Should the Air Force bring back Warrant Officers?

The Air Force is not like other branches of the military. Commissioned Officer responsibilities differ between Army and Air Force at respective paygrades. I only know the aviation side of this discussion, so I guess it really depends on where you are talking. As far as pilots, I don't think the Air Force needs Warrant officers, although many of the Air Force pilots in my unit now love the idea of never having to do command time and just fly a plane. I don't know the enlisted side very well for the Air Force, but at E-7 you can be a 1SG "Shirt" or you can be senior enlisted doing the job, managing personnel the same as a WO1 or CW2 would in the Army. The issue that I would see the most, is how would you fill the Warrant ranks when we are downsizing, and how where would the majority of the pool be from?

Absolutely!

I'm not for sure, but I think that they were called Flight Officers and flew some of the simpler airframes. Does the USAF have them anymore except for the Huey (UH-1)? I think all the Observation and other single engine prop planes are gone, too.

Yes I was a joint airlift inspector with the power to stop an air mission cold with good reason.I always thought it was wild that I could respectfully tell senior ranking personnel what to do in this setting.(respectfully) The frustration came in knowing that other service personnel,who held similar responsibility, were warrant officers. I am for the Warrant officer positions where technical expertise is needed in conjunction with enormous responsibility. If an airplane had issues I had to prepare for answers.For example, on one occasion my fuel burn calculations on my c141 proved to be right. The navy refueler did not fill the tank completely. A dangerous mistake thankfully they landed at Hickam safely on fumes.

I met only one Warrant Officer in my career, and wondered why we didn't have more.  When the senior enlisted ranks were established, E-8 ad E-9) it was my understanding that all WOs would be phased out.  Only the AF did that.  I think there are many billets that a WO could fill, and save the officers for other areas.  I like the Major's idea is well worth considering.

Air force Warrants should be returned and commissioned officers corps reduced to chain of command status. It is ludicrous to have commissioned officers in ever pilots seat when bus drivers can do the same thing and be accountable to a superior officer.

I believe that the air Force replaced the Warrant Officer with E-8 and E-9 in terms of responsibility and leadership. it is to late to revert now, where would they fit in?

My AF career was in the weather field, several years of which were spent in direct support of the US Army. This support has been the arrangement ever since the AF was made a separate service. A part of the AF weather restructure several years ago was to remove officer commanders from several Army locations and replace them with, primarily, a Senior Master Sergeant. The weather career field was one in which warrant officers served in before the ranks were phased out. The above mentioned restructure in the Army support arena, to me, is a good example of a situation where someone with a WO rank would have been a much better fit for the command role than a SNCO. Warrant officers are widely used in the Army, including in some company (perhaps higher) command roles, so to have a like structure in a tenant AF unit would, could, should maintain more weight in the command position when such weight is needed. I can also see where the WO grades would be a good fit in the security field, medical field, as well as perhaps in the services area.

My service in the Air National Guard began at about the same time as the Air Force began to phase out warrant officers. This came around the same time as the addition of the two "supergrade" enlisted grades was made--E-8 and E-9. It also came around the same time as the Air Force began to phase out commissioning sources for those without college degrees: Officer Candidate School and Aviation Cadets. The reasoning was that the Air Force wanted to emphasize education as a prerequisite for officer status. The warrant officer structure--it was felt--was an unneeded third rank system of limited utility. (I went on from my ANG service to active commissioned service and later as an active reservist.) Nobody, to my knowledge, has ever been able to convince the leadership and managers of the Air Force that reinstating warrant officers would enhance the service. Many Air Force pilots serve their obligated time and leave the service to fly for airlines, and the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard have been blessed to keep many of these in military uniforms and service. When the Air Force had warrant officers most were enlisted members who had progressed as far as they could in the enlisted ranks and were qualified to advance to greater responsibilities and authority. Today these can move on to senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant grades, which are highly respected by the service. I have no personal opinion of the merits of bringing back warrant officers. The Air Force has managed very well since they quit issuing these grades and would respond they see no merit to reinstating them. They have also emphasized the availability of commissioning programs for qualified enlisted members. I have a son who is now an E-7. If he wants to be an officer I would love to see him commissioned into the officer ranks, preferably at a grade higher than second lieutenant. But that would be his choice. Becoming a warrant officer would offer little benefit for him in contrast to being commissioned, in my opinion, other than pay.

I guess it depends. Where did they drop them off?, and can they get some sort of public transportation back on their own?