DYK? There are Lots of CWO Positions in the RCAF Reserve!

Magazine Article / November 1, 2020 / Project number: RCAF-Excelsior-Fall-2020-2

Did you know that there are many career opportunities available for senior non-commissioned members (NCMs) who aspire to senior leadership in the RCAF? Chief Warrant Officers (CWOs) are advisors to their respective commanders/commanding officers on matters related to the dress, discipline, professional development, morale, training, welfare and the Quality of Life of all military personnel within their unit or formation. As a CWO, you could offer your knowledge and share the expertise you have gained to junior members who are working their own way up through the ranks.

Currently, the RCAF is looking to reshape its CWO generation and promotion model to ensure that progression to the rank of CWO will be achieved through an amalgamation of all of the competencies, experience, knowledge, proven leadership, education and training that prospective CWOs have gained throughout their careers. It’ll take some time to get the new model figured out and more information will be shared as it becomes available, but in the meantime, the RCAF continues to strive for ways to escalate quality of service, balancing the needs of the individual with those of the RCAF and the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Working for our RCAF Reserve NCMs, helping shape their future, is both a privilege and an honour,” said CWO Keith Mitchell, RCAF Reserve Careers CWO. “There is out there the next RCAF Reserve CWO and it is the job of all involved with career management to provide the best training and support to assist them in achieving that goal. Knowing I could potentially have a role in helping that one person get to our most senior CWO position within the RCAF Reserve is exciting.”

There are multiple paths to becoming a Reserve Force CWO, including joining the CAF as a reservist and working up to the rank of CWO or transferring from the Regular Force and continuing career progression as a reservist to the rank of CWO.;. No matter the path, the aim of the new model is to develop and promote our best people and place them in the most suitable position based on what the individual can bring to it.

“As you continue your career within the RCAF Reserve, be assured there are many new opportunities, including remote employment for some of our current CWO positions,” said CWO Jim McKenzie, RCAF Reserve CWO. For those “retiring” from the Regular Force, he suggests that “because you’ve made the decision to join the Reserves doesn’t mean your career is winding down; in fact, it may be just the beginning of many new exciting opportunities, providing you are willing to continue to develop professionally within the RCAF Reserve to make you the right candidate for the CWO opportunities you may be offered.”