Warrant Officer School

The Assistant Detachment Commander

Requirements to Become a Special Forces Warrant Officer

Rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG/E-6) or above.

A Special Forces MOS 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F or 18Z.

A minimum of three years rated time on an SFODA.

A Score of 85 or better on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery or a current 2/2 language rating.

Completion of the Special Forces Operations and Intelligence course prior to October 3, 1994 or SF Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC).

Letters of Recommendation from: 

Commanders at the Detachment Levels 

Commanders at the Company Levels 

Commanders at the Battalion Levels 

Commanders at the Group Levels 

Special Forces Warrant Officer 

with personal knowledge of the applicants abilities.

*******************************

Warrant Officer Technical Certification Course. 

The course gives its students

who have served as Special Forces NCOs 

and have already completed the Army's basic warrant officer course, 

Additional Training in Special Operations: 

Command Structure

Mission

Doctrine

Graduates serve as Executive Officers on 

Special Forces Operational Detachments 

following their Commissioning as Warrant Officers.

*******************************

The SF Warrant Officer is the 

Tactical and Technical Expert in all aspects of:

Special Forces Operations

Regional Authority

Primary Advisor to the Detachment Commander

Detachment Chief of Staff. 

Commands in the absence of the Detachment Commander

Supervises all:

 Staff Activities

Psychological Operations (PSYOPs)

Civil Affairs 

Cultural, Regional, and Linguistic Abilities; 

Manages the Mid-term and Long-term Planning.

Develops and Updates Operational Plans and Target Data

 Prepares the Detachment to Operate in all Physical Environments

*******************************

An SF Warrant Officer can expect to stay on the same detachment longer than anyone else on the team. 

He normally has spent most of his Special Forces career in the same SF Group and can expect to focus his attention on the same region of the world for the rest of his career.

*******************************

The Special Forces Warrant Officer position was instituted in the early '80s to replace the First Lieutenants that were then serving as Executive Officers on the Special Forces Detachments Alpha (A-Teams). This decision was made to provide officer continuity and Special Operations experience on the detachment.

The Warrant Officer was ideally suited to replace the First Lieutenant because he came directly from the ranks as a Special Forces NCO. He was frequently one of the most experienced members on the team.