Nine months after the U.S. Air Force announced the decision to reintegrate warrant officers into the force, the Warrant Officer Training School officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 25, at Maxwell Air Force Base.
In less than 15 days, WOTS will welcome the Air Force's first cohort of 30 warrant officer candidates to its facility. The inaugural class of WOTS is scheduled to begin Oct. 8.
"When the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff directed us to bring back warrant officers two-hundred and twenty-six plus days ago … It was going to be here at Air University [Maxwell AFB]," said Lt. Gen. Andrea D. Tullos, commander and president of Air University. "The warrant officers we develop here will step right in and join their joint partners on combatant commander's teams and give us the tactical, operational and strategic advantages that our force needs, anytime and anywhere."
WOTS is a 40-day training program, in-residence accessions program designed to educate and train candidates with specialized knowledge and technical skills on how to serve as technical advisors to command leadership in their future roles as warrant officers.
"The Warrant Officer Training School is a training program designed to develop professional warrant officers who can advise and integrate at various organizational levels," said Maj. Nathaniel Roesler, WOTS commandant. "The program is a challenging, fast-paced, and highly structured educational program that integrates classroom lecture, guided discussion and experiential learning opportunities to reinforce educational understanding."
The Air Force dissolved its Warrant Officer Corps in 1958 following the creation of the Senior Master Sgt. and Chief Master Sgt. ranks, who took on warrant officer responsibilities. These senior non-commissioned officers took on specific technical duties but were never relieved of their institutional requirements as part of the enlisted structure.
The reintroduction of the Warrant Officer Corps career path in the United States Air Force aims to address critical operational needs, while maintaining highly perishable skills, and simultaneously leveraging the unique expertise and capabilities of warrant officers.
"It took a shared vison and effort from Headquarters Air Force down through AETC, AU, the Holm Center and the 42nd Air Base Wing to bring this concept to fruition," Roesler said. "We had a long way to go and a short time to get there, but with the efforts of many of you sitting here and others within your organization we're ready to produce warrant officers for the Air Force … and this building is the physical evidence that this was not a paper drill."
Upon graduation from WOTS, the newly minted warrant officers will be assigned to a range of Air Force units as technical experts in cyber and information technology supporting both Air Force and joint force operational requirements.
The second WOTS class, also comprised of approximately 30 candidates, is scheduled to start January 2025.
