The intense 12-week training program tests your physical, mental, and emotional competence. Candidates are sent through a variety of training exercises and constantly evaluated based on leadership performance. The benefits of attending Army OCS and becoming a commissioned officer are plentiful.
As of 2019, the class is an 8-week program and students are once again referred to as Officer Trainees.
The Officer Basic Course (OBC) provides training in the values and skills necessary to represent the Surgeon General as a commissioned officer. This two-week course is an orientation to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps), and life in the uniformed services.
When you join the Air Force as a healthcare or ministry professional, you’ll begin your Air Force career with Commissioned Officer Training—a 5.5-week program organized into four phases designed to help ease your transition from the private sector into military life.
The Air Force Officer Training School is small as it commissions fewer officers every year compared to the Air Force Academy and AFROTC. Therefore, it is not easy to gain acceptance for Air Force OTS but is well worth the effort. The nine-and-a-half week course is extremely demanding physically and mentally.
When you join the Air Force as a healthcare or ministry professional, you'll begin your Air Force career with Commissioned Officer Training—a 5.5-week program organized into four phases designed to help ease your transition from the private sector into military life.
9 to 17 weeksAfter completing a four-year degree, graduates may enroll in OCS. This is also known as Officer Training School (OTS) in the Air Force. OCS/OTS varies in length between Services, but generally lasts 9 to 17 weeks.
For many new Air Force HPSP recipients, the idea of attending a five week long Commissioned Officer Training (COT) course at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama can be daunting. Especially if you come from a family with no prior military service, such as myself.
Tips to prepare for Officer Candidate SchoolIncrease your workouts. Increasing the intensity and frequency of your workouts can prepare you for the physical challenge of Officer Candidate School. ... Go hiking. ... Practice stretching and rolling. ... Start living cleaner. ... Prepare yourself mentally. ... Understand military basics.
With the board's selection rate of 67.48 percent, 355 applicants were selected to serve as U.S. Air Force officers. Of the 356 selected, 95 enlisted members earned the chance to attend TFOT and trade their stripes for gold bars as second lieutenants.
Indoctrination: No privileges, cadets will need permission from OTS staff to do almost anything. No phones, no access to cars (without approval), and tight meals.
Duties of Army Generals It's not an easy status to attain: Fewer than one-half percent of commissioned officers make it to the top three ranks of Army general. In all, there can be only 302 general officers (generals, lieutenant generals, major generals, and brigadier generals) in the U.S. Army at one time.
About 65%While civilian college graduates and current military candidates do not compete with each other for available OCS slots, the more prepared you are for the physically rigorous demands of OCS, the better. About 65% of OCS applicants are accepted.
An HPSP applicant should generally have a minimum GPA of 3.0, and a minimum MCAT score of 500. A competitive applicant should have at least 3.6 GPA, and 506 to 509 MCAT score. Factors also influencing the Military in voluntary service and leadership.
As far as I know, the HPSP is not itself as competitive as getting into medical school (i.e., there are not 50x as many applications as spots in the HPSP class). It is competitive because medical school is competitive. In general, if you are good enough for US MD/DO schools, you are good enough for the HPSP.
The Air Force also sends more graduating students out to train in civilian programs than the other branches of service. Because the Air Force is often the most competitive branch to get an HPSP scholarship in, the Air Force HPSP recruiters have a reputation for not returning phone calls.
Officer Basic Course: The Officer Basic Course (OBC) provides training in the values and skills necessary to represent the Surgeon General as a commissioned officer. This two-week course is an orientation to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Commissioned Corps of the U.S.
The Officer Advanced Course (OAC) is currently being piloted to selected officers and is designed to prepare the commissioned officer for successful assignments as an officer and leader in a dynamic public health environment.
The Core Course curriculum includes eight blocks of instruction:
The CGSOC is one of the oldest and largest military leadership courses for senior O-3s and junior O-4s to assist in transitioning officers from a tactical-level focus to an operational-level perspective . The goal of the CGSOC is to “educate and train field grade leaders to serve as staff officers and commanders with the ability to build teams, lead organizations and integrate Unified Land Operations with Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational partners in complex and uncertain environments.”
