On March 4th, 2023, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Darlene Pittman was promoted to chief warrant officer 5 in a promotion ceremony held at the Joint Base San Antonio - Fort Sam Houston Army Reserve Center.

Col. Michael Smith, the deputy commander for the 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, promoted Pittman in front of family, friends and Soldiers. He called Pittman's promotion "truly special."

"This opportunity for Ms. Pittman did not come easy, and it did not come without a lot of hard work and dedication," said Col. Smith.

Roughly 2 percent of the Army Reserve's warrant officers attain the rank of chief warrant officer 5. The Warrant Officer Corps only makes up 2 percent of the Army Reserve's total force. The Army warrant officer is a technical expert. They are highly trained and specialize in one of 47 technical areas, including human resources, intelligence, aviation, and maintenance. The Army Reserve has 21 technical areas.

During her remarks, Pittman said, "whatever you decide to do, do it respectfully. Your career is only as good as you make it." After thanking her children, parents and siblings, Pittman said, "every promotion is an opportunity to excel and make room for the people behind you to grow."

Pittman has 33 years of service. She joined the Army in 1989 from Wichita, Kansas, as a 71L administrative specialist. She rose to sergeant first class before receiving her appointment as a warrant officer 1, 420A - human resources technician in 2004.

Over the years, she has served in several roles and deployed three times with the 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command (Des Moines, Iowa), and 310th Human Resource Sustainment Center (Fort Jackson, South Carolina). In her civilian career, she is an Army Reserve military technician - sexual harassment assault response coordinator.

With this promotion, Pittman will be reassigned to the 335th Signal Command (Theater) in East Point, Georgia, as its human resources technician in the command's G1. 

The 335th Signal Command has a unique structure and a far-reaching mission. They command and control nearly all the Army Reserve's signal, cyber protection, combat camera and information operations assets.

Pittman says she is "excited to join the 335th team, and she looks forward to passing on her experience to the next generation of Soldiers."

"I had no intention of staying in the Army this long, but over the years, I kept having fun. I continued to grow and make friends. Suddenly, a promise to complete one contract became more than I could have imagined - 33 years of service and counting," says Pittman.