Five South Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers successfully completed the Warrant Officer Candidate School, and four were pinned as warrant officers during a ceremony April 29 at the Sioux Falls Regional Training Institute.
WOCS is a two-phase program that consists of five weekend drills during a five-month period at Fort Meade, and a final two-week phase at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Candidates are tested throughout the course both academically and physically in areas ranging from leadership to tactics. The total course covers 220 academic hours in 37 different subject areas.
“I am very impressed with the capabilities and future potential of our newest warrant officers,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Wayne Walker, South Dakota National Guard Command Chief Warrant Officer. “All of the candidates did extremely well in the class and worked together to graduate. I’m excited to see where their careers will take them.”
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Warrant officers are the technical foundation of the U.S. Army and comprise about 3% of the Army forces. These soldiers are highly specialized in their career fields, which include aviation, information technology, maintenance, logistics and human resources. The course is designed to provide a base to assist in developing Army warrant officers into self–aware and adaptive technical experts, combat leaders, trainers, mentors and advisors to both soldiers and commanders.
While some candidates accepted their appointment as warrant officers during the graduation ceremony, others choose to defer their appointment until an assignment becomes available.
The Warrant Officer Candidate School graduates include: Warrant Officer David Deinert, Joint Force Headquarters, Automotive Maintenance Technician; Warrant Officer Taylor Jans, 881st Troop Command, Human Resources Technician; Warrant Officer Joshua Masek, Joint Force Headquarters, Cyber Warfare Technician; Warrant Officer Daniel Stratton, 196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Information Systems Technician; and Staff Sgt. Eli Donnell, Detachment 1, Company B, 935th Aviation Support Battalion, Aviation Maintenance Technician.
Donnell will accept his appointment to warrant officer at a later date. Donnell and Masek were also named to the Commandant’s List, which is earned by students whose overall course achievement is significantly above the course standard and within the top 20% of the class for academic average.