The Flavors of Army Aviators

The Army is the only one of the Service Branches in the military of these United States that has pilots who are not O-Grade officers. In fact, the majority of pilots in the Army are not among the ranks of Regular Line Officers (RLOs). Most pilots are among the group of strange and mysterious creatures, seen so rarely elsewhere in the Army and the military as a whole, called Warrant Officers. They’ve got a commission just like the RLOs, but their purpose and job is completely different. Warrants' purpose as soldiers is to be THE experts in their craft. A Logistics Warrant is the master of supply, an Artillery Warrant is the best reference-point for all things “arty,” even Special Forces ODAs have Team Warrants who are the undisputed experts in warfare and second-in-command of their teams. In Army Aviation, the Warrants are the backbone and the knowledge-base of everything to do with flight.

 The role of an Officer in Army Aviation also takes a different shape than elsewhere in the Army. This is due, in part, to a different unit structuring than is to be found in other branches of the Army, but also to the requirements of the operation and maintenance of the myriad equipment that is VERY specific to Aviation. With that said, the basic tenets of officership (and leadership) are still the same as anywhere else, both in the military and out, and of utmost importance. This will be further addressed below.

The simple fact of having Warrant aviators gives Army Aviation an entirely different face than the air wings of the other service branches. Furthermore, this divergence in rank of those who fly the Gold and Black skies opens the means and pathways whereby an aspiring aviator can climb in the front seat of an Army aircraft. The purpose of this article is to provide insight into the differences in the general life and career of an RLO versus a Warrant in Army Aviation and to help all interested parties in deciding what path they’d like to pursue as they break into that realm. 

This article WILL NOT dive into the weeds of the different entryways to be taken in becoming either an O- or a W-. That topic is dense enough to require an article of its own, which will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. This one will focus simply on the differences in tasks and purposes of Officers and Warrants in Army Aviation. 

Table of Contents

1. An Officer and a Gentle-person
2. The Experts of Flight
3. Conclusion

An Officer and a Gentle-Person

First-thing’s-first, an Army Officer is meant to lead soldiers. This isn’t a cracker barrel generalization that should indicate that officers are, in any way, better than other soldiers, smarter than other soldiers, more capable than other soldiers or anything resembling such notions. It means that individuals who commission as RLOs in the United States Army have volunteered for the obligation to do everything they can to ensure their soldiers are set up to succeed at their jobs. This, in turn, leads them to successfully accomplish any mission, whether in or out of combat. Conspicuously, there is no description or messaging in any Army or Department of Defense Doctrine stating that an Officer should be more concerned about the progression of their own career than they are about those whom they have been entrusted to lead. Career progression is not the job of an Army Officer. It’s a by-product of doing the actual job of an Army Officer: leading and taking care of soldiers. These truths apply regardless of which branch of the Army an officer enters, whether Infantry, Aviation or whatever.

Furthermore, the fact of Army Officers NOT being, in any way, better than their soldiers is manifested in the fact that they do not eat in separate areas, they don’t sleep in separate areas and, in fact, an officer will sleep in the dirt along with their soldiers when working a field problem - or in real combat - if the fight requires it. But an officer sleeps less and eats last. Again…remember the actual point of the job as stated above. Among the most widely-known exemplars of what an Army Officer should be (thanks, in large part, to the Band of Brothers series released by HBO at the beginning of the millennium) is Richard “Dick” Winters, pictured above. If you wish to become an Aviation Officer (see: Army Officer), just be sure to set your mind right for that for which you’re actually volunteering.

There, now I can step off of this soapbox…

Actually, the view is better up there…

Okay, so now we’re at an understanding of the fact that an Aviation Officer is, first and foremost, an Army Officer. And with what that means. Now, more specifically, it’s time to gain a very brief understanding of what an Aviation Officer does that is specific to aviation. I won’t dive deeply into the general career path of an aviation officer, rather, I’ll try and inform the aspiring of some things to which they should pay particular attention and of which they should be aware.  

An officer needs to have a good understanding of the aviation maintenance program in their company, their BN and in the Army in general. Though the officer doesn’t need to know how to accomplish specific maintenance tasks, the maintenance program is overseen at the officer level. One who oversees a program can't do so well without digging deep enough to understand the basic foundation/function of the program itself.

Likewise, an officer needs to have an equally good understanding of the standardizations (STANZ) program. This is the aviators’ Annual Training Program (ATP). Their semi-/annual requirements in the aircraft, in the simulator, in the classroom, and in the realm of aviation knowledge/general understanding. Ultimately, this program (like the maintenance program) belongs to the commander of the unit, which is, with few exceptions, an RLO. 

The exact same can be said for the unit’s safety program, which is roughly the size of a humpback whale and as easy to digest, as well as the unit’s Training Program, of which the same could be said…. What you should be realizing as you read this is, ultimately, a commander, at whatever level (Company, Battalion, etc.) will own all of the policies and programs that operate within their unit. Luckily for these officers, they have their Warrant Officers to help/advise them with all programs related to flight (more to follow) and their Enlisted Personnel to help/advise them with aircraft maintenance, non-flight training, the unit Physical Fitness program, etc.  

All of these programs, all of these policies, etc., lead back to the Aviation Officer ultimately doing what this section led off with: “everything they can to ensure their soldiers are set up to succeed at their jobs so as to successfully accomplish any mission, whether in or out of combat.” 

Oh, and they fly, too. With the expectation that they’ll get good at it. If you’re joining the Army just to fly, this is not the route for you. However, as you’ll see, the Warrant route likely won’t be either.