Impact of Extending the Special Forces Warrant Officer Service Obligation on the Recruitment and Accessioning of Special Forces Warrant Officers

摘要

This research assesses the potential impact of increasing the U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) Warrant Officer (WO) service obligation from six to 10 years on SF Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) interest in applying to become SF WOs. A survey was administered to 293 SF NCOs to assess their attitudes toward applying to become a WO under the current system and under a system in which the WO service requirement was increased from six to 10 years. A separate survey was completed by 98 SF WOs to provide information on how a longer WO service requirement would have affected their decision to apply. An analysis of both surveys suggests that increasing the WO obligation from six to 10 years will result in fewer WO applications. A rough estimate is that the number of applications will drop by 50% if the 10 year obligation is introduced without compensatory incentives. The right package of incentives along with an extended obligation may result in roughly a 25% drop in applications. The incentive package should include financial incentives and options for longer service on Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) to be maximally effective. The WO recruiting efforts can be maximized by focusing on sergeant first class (SFC) and those with 11-15 Years of Service (YOS), excluding 18Es. Follow-up surveys and/or focus groups can be conducted to better specify the precise level of financial and other incentives necessary to achieve the desired impact.