Chief Warrant Officer 5 Christopher A. Rau serves as Command Chief Warrant Officer at the Joint Force Headquarters of the Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As Command Chief Warrant Officer, he is the senior Warrant Officer in the State; responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all aspects of Warrant Officer: recruiting, retention, and career development. He serves as the principle adviser to the Adjutant General for the State of Oklahoma on all matters pertaining to Army Warrant Officers.
CW5 Rau has served as a combat aviator in Iraq flying both lift and special operations Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, OIF – Iraqi Surge in 2008 and most recently in 2012 to Djibouti supporting the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. He has accumulated more than 6,000 flight hours, with more than 500 being combat flight time. His most recent assignment was as the Commander for Detachment 46, Operational Support Airlift. CW5 Rau joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard in 1982. He has deployed or supported operations in Horn of Africa, Iraq, Kuwait, Indonesia, Thailand and Honduras.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Oklahoma City University, a FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certification with type ratings in both airplanes and helicopters, and is a FAA Certified Flight Instructor. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Jump School, an honor graduate of the Warrant Officer Entry Course, and has attended initial entry rotor-wing qualification, fixed-wing qualification, instructor pilot courses in both the CH-47D and C-12. CW5 Rau has also completed the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) High-Risk Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and Instrument Examiners Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He attended the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course and was promoted to CW5 in 2005.
The majority of CW5 Rau’s thirty year career has been as a tradition Guardsman. His civilian job has been as a police officer for the Oklahoma City Police Department since 1986 where he obtained the rank of Captain. He has served as a patrolman, pilot, supervisor and has commanded units in Operations, Logistical Support, Investigations, Administration, and most recently served as the Assistant Director of Training.