The Managing Army Change block serves to familiarize students with the higher-level (strategic) agencies and the complex/interdependent force management processes used to change the Army to meet DoD transformation and the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review goals of the contemporary operational environment.
Command and General Staff Officers' Course consists of courses offered in an experiential learning environment which yields adaptive, self-aware, field-grade leaders of character and competence who are capable of shaping the joint operational environment.
The History: Rise of the Western Way of War block covers the history of the evolution of warfare and its applicability to current military planning. It explores the relationship between war and society from 1300 to the present, and assesses how the social, political, and economic changes in the larger society force changes within military organizations.
Yes. Though based in U.S. Army doctrine, CGSOC teaches students how to think. The thought-process and critical thinking tools gained from the course can be extrapolated and used within any Uniformed Service.
No. Only emergency leave is approved for officers within the CGSOC course, as full-time attendance is required for graduation.
COT is an abbreviated version of the Air Force Officer Training School (OTS) Total Force Officer Training curriculum. The standard TFOT course is an 8-week, in-residence program for people with a bachelor’s degree who want to become Air Force line officers (not doctors/nurses/lawyers/chaplains).
The course is hosted by OTS, at the OTS facility on Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL.
What is Air Force Commissioned Officer Training, aka COT? One of the aspects of the health professions scholarship program (HPSP) that seems to provoke the most anxiety in future military doctors is initial entry training – for the Air Force, Commissioned Officer Training, or COT.
Army Commissioned Officers are the leaders of the military branch and make important decisions every day of service. Image: Kentucky Guard
The training academy is open to qualified enlisted Noncommissioned Officers along with civilians with at least a four-year college degree. Army OCS lasts 3 months with a rigorous training regime. Recruits that successfully complete Officer Candidate School receive formal commissions as U.S. Army Officers.
Therefore, Army OCS presents recruits with the framework to prepare and handle the important role as a unit commander.
The Army enforces strict physical fitness scores for Officer candidates with an expected score between 240-270. Candidates receive very little privileges comparable to boot camp. However, Army OCS is different from boot camp in that instructors expect candidates to immediately act like leaders and take responsibilities.
The training academy is based out of Fort Benning in Georgia. Army OCS trains, assesses, and evaluates prospective commissioned officers for not only the U.S. Army, but also the Army National Guard and Reserve. Officer Candidate School adheres to the motto “Standards, No Compromise”.
The U.S. Army divides OCS into two phases:
The basic requirements for Army OCS candidates that are already enlisted personnel: A college graduate with at least a four-year degree. Between 19-32 years of age. Less than six years of Active Federal Service (AFS) upon arrival at Army OCS. Eligible for secret security clearance.
During fiscal year 2015, Army accessions policy limited applicants to six years of prior active federal service. This policy, coupled with the required bachelor's degree, prevented many experienced and talented NCOs from applying to OCS. A four year degree is still currently required, but the restriction to time in active federal service is no longer applicable.
Answer: About 3 years and 9 months. Since its inception in July 1941, the OCS motto has been "Standards! No Compromise!". and that applies to holding graduates to the same standards in 12 weeks as the other commissioning sources do in four years.
As the physical and mental exhaustion sets in, OCS transitions from a school to a course; a means to assess the candidate's character. When fatigue sets into the body and mind, your inner character begins to show.
An exemplary Soldier recently commissioned from the Officer Candidate School at 27 years of age with a wife and young child. Like all other OCS applicants, he had earned a bachelor's degree, was a U.S. citizen, was under 33 years of age, easily passed the physical fitness test and passed the accessions board.
Every Soldier in the Army accepts and expects his comrades to uphold the Army values, but the NCO is known as the standard bearer. There are few that can claim to hold the same deference to the standards of the Army.
Every leader has the opportunity and responsibility to identify exceptional noncommissioned officers and to mentor them about pursuing a commission. Guiding our nation's best toward the commissioned officer corps does not minimize the importance of NCOs. They are the "Backbone of the Army." Every Soldier deserves a great leader, and every NCO deserves the best commanding or supervising officer possible.
Throughout OCS, a candidate's typical day starts at 5:45 a.m. with physical readiness training and ends at 9 p.m., with continuous training or classes throughout the day.
