Katana VentraIP

Officer candidate

Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilian who applied to join the military directly as an officer. Officer candidates are, therefore, not considered of the same status as enlisted personnel.

In several NATO countries, the term officer designate (OF-D) is used. In the NATO rank scale, it comes below the grade of OF-1 and above the grade of Student Officer.[1] Ranks designated as OF-D include dokimos efedros axiomatikos in the Hellenic Army, and chuẩn úy ("officer designate") in the Vietnam People's Army. In the German Armed Forces, officer designates are enlisted personnel and have a corresponding rank code.

Finland[edit]

In the Finnish Defence Forces, officer candidate is a service rank, equivalent but senior to sergeant, that is given to conscripts who completed the Reserve Officer School (RUK). At the end of their conscript service, officer candidates are promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.

National Armed Forces Academy (Akademi TNI): a four-year undergraduate program that emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions, preparing men and women to take on the challenge of being officers in the armed forces (Army: , Navy: Naval Academy, Air Force: Air Force Academy);

Military Academy

: a 28-week program that is attended by senior NCOs or warrant officers from all services;

Officer Candidate School

Career Officer Program for college graduates: a 7–8 month program that is designed to recruit civilian professionals (e.g., doctors, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists) into the armed forces;

Pilot Short Service School: a 34-month program to train pilots to serve in the armed forces

In the Indonesian National Armed Forces, an officer candidate (calon perwira) is one who wants to earn a commission as an officer in the armed forces.


Officers in the Indonesian National Armed Forces are commissioned through one of four major commissioning programs. Upon graduation the candidates are promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, thus becoming commissioned officers. The four programs are:

U.S. Army OCS Foundation website

U.S. Army official OCS website

U.S. Army official OCS Recruiting website

U.S. Coast Guard OCS Foundation website

U.S. Navy OCS Foundation website

U.S. Navy official OCS website

U.S. Air Force Officer Training School website

U.S. Marine official OCS website