Officer candidate school

An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typically, officer candidates have already attained post-secondary education, and sometimes a bachelor's degree, and undergo a short duration of training (not more than a year) which focuses primarily on military skills and leadership. This is in contrast with a military academy which includes academic instruction leading to a bachelor's degree.

Not to be confused with Warrant Officer Candidate School.

France[edit]

In France training for officers is at: École polytechnique, École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, École des officiers de la gendarmerie nationale, École navale, École de l'air, École militaire interarmes, École militaire supérieure d'administration et de management and École de santé des armées.

in Dresden

Offizierschule des Heeres

at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base in Fürstenfeldbruck near Munich

Offizierschule der Luftwaffe

in Flensburg

Mürwik Naval School

In Germany training for officers is at:

Myanmar[edit]

In Myanmar, the primary officer training school is Officers Training School, Bahtoo.^[3]

South Korea[edit]

In South Korea, Officer Candidate School (학사사관) were modeled on OCS programs of the United States Armed Forces. Qualified persons may earn a commission by passing rigorous basic combat training lasting 3 to 4 months.

The Republic of Korea Army has the highest number of officer candidates each year. All applicants must hold bachelor's degree, unless they are currently non-commissioned officers in active duty, or hold specialized certifications or licenses, such as doctors and attorneys. Most applicants will take a written exam, physical tests, and several interviews for consideration. Admitted applicants are ordered enlistment in the Army Cadet Military School in Goesan. At graduation, candidates earn a commission with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

The Republic of Korea Navy and the Republic of Korea Marine Corps have maintained the most rigorous candidate school program in South Korea. Both ROKN and ROKMC officer candidates earn commissions together at Republic of Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, while their training programs are distinct. ROKMC candidates will be sent to Marine Corps School in Pohang, while ROKN candidates remain in Changwon. Petty officers in active duty who have earned the bachelor's degree may also apply to the OCS program.

The Republic of Korea Air Force's Officer Training School (OTS) is a popular and competitive officer training program in South Korea. ROKAF OTS trains the majority of its candidates for air defense forces and military police. While OTS also trains pilots, the majority of ROKAF pilots come from the Air Force Academy or ROKAF ROTC programs.

United Kingdom[edit]

Initial officer training (IOT) for commissioned officers in the British Armed Forces is undertaken at one of three military academies in the United Kingdom, specific to service branch.

For the British Army, IOT is undertaken at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMA Sandhurst, or RMAS), commonly known merely as Sandhurst, located in the town of Camberley, near the village of Sandhurst, Berkshire, England, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) south-west of London. The stated aim of RMAS is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as many other men and women from overseas militaries, are trained at Sandhurst. Standard duration of training for regular officers at Sandhurst lasts 44 weeks.

For the Royal Navy (RN), its IOT is undertaken at the Britannia Royal Naval College (Britannia RNC, or BRNC), also known as HMS Dartmouth (a stone frigate), at Dartmouth in Devon, whilst IOT for the Royal Marines (RM) is carried out at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM). For Royal Air Force (RAF) IOT, that is undertaken the Royal Air Force College Cranwell (RAFC Cranwell, or RAFC), located within the RAF Cranwell airbase. In a similar vein to Sandhurst, Dartmouth and Cranwell also train future officers of many different foreign and Commonwealth militaries. The Royal Navy commissioning course at Dartmouth is 30 weeks, whilst the Royal Marines course lasts 15 months and is split between CTCRM and BRNC. Royal Air Force officer cadets undergo a 24 week course at RAFC.

Once graduated and commissioned, officers of all services may undertake further specialist post-graduate training appropriate to their military profession, such as flying training, engineering, logistics; and these will invariably multi-service training establishments. One example being Amport House, where military chaplains for all service branches receive their military theology training until it closed in 2020; it has since been relocated to the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre at Shirivenham.

The is a 12-week-long program held at Fort Moore, Georgia for both prior service and non-prior service candidates. The Army is the only U.S. branch in which those with no prior military service must first attend Basic Combat Training. There are also Army National Guard Officer Candidate Schools that allow an Army National Guard soldier to train within the "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" training program; this is called "Traditional", as it is the original method for the Army National Guard, and takes 18 months to complete. In addition, Army National Guard soldiers have the option to attend the federal course or to attend a 7-day-per-week accelerated eight-week program in conjunction with other states. Both federal and state programs are accredited by the U.S. Army Infantry School. Upon completion of either OCS programs, graduates are commissioned as Second Lieutenants (2LT) and then attend the rest of their Basic Officer Leadership courses. In 2006, the officer commissioning programs changed, making the entire process, "Basic Officer Leadership Course", occurring in two phases (BOLC-A and BOLC-B). Phase A is the original commissioning source (OCS, ROTC, USMA, Direct). BOLC B is the Officer Basic Course which trains the new officers into their Basic Branch skills and includes three weeks of basic soldiering skills.

