ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. –Army Warrant Officers can trace their history back to a July 9, 1918 act of congress which established the Army Mine Planter Service as part of the Coast Artillery Corps.
From a small initial group of just 40, they have grown over 103 years to become the technical
foundation of the Army –experts in one of 48 specialties, responsible for training Soldiers, organizing
and counseling on missions and serving as trusted advisors.
To celebrate the 103 rd Chief Warrant Officer Birthday, the APG News interviewed three local warrant
officers about their career achievements and highlights.
CW5 Daniel Chapman
CW5 Daniel Chapman serves as the Command Chief Warrant Officer of Maryland. He is the senior
warrant officer advisor for the Maryland Army National Guard, responsible to the Adjutant General of
Maryland for a variety of matters, primarily pertaining to the analysis and enforcement of established
policies and standards affecting all the warrant officers assigned to the Maryland Guard.
“I knew at the end of my career I wanted to give back in some way,” he said about recruiting new
warrant officers and serving as a mentor to current warrant officers. “[In this role] I am helping improve
their lives.”
His base MOS, he said, is a 153A, a rotary wing pilot.
“I spent years serving in Edgewood [APG South],” he said. “I got to do something most people don’t get
to do in their life, like fly helicopters.”
Chapman said being a warrant officer, you become a technical expert in your field.
“Being a warrant officer appeals to people because you learn a specialty, and you get to stay in that
specialty for a long time and become an expert,” he said.
Chapman enlisted in the MDARNG, 110th Field Artillery at Pikesville Armory in 1982, as a Forward
Observer 13F. Originally from Essex, Maryland, he said watching the moon landings as a child inspired
him to become a pilot.
“The real interest [in enlisting in the MDARNG] was to be able to fly,” he said.
During his career he completed the OH-6A and UH-60 A/L Instructor Pilot courses, Aviation Safety
Officer Course, Instrument Flight Examiner course, CH-47 and C-12 qualification courses, High Altitude
Army National Guard Aviation Training Site Power Management and Mountain Qualification course,
Aviation Master Gunner course, and is a qualified Army National Guard Helicopter Accident Investigator.
His deployments include Tal Afar, Iraq in 2004, with the 1159th Medical Company, Air Ambulance, as a
medevac team leader and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2012, with C Company 1-169th Aviation
Regiment, serving as the medevac company standardization instructor pilot.
He also deployed to Jordan in 2016, serving in the Combined Joint Operation Center – Jordan, as the J32
Aviation, air operations officer and the senior safety officer for Jordan.
Chapman said there are currently more than 60 MDARNG warrant officers on APG South (Edgewood).
“We are pretty strong on Edgewood, as far as warrant officers,” he said.
Chapman plans to retire next year.
CW4 Clinton Coonce
CW4 Clinton Coonce serves as a senior technical military evaluator for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation
Command’s Army Evaluation Center’s Readiness & Analytics Evaluation Directorate. He has served in the
Army nearly 25 years.
Coonce said his track to becoming a warrant officer started the day that he joined the Army. Even
though at the time he wasn’t aware of warrant officers, he was committed to excellence from the very
beginning.
“The track [of warrant officer] is doing everything that you are supposed to be doing correctly, working
hard, never saying no,” he said. “Doing your job and excelling at what you do when you are a junior
Soldier and when you are a senior NCO [noncommissioned officer].”
According to Coonce, a senior warrant officer took interest early in his career and encouraged him to
take on more responsibility and “do better.” Coonce applied for a warrant officer position and was
selected in 2005.
“It difficult and challenging, I think that was part of their plan,” he said about the application packet.
Coonce said a good candidate for a warrant officer is a well-rounded leader and someone who can work
quickly and independently. Also, they must be flexible and be able to adapt to change, he said.
“We are now living in an environment where things are changing quickly and warrant officers have to
keep up and adapt to those changes,” he said.
A good warrant officer, Coonce said, will give open and honest feedback based on their years of
expertise, he said.
Coonce added that warrant officers are required to participate in the same training and pass the Army
Physical Fitness Test that are required of enlisted and officers.
CW3 Virshelle Dugger
CW3 Virshelle Dugger is currently assigned to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, serving as
the lead military evaluator for the Army’s newest human resources system, the Integrated Personnel
Pay System-Army, or IPPS-A. This program is an online HR system that provides integrated personnel,
pay and talent management capabilities in one single system to all three Army components.
Dugger hails from Ebony, Virginia. She enlisted into the Army shortly after completing high school on
July 13, 2001 and transitioned to the Warrant Officer Corps on October 9, 2013 as a 420A, human
resources technician.
“HR Technicians serve as the technical expert on regulatory matters and HR systems and issues,” she
said.
Other duties and responsibilities include maintaining personnel accountability and personnel strength,
readiness management, facilitating HR training, overseeing the essential personnel services in areas
such as awards, evaluations, personnel actions, promotions and finance, and also ensuring that
regulatory guidance is applied and enforced through staff assistance visits and command inspections
within the organization.
Dugger said she completed MOS training as a 42F, Human Resources Information System Management
Specialist, which entailed receiving, reviewing and monitoring statuses of unresolved errors within the
HR systems; granting and monitoring HR systems access to all HR personnel; maintaining authorized
strength levels and monthly personnel accountability scrubs amongst the brigades and divisions across
the installation and conducting monthly HR classes to the newly assigned 42As.
Dugger said early in her career she was assigned to units that were formally called Personnel Services
Battalion, or PSBs, which “serviced all personnel related issues for Soldiers across the installation.”
“Within the PSBs, there were numerous AG Warrant Officers that I had the privilege of serving with,”
she said.
“The AG warrants set a high bar of standards and were the epitome of my military career.
They would come to work with their boots shined, uniform pressed and always had a professional
demeanor that distinguished them from other seniors. They all were very knowledgeable and always
willing to help when there was a problem I couldn’t solve. They were never hesitant to take the time out
their busy day to train their section. I learned a lot during my enlisted years that when I became an AG
warrant officer, my job was easier than others because these tasks were not new to me.”
Dugger said she knew how to solve most HR issues because of her previous job of a 42F.
“Whenever a question was asked to one of the warrants, they always knew the answer,” she said.
“There were plenty of times where I thought to myself, ‘I want to be like chief one day. They know
everything.’ And here I am today, fulfilling my dream as a warrant officer.”
Dugger explained that a good warrant officer is a role model who can teach, train and mentor young
Soldiers and NCOs, especially those who have the potential to become a warrant officer.
“A warrant officer provides leader development to the junior officers in becoming better leaders and to
become more proficient in their jobs,” Dugger said. “Networking and professional MOS training are a
couple of areas that were my priorities whenever I was reassigned to a new unit. I loved to see how the
Soldiers in my shop were able to interact, communicate and call upon one another for assistance in the
subordinate units. I conducted monthly/quarterly training as needed, so everyone had the opportunity
to learn something new within their MOS.”
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