Is it hard to get picked up for 153A? The board convenes may 24th and I am starting to get nervous.

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 14:07:03 -0400

Warrant officer board

Response by CW4(P) Detrottus Thomas made Apr 30 at 2016 2:21 PM

CW4(P) Detrottus Thomas — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 14:21:47 -0400

Warrant Officer selection is difficult regardless of the branch you apply for. Only the best qualified will be selected.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 30 at 2016 2:35 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 14:35:04 -0400

Some boards take everyone, some boards give a middle finger to many, some end up not convening, most are somewhere in between. Best I can tell you is don't sweat it. Put NOTHING that advances your enlisted career on hold. I mean that very literally. I got picked up mid-way through Green Platoon. The worst they can say is no, and if you're qualified non-select, you get looked at in the next board. IF you don't get picked up on that one, you have another year of advancing your enlisted career to have more to add to your resume for the next board, and the next. Buddy of mine who had nothing to do with aviation got picked up on his FOURTH look. Think about that for a second...FOURTH. HE didn't call it quits, he kept pushing through and making his resume better. The most consistent advice I ever hear is that they like to see persistence. You have to consider, some guys get picked up "Street to seat" with no military OR aviation background. Again, keep being enlisted until that SELECT shows on that MILPER message. It's still your career whether you're warrant or enlisted. Best of luck to you brother. Keep making connections too!

Response by CW2 Carl Swanson made Apr 30 at 2016 4:53 PM

CW2 Carl Swanson — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 16:53:15 -0400

It is one of the hardest selection boards in the Army. There are a ton of different discriminators that you don't know about. Just do the best you can. The year I got selected, the only took 80 active Army applicants. There were a ton of what we called High School to Flight School and there were several inter-service selections. Almost everyone there was Soldier/NCO of the Year, Distinguished graduate from several schools. You can't affect the board by stressing yourself out. When it is released, if you don't make it, find a CW4 or CW5 and see if they can find out what the trends in the board were and submit again. Hopefully, you'll make it. Good luck!

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Apr 30 at 2016 5:38 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 17:38:07 -0400

The son of the best high school friend of my mother in law was army enlisted, got wocs for flight, did his Bach in aviation, and, when nearly done petitioned for uscg to pick him up on an interservice for their rotary wing flight where he finished out his 20 though I'm uncertain if he was OCS, OIS, or direct commission after uscg took him, though I do know he did it. I just thought you might all find his story of interest, that's all, honest, I was never flight, due to my eyes, I'd thought about trying for USAF nav, the thing was, for whatever reason, USAF nav insisted on no worse vision uncorrected than 20/100, I'd gathered, whereas Navy NFO which I did pass a med board on to ask about an interservice evidently allowed uncorrected 20/200, which I always found a trifle odd, being as one might stereotypically think that carrier ops ought to warrant a higher vision standard it was yrs ago, and makes me wistful somewhat, i just figured I'd mention it, that's all honest. I was just wondering, though, I knew of the high school to flight school program, would his having a bach help, or would that be different for wocs, I knew the thought process was different, I was just also wondering, when I'd seen this page, that was all. Then too if he had FAA ratings e.g private pilot, vfr, IFR, multi engine, commercial, and or an a&p license just to evince purely technical interest in flight, does that ever help with the wocs flight selection? Again, likely not, however wondering.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 30 at 2016 6:45 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 18:45:20 -0400

Make the best packet you can and submit it. I'm street to seat, and there were many applicants that had packets much more impressive than mine (in my eyes anyway). But, here I am, flying 60's. Submit your best packet is all you can do. Being nervous is normal, it's a big deal. What are you going to do after selection is what you might want to focus on. Goodluck.

Response by SGT Jay Ehrenfeld made Apr 30 at 2016 7:42 PM

SGT Jay Ehrenfeld — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 19:42:22 -0400

Take a deep breath

Response by CW2 Christopher Esparza made Apr 30 at 2016 11:07 PM

CW2 Christopher Esparza — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 23:07:37 -0400

First thing you need to understand US Army Warrant Officer's make up less than three percent of the total US Army strength. Although small in size, the level of responsibility is immense and only the very best are selected to become US Army Warrant Officers.
So you need to do everything to stack the deck in your favor. Look at others that were selected, read their packets. Make your packet emulate theirs. Get letters of recommendation from senior Warrant Officers in the field you want to work in. Even if your board doesn't require it, a nod of approval holds a lot of weight. Another way to look at it the letter is a symbolic way for the Senior Warrant to select his/her replacement. Do your homework, check the MILPER messages and check the current selection rates. Make sure your resume is perfect. Spelling and grammatical errors will kill you. Most of all relax, if its meant to be the it will be. If non select retool and rework your packet and get ready for the next time.
Best of luck to you.

Response by Gary Henson made Mar 15 at 2018 2:57 PM

Gary Henson — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 14:57:23 -0400

Once your packet is rejected, when is the next time you can submit your improved packet?