The Air Force doubled its number of warrant officers when a second cohort graduated Warrant Officer Training School on March 13 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
The 30 new graduates complement the first 30 who graduated on Dec. 6, which marked the Air Force’s first new warrant officers in 66 years. The service decided to bring back the ranks in early 2024 in a bid to retain technical talent in two fast-moving career fields: cybersecurity and information technology.
The Air Force’s career paths for enlisted and commissioned Airmen are geared to put them in leadership roles, but the warrant officer role allows Airmen to stay hands-on throughout their careers. That kind of long-running expertise will be crucial in a future conflict, the head of Air Education and Training Command, Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, said at the March 13 graduation.
“We are at the tip of the spear largely because the cyber, information, and air domains largely make up the difference in time it takes to cover the geography with our competitors,” Robinson said, according to a press release. “If you miss a critical factor in a string of code, that is the difference in success or failure of the mission. You’re going to bring that attention to detail to the table.”
All of the candidates brought technical chops to Alabama with them: they are all noncommissioned officers and senior noncommissioned officers and had to beat out 412 other applicants for their spots. Over the course of eight weeks, the selectees learned to serve as critical links between warfighters and their leaders on technical issues.
“When the dust settles, the commander looks back at that warrant officer and is like ‘OK so what do you think?’” a member of the first cohort, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tajh Smith, told Air & Space Forces Magazine in December. “Or the warrant officer will bring everybody back to a level playing field and put things in perspective.”
“We receive candidates who already possess the technical credibility,” said WOTS Commandant Maj. Nathan Roesler in the release. “Our goal is to ensure the men and women that leave here are ready to weaponize that credibility paired with leadership, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that will enhance their ability to be effective in the agile environment we are in today.”
Among the 30 new warrant officers who graduated on March 13, 23 were Active-duty, six in the Air National Guard, and one in the Air Force Reserves.
A third cohort of 18 warrant officer candidates started the course March 21. Class 25-03 completes the initial 78 selectees accepted last August, up from 60 selectees as originally planned. The Air Force increased the pool after seeing the high quality of the applicants.
About 60 more warrant officers are expected to graduate through the rest of fiscal year 2025 and into the start of fiscal year 2026. Due to the nature of board scheduling last year, two classes graduating in June and later this fall will each feature 30 Air National Guardsmen.
The total number of graduates at that point will be about 120 warrant officers, Roesler told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The school is scheduled to graduate about 150 more split over four or five classes in fiscal 2026. The selection boards for those classes opened March 3, with selections to be made this summer.
About half of that 150 will be Active-Duty, while the other half will be predominately Air National Guard, with a few Air Force Reservists mixed in too, but the individual classes will likely be more of a total force mix, Roesler said. Cyber and IT will still be the only two career fields.
“We’ve been really impressed by the quality of candidate that we’ve received so far,” the major said. “I’m really proud of the training school and we continue to improve with every class. I think the Air Force is going to be pleased with the assets that they’re gaining in these new warrant officers.”