Should the Air Force bring back Warrant Officers?

On My first PCS move to the 351st Combat defense Squadron (SAC) at Whiteman AFB, MO in 1966 We actually did have a CWO, Chief warrant Officer,(W4) Homer R. Gunn. who was the only USAF warrant Officer I had ever served with. It seems when the Warrant Officers were phased out SMSgt and CMSgt replaced them. Seems the USAF is the only service that no longer has Warrant Officers. One advantage of the Warrant Officers in the USAF of course was the high level of experience they had. I'm not sure though the USAF had a spot they fit into like the Army found that made good use of Warrant officers esp as pilots which put officers in the aircraft but not making it rank heavy.

The question was looked at in my active duty time (1969-1991) every time the AF thought they would have a pilot shortage. While on active duty, I met some excellent pilots who loved flying for the AF, but has little interest in being a commander. Some were captains and some made major. They had no desire to get out and go to work for the airlines or become crop dusters. The AF looked at ways to retain these officers of active duty while working within an up-or-out officer promotion system. Some captains were allowed to remain on active duty to 20 years in that time frame (1980s). The majors were good to 20 years, but many would have stayed longer. Warrant Officers (Army model) and Limited Duty Officers (Navy model) were considered. Pay disparity became a major item of discussion. The AF considered a separate flight pay scale for WOs that would bring them near parity with their commissioned counterparts. Essentially their gross pay would be like majors but they would wear W-4 (W-5 hadn't been invented yet).

I think it's time for the AF to bring WOs back. Warrants can be a way to create limited duty officers who have a high level of expertise in their career field. The Army has done this successfully, especially with aviation warrants. The RPV career field will grow as unmanned aircraft become more sophisticated and effective. This might be a good place to start the WO program. Look at what the Army did to create their Aviation Warrants and see if it can be adapted to the Air Force RPV community. In the aircrew arena, the addition of Aviation Warrants might offer an alternative pathway for pilots who just want to fly. Again looking at the Army model might be helpful. This would be a major change for the AF because of the strong tradition of pilots being officers and therefore having a minimum of a bachelor's degree. In my experience, it doesn't take a college degree to be a pilot. Additionally, much of the non-flying work I did on active duty could have been handled by a good E-5. Stuff like tracking training requirements and accomplishments, which may have been completely automated by now, was not work that required a degree. It addition, the AF could provide an "off ramp" at the 7-year point for commissioned officer pilots to move to the WO track. I believe many patriotic Americans without a college degree could learn to fly modern AF aircraft and serve their nation admirably. Over the course of a generation of AF members the WO pilot would become accepted and the AF would benefit.

fist and foremost I apologize I have not been able to participate in awhile.second Regardless of business structure the warrant officer program should not have been Cancelled inmy opinion, one itgave hard charging enlisted an opportunity that perhaps their b ackgound would not allow, it also allows the ability to Keep top eXperiance By allowing moves and promotions which in turn Keeps the Lower ranks unstagnated, and Motivated to stay in. The Warrent officer programs are, with no disrespect intended, your officers who not only have the hands on technical knowledge and schooling that the enlisted respect;as well as certain degree of for lack of a better word common sense to keep the younger officers and enlisted in line. Just my two cents though.

I personally think that nurses, PAs, and pilots should be warrant officers, provided they are not in command tracks. The Navy should also make their LDOs warrant officers. These folks are master technicians just like the warrant officers in logistics.

In light of the fact the Air Force is allowing the enlisted to become RPA pilots, yes. I believe that should apply and encourage retaining of a short handed career field.

Bring them back, check out the link to the position paper:
http://www.slideshare.net/MikeEsser1/usafwarrantofficers

During my joint time, I really didn't see a significant difference in our Senior NCOs versus the Warrant Officers. The only benefit I would ever see is in perception in joint environment. Our force is so educated and we put a lot on our SNCOs. I believe we got it right! Only time it would be beneficial is when dealing with others services in the respect department.

In the ICBM world, allowing NCOs and SNCOs to become warrant officers will help retain not only bodies, but also the valuable experience they have. Warrant officers have a longer tenure than enlisted, so an experienced missileman can provide continuity if he or she is retained.

No, there's no need. If you feel like you're lacking technical expertise, then you need to revamp your NCOES and expect more of your Non Commisioned Officers.

Your NCO's are already supposed to be subject matter experts. If you feel like they aren't fitting the bill, then you need to fix what you have, not make up new positions. I think it's generally a better investment to fix what you have...

MAJ Burns,

I think the AF has been doing just fine without WOs for this long--so why bring them back? Simply put, there is no need.