Michelle Tan – Army Times – 5:08 p.m. EDT – March 13, 2016

The Army National Guard is offering up to $20,000 to qualified candidates as it struggles to fill its warrant officer ranks, losing to retirement almost as many warrants as it is bringing in every year.

The Guard is focused on recruiting for 39 career fields in particular and has opportunities across the 54 states and territories.

“As a warrant, you are the technical expert in your field,” said Maj. Carol Stahl, deputy accessions branch chief for the Army Guard. “If you really love what you’re doing and want to keep doing that, being a warrant officer is really for you. When a warrant officer speaks, people listen.”

The Army Guard has about 8,570 warrant officers in its ranks today; it is authorized more than 10,400. As of January, more than 3,800 of the Guard’s warrant officers, or about 44 percent, were eligible for retirement.

Part of the issue is the need for experienced, technical experts, she said. The other issue is attrition, as the vast majority of warrant officer candidates serve as enlisted soldiers before making the switch.

“It’s an older population, so we have a lot of guys who are up for retirement,” she said. “The number of warrant officers we’re bringing in is being offset by people getting out or retiring.”

So far this fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, the Guard has brought in 242 warrant officers but lost 232, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Darrell Beal, who works in the Army Guard’s warrant officer accessions section.

The previous year, fiscal 2015, the Guard brought in 573 new warrants but lost 622.

“We’re always encouraging states to overdrive the [recruiting] mission if possible,” Stahl said, adding that the Guard also is challenged by geography and finding the right candidate for the right job or unit.

To help meet its needs, the Guard is seeking applicants from within but also soldiers transitioning from the active Army as well as service members from the other services.