Warrant Officer development is not just for Warrant Officers but also for branch officers – especially commanders – as they mentor, evaluate and recommend leader development training and opportunities. The Warrant Officer (WO) Leader Development Model is a guide that links WO Professional Military Education (PME) to developmental levels and talent management. WO PME is not a rite of passage to promotion; rather, WO PME supports professional and leader development as the WO progresses in their career to become fully integrated as an officer with technical expertise within the Army and their organization.
At the tactical level, the company grade WO hones technical knowledge through WO PME and their initial assignment. As a junior officer, the WO should seek training opportunities within their organization to develop troop-leading skills and begin to develop an understanding of company, battalion, and brigade level procedures, organization and administration. This builds a solid foundation for future service.
At the operational level, the field grade WO should enhance their depth of knowledge and grow leadership skills through a variety of assignments. Homesteading in any position or type of assignment stunts professional growth and leads to career stagnation. The field grade WO should be working in staff positions a brigade or higher levels who perform the primary duties of technical leader, manager, maintainer, sustainer, integrator and advisor. At this level, they provide leader development, mentorship, advice and counsel to noncommissioned officers, other warrant officers and branch officers.
At the strategic level, senior field grade WOs are master-level technical and tactical experts who serve as senior leaders and managers throughout the Army and who offer distinctive WO leadership, representation and essential advice to commanders on WO management.
I would be remiss not to mention performance counseling and evaluations since they are critical to leader development regardless of rank. A noncommissioned officer who aspires to become a WOC should ensure their rater focuses on specifics that quantify and qualify a high level of technical competence in their military occupational specialty and that their senior rater states they have future potential to join the WO ranks. Company grade WOs should ensure their rater narrative describes significant performance accomplishments and leadership attributes. They should provide their senior rater with future assignments that build and broaden their knowledge, skills and abilities. The senior rater narrative should specify assignment to key duty positions linked to upward mobility and to their future potential to become a field grade WO. Field grade WO’s evaluation history should reflect consistent developmental progression and in different types of commands. The senior rater narrative should clearly describe superior performance and potential above that of the vast majority to become senior level WOs. All WOs should carefully scrutinize their evaluations to ensure the same verbiage is not used from year to year – or worse – have two or more identical evaluations.
I am delighted to announce the incoming Command Chief Warrant Officer for the 108th Training Command (IET), CW4(P) Edward J. Salazar Jr. Salazar comes to us from the Services and Support Division, USAR Command Augmentation Unit, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I retire from the Army Reserve in Sept. It has been an honor and I have been blessed during my 34 years of service. Serving with the Soldiers and civilians of the 108th Training Command as CCWO has been the pinnacle of my career.
You are the future Army and FIRST in Training!