Aviation officers vs. warrant officers?

I am trying to find out as much information about commissioned aviation officers vs. warrant officers so I can determine the pro's and con's of both. This is for my friend who does have a degree and already understands the whole process on selection and the schooling involved. She did try speaking with an Army Recruiter in our area but wasn't very helpful. He sounded more opinionated than giving actual facts. I figured I'd try this first before she trys to track down a actual aviation/warrant officer to speak to.

Public Comments

1. One is commisioned, one is non-commisioned. Talking to a recruiter in the local office won't help...they only sign up enlisted personnel and yes they are happy to share their opinions on this topic. You need to speak with an OFFICER recruiter.
2. I am a Warrant Officer, although not aviation. I have many friends who are aviation Warrants, as well as a few that are aviation Commissioned. First of all, once a Warrant Officer reaches the rank of CW2 (2 years after pinning Warrant) he or she IS a commissioned officer, although still retains the title "Warrant Officer". He or she gets all of the same rights/privilges as a commissioned officer, as he or she has the same commission from the President to carry out his/her duties. For the first two years, the officer has a "Warrant" from the Secretary of the Army and still has most of the same privilidges and rights as an officer, with a few exceptions that are not worth going into here. Anyway, the big difference in aviation between commissioned and Warrant is what happens later in your career. As a Warrant, your primary job will always be to fly. You more than likely will never command an aviation company, and will never be sent to do something else outside of aviation, such as working on a battalion staff. As a junior commissioned officer in the aviation branch, you will still fly, but at the same time will be given other staff officer type responsibilities and later will be given company command of an aviation company (or perhaps some other kind of company). By the time you reach the rank of Major, you may or may not have anything to do with aviation, depending on how your career goes. Commissioned officers are 'generalists' as in they can fill any number of roles in the Army. Commissioned officers also get paid a lot better... So, to recap. If your friend truly wants to fly and only fly, his best bet is to go Warrant. If your friend wants to fly for a few years and then possibly get saddled behind a desk in a job that might not even relate to aviation, tell him to go commissioned. Ultimately his level of responsibility and level of pay will be much higher.