What's up with the 'mass exodus' of talent going from Blue (Air Force) to Green (Army) to become a Warrant Officer?

Opportunity. The Army Warrant Officer community is massive, so there are a lot of opportunities both technical and in Aviation.

Additionally, some of the requirements are more attainable for a larger segment of the population. Example: a 4 year degree is not required to apply to be a Warrant Officer (although, most of my Warrant Officer friends do have at least a Bachelor’s and many Master’s and more). Army Warrant Officers are “technical experts” with a paycheck to follow. Depending on years of service, a topped out CW5 retirement is only a few bucks ($128 per month) shy of a topped out LTC.

The Army’s largest WO pool is Aviation. There is an attraction for folks that want to devote themselves to becoming those “technical experts” in the cockpit with out the same political and staff progression as the O side. It still absolutely exists within the WO corps, but it is different, and the difference in the expected quantity of flight time between an O career and a WO career is enough for people to pick a path. Most WOs will trade the salute in front of the PX to the 2LT for the much greater share of flight time, specialty tracks, etc.

The WO cohort also has a different vibe than the traditional officer corps. Much more familiarity and fraternity than other denominations.

Long story short: Serving as an Army Warrant Officer carries a proud tradition an a plethora of opportunity. It’s a unique service experience, and brings a lot of reward. I was very proud to be a Warrant, and as a CPT now, I think my best leadership traits that I harnessed were derived from my experience in the cohort.

I never understood why a branch like Air Force with all the technical aspects did away with Warrant Officers??

I also jumped ship in 2018. I did it because I wanted to expand my career down a path that more aligns with my goals, i.e. being an officer without the extra politics of being an O-grade, and I do not regret my decision.

I've gotta say, the Air Force does so many things right, and yet still does so many things wrong. The same can be said about the Army. Those things, could not be more polarized.

For enlisted, the AF concentrates on AFSC competency up to E6 (only after having a major shift in top brass leadership) but still only offers an up or out style of promotion. This seems to make folks with great technical expertise take their training and double their income on the outside or go warrant, if they even know what a warrant is. The excuse that AF senior enlisted do the jobs that a warrant would do, is a complete and utter fallacy. A WO option for techs put into company grade maintenance leadership positions and pilot programs makes too much sense.

The Army on the other hand, in my limited experience, seems to over rely on warrants for technical competency, yet put us in alternative positions that should be filled by O-grades and in turn, expect us to accomplish both without fail. There is no structured OJT for the enlisted folks like the AF, and promotion up to E6 is subjective on how you perform at the board, how you look in uniform and how you do on your PT test.

With all that said, the structure and training that AF personnel receive makes them ripe for warrant officer duty in the Army. The AF could take advantage of those experts yearning for a chance at becoming a technical leader by offering an alternative career path in the form of a WO, and the Army could shift their focus on promotion criteria to MOS competency and emplace a structured training plan that would hold soldiers accountable for their OJT. With a pool of more eligible Army candidates, there wouldn't be such a vacuum for warrants that sister service members could take advantage of. At the end of the day, it's just about opportunity.