FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Army warrant officer education is undergoing a transformation here starting Oct. 1.
The Warrant Officer Staff Course and Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course, which both operate under the Warrant Officer Career College, will be lengthened and incorporate more relevant material to better train warrant officers, said Col. Mark Jones, WOCC commandant.
"We have truly made great headway in the Army in educating warrant officers to be successful in the modern battlefield," he said.
WOSC grows from four to five weeks, while WOSSC increases from two to four weeks in length. Both incorporate mandatory distributed - or distance - learning, to be completed before attending the courses here, Jones said.
Warrant officers have long been known as professional, technical subject matter experts. The military's ever-changing dynamics now require them to also become effective leaders, in addition to their regular jobs. Course changes were necessary to meet this goal and develop better warrant officers, he said.
"The warrant officer community is really diverse," Jones said. "There is a main theme that doesn't change though - effective leadership."
"We teach them how to think versus what to think," said Bill Walton, WOCC leadership integration cell member, who was instrumental in developing the course changes. "They must expect the unexpected. That's the dynamic of the operational environment."
"What intermediate and senior warrant officers receive now for training doesn't look like it did before. We've aligned their education with commissioned officer-grade education," Jones said.
To impart necessary skills to WOCS students, instructors train at tactical and operational levels. Subject matter covered in classrooms includes ethics, creative and critical thinking, military history, media relations, knowledge management, project management and more, Jones said.
"We get CW3s and CW4s to be most effective in the operational environment so they have a knowledge base," said Lon Flurer, Department of Educational Training deputy director.
WOSSC students cover many of the same subjects, but at a more advanced operational and strategic level, Jones noted.
"At the strategic level, CW5s have to be proactive, thinking ahead of the needs of their senior leaders," said Flurer. "(WOSSC) shows them the bigger picture. They see the challenges of getting all the pieces of the puzzle together."
As current military efforts and operations change, course material will continue to evolve and adapt to best serve students, Walton noted.
Staff course students are usually chief warrant officer threes or fours, and senior staff course members CW4s or CW5s, Jones said. Because many warrants are prior-enlisted Soldiers, these individuals' actual time in service and years of experience can vary greatly.
Warrant officers from all Army military occupational specialties attend training here, not just Aviators, Jones said. Warrant officers make up about 2 percent of the total Army and about 14 percent of the officer corps. They can be found in 15 of the Army's 20 branches.
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