The Army Warrant Officer Corps' birth, history and service to the nation were recognized on the
94th anniversary of the corps with a birthday celebration July 9 at the Patriot Club at Fort Sill.
Dozens of new, seasoned and retired warrant officers from the Lawton-Fort Sill community attended the celebration.
The corps was formed July 9, 1918, when warrants served in the mine planter service of the coastal artillery. Today's warrant officers come from 73 military occupational specialties and serve in 17 of the Army's 20 branches as subject matter experts.
Guest speaker Brig. Gen. Brian McKiernan, Field Artillery School commandant and chief of FA, spoke about the corps' proud legacy, its future, as well as his experiences working with warrant officers.
In 1986, then-Second Lieutenant McKiernan, aide-de-camp to the VII Corps commanding general, had his first experience working with warrant officers.
The general had a dedicated helicopter and aircrew assigned to him so he could visit his 13 units in Germany. McKiernan coordinated the general's visits with the aircrew.
"I relied implicitly and completely on the expertise of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Larry Morgan," said McKiernan.
He added he will never forget him or Morgan's right seat pilot, a warrant officer 1.
"They never let me down, they always gave me great advice," said the general. "If it weren't for those two professionals, there is no way I would have been successful in my duties."
Today's Army requires warrant officers to be so much more than just technical experts in their branches, but also mentors, trainers, staff officers and leaders, McKiernan said.
"I know that's a lot of responsibility ... but there is no doubt in my mind that you are equal to the task," he said.
CW2 Gwendolyn Cunningham, 214th Fires Brigade Food Service adviser, was one of the many Soldiers at the ceremony. She has been a warrant since October 2010.
"I had performed every job that I could in a dining facility," said the former sergeant first class food service specialist. "I wanted to stay in my field versus moving over to an 'O' [officer] grade, so I decided to go warrant." The warrant food service branch is challenging, but rewarding, said the 13-year Soldier.
During the ceremony, WO1 Eric Brugman read a War Department declaration from 1918 establishing the Army Warrant Officer Corps. Brugman is a student in the WO Basic Course here.
Then McKiernan and WO1 William Norton and CW5 Bob Tisdale cut the birthday cake. Norton, Headquarters and A Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery, and Tisdale, Joint and Combined Integration Directorate, are Fort Sill's most-junior and most-senior warrants respectively.
WO1 Keith Kurth was a Fires direction staff sergeant promotable, who wanted to "take that next step to do better things for the Army." He applied for WO candidate school and was accepted on his first attempt.
He encouraged any Soldier who is thinking of going warrant to apply.
"It's a great career decision, but it's a very difficult one," said Kurth, a field artillery targeting technician student in the WO Basic Course here. There is a lot of meticulous paperwork that has to be done 100-percent correctly.
"You have to have that attention to detail, and the ability to follow directions and do everything to the letter," he said, of the application process. Selectees attend the WO Candidate School at Fort Rucker, Ala.
CW4 David Jones, ADA proponent warrant officer, said warrants bring a level of knowledge in their particular branch, that no other cohort in the Army has garnered.
Warrant officers possess a unique set of knowledge through specialized training, assignments and experience that helps combatant commanders to make the best decisions, which allows their warfighters to win our nation's wars, Jones said.
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