Warrant officer education and talent management must evolve across all three Army components to meet the needs of the future force, a panel of senior warrant officers said July 8 during a Thought Leaders webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The Army expects warrant officers to develop depth and “pursue mastery” in their MOSs, but current professional military education “does not provide careerlong focus on that expertise,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jonathan Yerby, senior warrant officer adviser for Army Forces Command.

At the mid-grade level and above, capabilities tend to drift away from technical expertise to staff and strategic knowledge, Yerby said. This gap will continue to widen if education is not adjusted “for a more effective and efficient continuum centered on technical and tactical expertise,” he said.

“In the past, warrant officers needed broadening assignments to advance their careers,” but those assignments often did not build depth for a specific specialty, Yerby said. “We need to find opportunities that build mastery in specialties … [because in the future] the Army is going to require technical expertise like never before.”

Fields such as cyber and artificial intelligence are “where our technical and tactical competency is going to make a difference. We will be utilized by the Army because we are specific in our capability,” said CW5 Rick Knowlton, senior warrant officer adviser for the Army’s Talent Management Task Force.

Additionally, the service is looking at talent management opportunities and ways to retain warrant officers, specifically at the CW4 level, Knowlton said.

Looking at technical proficiency over the career life cycle of a warrant officer is also a priority for the reserve component, said CW5 Patrick Nelligan, the Army Reserve’s command chief warrant officer. 

Warrants must seek to “be relevant to future Army requirements,” Nelligan said, adding “it’s an exciting time to be a warrant officer. It’s not just a rank, it’s an identity.”

Also participating in the panel was CW5 Teresa Domeier, command chief warrant officer for the Army National Guard, who noted that warrants are “combat multipliers” and emphasized the importance of training and readiness.

CW5 Yolondria Dixon-Carter, senior warrant officer adviser to the Army chief of staff, provided opening remarks. The panel was moderated by retired CW5 Phyllis Wilson, a member of AUSA’s board of directors.

The forum was held one day before the 103rd birthday of the warrant officer cohort, July 9.