Officer Training School is a part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accession and Citizen Development, formerly the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS). Named for the late Major General Jeanne M. Holm, the Holm Center falls under Air University (AU), which, in turn, falls under the Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ), an Air Force major command (MAJCOM) .
During peacetime, OTS is usually the smallest commissioning source in the USAF, producing fewer officers per year than AFROTC and the United States Air Force Academy ( USAFA ). However, it possesses the capability to surge when USAF requirements dictate and exceed the combined annual officer production of both USAFA and AFROTC. Given its shorter lead time for officer production (currently 8.5 weeks versus the typically 4-year pre-commissioning process for USAFA and AFROTC cadets), OTS is the commissioning source used to balance out USAF officer manning as deemed necessary by the Air Force.
Interested applicants for OTS typically contact Air Force recruiters specializing in officer (versus enlisted) accessions. Recruiters will screen candidates, provide application details and schedule applicants for the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT). The AFOQT covers numerous test batteries assessing math, verbal, and analytical skills, as well as measuring pilot and navigator/combat systems officer potential for those applicants aspiring to be aeronautically rated officers. AFOQT scores, college GPA, previous enlisted performance evaluations if a current or former enlisted member, and, if applicable, previous pilot skills as either an FAA-certified civilian pilot and/or as a U.S. Army warrant officer / Army Aviator will all figure into the selection process, although the selection process strives to employ a composite or "whole person" approach.
OTS is divided into three programs: Officer Training School (OTS) (formerly known as Basic Officer Training (BOT) and later, Total Force Officer Training (TFOT)) is the more traditional 8-week pre-commissioning program. Previously a 13-week program later reduced to 10 weeks, the renamed TFOT track transitioned to a 9-week program in 2014 and ...
With the exception of those officers previously commissioned as line officers through USAFA, AFROTC, the 8-week program of OTS, or the Air Force Nurse program of AFROTC, most chaplains, judge advocates general (i.e., lawyers), and medical personnel go through OTS-A.
After 5 weeks, the already-commissioned OTS-A students that have successfully completed the course graduate and move on to either follow-on technical training or their initial assignments. The remaining OTS students complete several other graduation requirements over the final 3 weeks of the course before receiving their commissions.
Per Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2013, personnel attending Officer Training School's 8-week program must have a baccalaureate level degree or higher in either technical or non-technical fields. Technical fields may include any ABET -accredited engineering degree or other fields in high demand by the Air Force. Non-technical degrees are more common, and therefore applying with a degree in such a field is very competitive. Applicants can apply for aeronautically rated or non-rated Line Officer of the Air Force ( LAF) positions. Rated positions are flying related -- Pilot, Combat Systems Officer (previously known as Navigator), Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Pilot, or Air Battle Manager. Non-rated positions fall into two categories: non-rated operations, such as missiles, intelligence, space, cyber, or weather, and non-rated support, such as aircraft maintenance, missile maintenance, logistics, civil engineer, security forces, or communications.
What to Expect During Training. COT usually begins on a Sunday which is designated as a travel day. Upon arriva l you have to sign a few forms, then they issue your room key/number, linens for the bed, poncho, camelback, and a reflective belt to be worn outside your uniform during hours of darkness.
On day three, the COT class gets divided into flights, or groups of 13-16 trainees. Each flight is assigned a flight commander (usually a captain or major) who provides instruction in a lot of the academic material and serves as your flight’s mentor as the course progresses.
SMT usually runs from 0430 – 1900 and lights out is at 2200 (you must be back in your dorm room by 2145). One of the most helpful things I did before arriving at COT was study the OTSMAN. You can find the link to the OTSMAN on the OTS website referenced above.
The first training day is long and consists of a lot of paperwork, standing in line, urinalysis, etc. They give you MREs to eat and you still wear your civilian clothes. This is also the day they take you to clothing sales in case you still need to purchase uniform items.
You can wait until you arrive at COT to purchase your uniforms, however, I would not recommend this option given the large number of students attending COT. The uniform store tends to be chaotic that first day, and it can take a while to get your uniforms back if they need alterations.