Photo By Sgt. Michael Steed | The Warrant Officer Candidate Class 20-001 of Warrant Officer Candidate School, 1st...... read more read more
Salina, Kan. – Warrant Officer Candidate School class 20-001 of the 1st Battalion, 235th Regiment presented their class “Rock, Song, and Sign” project to honored guest Chief Warrant Officer 5 Christopher Rau, command chief warrant officer of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, family and friends at the Kansas Regional Training Institute in Salina Feb. 1.
The “Rock, Song, and Sign” is a time-honored tradition for WOCs that highlights their skills in leadership and teamwork and allows them to leave their legacy at the school.
“Candidates have to use their own time, outside of drill weekend, to write their own song, paint their class rock and design a class sign,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 David Lockhart, commander of 1st Bn., 235th Regt. “Every WOC class in the Army does this tradition. It is a way to get them out of their comfort zone and be a leader.”
The warrant officer candidates go through three phases of training. This project is presented in the middle of phase two, which is their half way point to completion. Phase two is five months long and consists of two and a half day drills with physical fitness, classroom work and leadership training.
“This signifies we are halfway through. Congrats,” said Warrant Officer Candidate Brandon McMillian. “We are able to have friends and family with us to celebrate. It's important that we had our senior warrant officers come and mentor us. It's a big deal.”
Class 20-001 is the first winter class in the school's history and is comprised of 11 candidates from Kansas and Oklahoma. For their class motto they chose “Winter is Coming,” which is derived from the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” They use the likeness of the show’s “Night King” on their sign as a metaphor for the long assignments, leadership hardships and time constraints that lay ahead for them as warrant officers.
Although the candidates expect to be met with challenges ahead, they recognize the importance of reaching the milestone of the “Rock, Song and Sign” project.
“This is so important to me as we carry on the tradition that every WOC has done before us,” said Warrant Officer Candidate Mallory Roth.
“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work,” said Warrant Officer Candidate Lee Sanders. “It looks like just a sign and rock but it's much harder to do than you think. It took so much coordination, it was nice to unveil and have something to show for what we have done!”
For their rock, class 20-001 chose the color green, which symbolizes renewal, growth and ambition. Each candidate is expected to live up to a higher standard and become subject matter experts and leaders in their branch. Working together and operating outside of their comfort zones is just the beginning of each candidate’s journey to becoming a warrant officer.
Warrant officers are required to become technical and tactical experts in their career field making them a critical part of a unit. They receive special training that not only makes them an expert but also helps them become effective leaders, instructors and advisers in their field. According to Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-3, paragraph 3-9, warrant officers are competent and confident warriors, innovative integrators of emerging technologies, dynamic teachers and developers of specialized teams of Soldiers.
“For me it's the amount of training I will get,” said Sanders. “I want to be a subject matter expert. If that's what you love and enjoy doing, this is the best way to do it in the Army.”
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2020 16:14 |
| Story ID: | 362185 |
| Location: | SALINA, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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