Active 1918 – present Branch U.S. Army | Country United States Type Training | |
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Role Train and appoint U.S. Army Warrant Officers Part of Training and Doctrine Command and the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career College | ||
The United States Army's Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS), located at Fort Rucker, Alabama, provides training to become a warrant officer in the U.S. Army with the exception of U.S. Army Special Forces Warrant Officers who attend the Special Forces Warrant Officer Technical and Tactical Certification Course (SF WOTTC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Warrant officer candidates are typically drawn from enlisted members (up to Command Sergeant Major) and inter-service transfers. In this case, Inter-Service Transfer refers to enlisted members of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, or U.S. Marine Corps transferring to the U.S. Army to attend WOCS, or civilian high school graduates who enlist for guaranteed attendance as aviation (flight) candidates at WOCS after they complete Basic Combat Training (BCT). Warrant officer candidates without prior enlisted service are informally referred to as high school to flight school or street to seat recruits by warrant officer candidates with prior enlisted service.
Overview
WOCS is a rigorous seven week course designed to train, assess, evaluate, and develop Warrant Officers for fourteen of the U.S. Army's sixteen basic branches (excluding Infantry and Armor). The course is designed to provide a base to assist in the development of Army Warrant Officers into self–aware and adaptive technical experts, combat leaders, trainers, mentors, and advisors to both soldiers and commanders. Later, through progressive levels of expertise in assignments, training, and education, Warrant Officers administer, manage, maintain, operate, and integrate Army systems and equipment across the full-spectrum of Army operations. Warrant officers in the Army are accessed with specific levels of technical ability. They refine their technical expertise and develop their leadership and management skills through tiered progressive assignments and education.
Soldiers who have attended leadership training, such as Basic Leader Course, or similar courses in other branches of the Armed Forces, have the option to attend a five-week course at Fort Rucker, after completing online prerequisites. Non-prior service candidates must attend the seven week course.
WOCS focuses on Officer training and candidates serve in various student leadership positions throughout the course. A week-long Field Leadership Exercise (FLX) is a key part of the program, along with classroom instruction focusing on officership, military history, and other topics.
Graduation from WOCS is held at the United States Army Aviation Museum on Fort Rucker, where a candidate is appointed to WO1 and moves to their respective branch schools to attend the Warrant Officer Basic Course. For example, United States Army Signal Corps branched Warrant Officers attend WOBC at Fort Gordon, where Aviation branched Warrant Officers attend WOBC at Fort Rucker.