Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said at an Air & Space Warfighters in Action session on June 13 that the military service is making progress in reinstituting warrant officers, with a solicitation for applicants having been issued for airmen interested in becoming part of the first warrant officer cohort in information technology and cyber careers.
According to Allvin, the reintroduction of warrant officers is an element of a broader effort, called Reoptimize for Great Power Competition, which seeks to ensure that the military service is able to meet the challenges posed by China and other competitors, according to a news article posted Monday on the USAF website.
Warrant officers will help with the challenge of filling positions requiring skills that are in-demand, like cybersecurity and information technology, Allvin noted. Warrant officers will also help with the issue of talent retention.
“We are finding that it is more difficult to retain the cyber talent that we spend a lot of time investing in, and that is going to be so critical to us going forward,” Allvin said, adding, “We believe this is going to be a good path to ensure that we have the talent for today and tomorrow in a very cyber-heavy force that we’re going to need.”
The Air Force Warrant Officers Corps was dissolved in 1958 and replaced by the senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant ranks.
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