How to Fill Out HQ USAREC Form 3.3: Warrant Officer Recommendation Letter

HQ USAREC Form 3.3 is the one-page Letter of Recommendation used in the Army Warrant Officer Procurement Program, and it is the preferred format for every recommendation letter in a warrant officer application packet.¹ A recommender uses it to vouch for your leadership, character, and technical expertise so the selection board can judge whether you belong in the warrant officer ranks. A standard letter is accepted only when the recommender cannot open the fillable version.²

You can download the fillable PDF from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s warrant officer packet downloads page, or request a copy from a regional warrant officer recruiter.³ Recommenders sometimes struggle to open it on their end, so pull the file yourself and send it directly to each person writing on your behalf.

Who Should Write Your Letters

The form itself offers four checkboxes for the recommender’s category: Senior Warrant Officer, Company Grade Officer, Field Grade Officer, or Other with a written explanation.¹ In practice the board expects specific people in your chain of command. For Warrant Officer Flight Training applicants and most in-service candidates, submit a minimum of three letters and up to six.² The usual lineup:

Your company commander, who holds first-level UCMJ authority. This letter is not optional.
Your battalion commander, the field grade UCMJ authority.
A senior warrant officer (CW3 through CW5) in the career specialty you are pursuing. For some MOS prerequisites this letter is mandatory with no waivers; for others it is strongly recommended.

If a Chief Warrant Officer writes one of your letters, that person must hold the MOS you are applying for.⁴ For certain technical specialties like 255A (Data Operations), the proponent office can connect you with a senior warrant officer for a phone interview and letter if none serves in your unit.⁵ The board will not review general officer letters unless that officer is in your direct chain of command or provides a required senior aviator endorsement.

Civilian applicants going through Warrant Officer Flight Training need the same three-to-six range, from highly influential people who personally know them.⁶

Every letter must be less than 12 months old when your packet reaches the board. If a letter expires before your target board date, you need a fresh one from that recommender. Been at your current unit fewer than 90 days? You may use letters from your previous chain of command, but attach a memo explaining the situation.

Section I: Applicant and Recommender Data

Section I identifies you and the recommender’s relationship to you. The recommender enters:¹

Block 1: your last name, first name, and middle initial.
Block 2: your current rank.
Block 3: your date of rank.
Block 4: your full unit designation, station, ZIP code or APO, and major command.
Block 5: the recommender’s role, checked against Senior Warrant Officer, Company Grade Officer, Field Grade Officer, or Other with an explanation.
Block 6: the year and month range during which the recommender has known you.
Block 7: a short description of the relationship, such as supervisor, interviewer, company commander, or battalion commander.

Blocks 1 through 4 describe you, so give recommenders this information typed out exactly as it appears on your other packet documents. Mismatches between Form 3.3 and your DA Form 61 or USAREC Form 1935 resume are a common reason packets get flagged for corrections.

Section II: The Narrative

Section II is the heart of the form. The instructions ask the recommender to “write a narrative explaining the applicant’s leadership qualities, character, experience, and special expertise that uniquely qualify him or her to serve as a future warrant officer.”¹ Board members read dozens of these per session, so vague praise does not help. The narratives that carry weight share three habits:

They are specific and quantifiable. Rather than calling someone a great leader, they describe a situation, what the applicant did, and how the outcome was measured.
They connect experience to the target MOS. The board wants to know why this soldier will succeed as a warrant officer in a particular specialty, not just that they are a good NCO.
They address character directly. A sentence or two on integrity, judgment under pressure, or professional bearing lands harder coming from someone in the chain of command.

At the bottom of the narrative block the recommender must include their unit information, email address, and phone number.⁴ Leaving that contact information out is one of the most frequent errors flagged during packet review.

Sections III and IV: Endorsement and Signature

Section III is a single acknowledgment: by submitting the form, the recommender endorses you to be boarded for warrant officer selection.¹ It is a professional endorsement, not a formality, and it becomes part of your official record.

Section IV collects the recommender’s identifying data: name (last, first, middle initial), rank, branch and MOS, signature, and date in YYYYMMDD format. Digital signatures are accepted and preferred for electronic submission. Every letter must be signed; an unsigned form comes back for corrections.

Mistakes That Get Letters Returned

The Warrant Officer Recruiting Center publishes a running list of frequent packet errors. The ones tied to Form 3.3:⁴

The packet was not reviewed and signed by a warrant officer before submission.
A Chief Warrant Officer wrote the letter but does not hold the MOS the applicant is pursuing.
The recommender left out unit, email, or phone number at the bottom of Section II.
Section IV is missing the recommender’s name, rank, branch, MOS, signature, or date.
The scan is illegible. If you scan a signed hard copy, open the PDF and confirm every line is readable before sending. The board will not guess at blurry text.

Providing the form’s information is technically voluntary, but as the disclosure statement on the form itself notes, failing to provide it “may delay or terminate the warrant officer candidate’s application process.”¹

Submitting the Letter With Your Packet

Form 3.3 is never submitted on its own. It goes in as part of a complete warrant officer application packet that also includes DA Form 61 (Application for Appointment), USAREC Form 1935 (Warrant Officer Resume), a physical cover sheet, and other supporting documents keyed to your target MOS.

Packets are submitted by email from an official military account. The Warrant Officer Recruiting Center runs three mailboxes:⁷

New packets go to usarmy.knox.usard.mbx.9sbn-new-warrant-packets@army.mil for initial submissions only.
Corrections go to usarmy.knox.usard.mbx.9sbn-new-warrant-corrections@army.mil once a recruiter identifies errors. Send only the corrected pages, not the whole packet.
Updates go to usarmy.knox.usard.mbx.9sbn-new-warrant-updates@army.mil for changes or additions after your packet is board-ready but before the updates deadline.

Every subject line follows this format: LAST NAME, FIRST NAME MI – PRIMARY WOMOS (for example, JOHNSON, STEVEN M. – 153A). All forms go in as unencrypted, flattened PDFs. Do not send ZIP files, PDF portfolios, or DOD-Safe links; packets in those formats are returned without action. Keep each email under 5 MB.⁴ Time your recommenders’ letters so none of them cross the 12-month expiration line before your target board convenes.

1
United States Army Recruiting Command. HQ USAREC Form 3.3 – Letter of Recommendation Warrant Officer Procurement Program
2
United States Army Recruiting Command. USAREC Regulation 601-210 – Enlistment and Accessions Processing
3
U.S. Army Recruiting Command. How Do I Apply – Form Downloads
4
United States Army Recruiting Command. Common Application Mistakes
5
United States Army Recruiting Command. 255A – Data Operations Warrant Officer
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United States Army Recruiting Command. Civilian (WOFT) Applicants
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United States Army Recruiting Command. Submission Instructions