus on. Thanks for the advice.
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I have almost 11 years of active duty service and the question is always being asked in the back of my mind and I am still interested just not sure what route to go. I have horrible sight so flying is not an option. I recently switched MOS's to a different branch which gives me better opportunity to feed into warrant officer positions. You have to look at the Warrant Officer recruiting page, not ALL warrant officer MOS's require a feeder MOS. You just have to go through one by one and see what the requirements are. Some actually require some college education, specific certifications or knowledge in a certain field (mind you a lot of this can be waived).
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