Officer Candidate School of the United States Army

The is at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. All Marine officers are initially trained at OCS, with the exception of those who come from the United States Naval Academy. Entrance to OCS is obtained through the Platoon Leaders Class and Officer Candidates Course programs. Candidates who enter the Platoon Leaders Class attend either two six-week sessions or one ten-week session during college. Those who enter the Officer Candidates Course attend one ten-week session after graduation from college. Naval ROTC midshipmen in the Marine Option also attend for one six-week session prior to commissioning. Graduates are commissioned as Second Lieutenants (2ndLt) in the U.S. Marine Corps. Regardless of commissioning source, all Marine Corps officers attend The Basic School (TBS) prior to beginning training for their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).

Officer Candidates School of the United States Marine Corps

The is a 13 week course located at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. It has been based there since the fall of 2007 after relocating from NAS Pensacola, Florida. In the 1990s, OCS had departed Newport to combine with Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at Naval Air Station Pensacola. On its return, it brought the tradition of USMC drill instructors (a la An Officer and a Gentleman) from NAS Pensacola. Upon completion, graduates are commissioned in the rank of ensign (ENS) in the U.S. Navy.

Officer Candidate School of the United States Navy

The of the United States Air Force is located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. There are three programs offered at OTS. The first is Basic Officer Training (BOT), for those seeking a commission to the active duty USAF. It is a 9-week-long program consisting of two parts. In the first part, officer trainees learn military skills, USAF history, and other classroom and skill courses needed for serving in the Air Force. In the second part, they are given ranks from Officer Trainee O-1 (2d Lt) to Officer Trainee O-6 (Col), and learn how to be a leader, including the opportunity to lead other Officer Trainees. Graduates are commissioned as Second Lieutenants (2d Lt) in the U.S. Air Force. The second program is Commissioned Officer Training (COT), a five-week introductory program to the USAF for those who have been directly commissioned in the USAF, primarily as chaplains, doctors, and lawyers. Trainees in COT range in rank from O-1 to O-5 and will report directly to their respective units after training. The third program is the Academy of Military Science (AMS), a detachment of the Air National Guard Readiness Center that is embedded at OTS. AMS is a six-week program designed to train and commission officer candidates to fulfill USAF and Air National Guard (ANG) requirements. The AMS program covers the same subject areas as BOT and COT, but also provides education in ANG heritage and the role of the "Citizen Airman". The majority of AMS students are prior-enlisted and many may also have civilian careers. Once AMS candidates successfully complete all OTS graduation requirements, they receive the oath of office and receive state and federal commissions as second lieutenants in the ANG with both state and federal responsibilities.

Officer Training School

The Officer Candidate School of the is at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, where it has been located since August 1998. Prior to August 1998, Coast Guard OCS was located at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center (RESTRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia. OCS is a 17-week-long program, the longest of the 5 military services. Graduates are commissioned in the rank of ensign (ENS) in the U.S. Coast Guard and may report to Coast Guard cutters, sectors, or directly to flight training.

United States Coast Guard

are also maintained by the active State Defense Forces of the United States by direction of their respective state military departments and by the state's National Guard Adjutant General. Similar to their state's National Guard counterparts who take a dual federal and state military commission, military officers who are commissioned through a SDF Officer Candidate School take a sole military commission to the state that they support, recognized by their state's military code and 32 U.S.C. § 109. In states with full integration of state military resources (SDF and National Guard counterparts) the curriculum is often similar, with the National Guard curriculum taking on additional requirements to meet federal recognition (referred to as FEDREC^[4]). For example, California maintains both Officer Candidate Schools at Camp San Luis Obispo, with the State Guard OCS being 11-12 months and the National Guard OCS being 16-18 months, both celebrate a joint graduation.^[5]

Officer Candidate Schools

During WWII, the U.S. Army Signal Corps ran an Officer Candidate School located in the war zone labeled as the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), at Camp Columbia, Brisbane, Australia. From photographs taken by the U.S. Army, it is apparent that this course was integrated with the U.S. Army's Signal Corps OCS program at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. Contemporary records indicate that the course was branch immaterial – perhaps the first branch immaterial course in the Army. Unfortunately, there is little information about the particulars of how SWPA OCS was operated, such as its length, subject matter content, training routine, etc. In particular, its years of operation and other reliable statistical information are not readily available.

[6]

In the United States Armed Forces, Officer Candidate School (OCS) or the equivalent is a training program for college graduates and non-commissioned officers, soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and coast guardsmen to earn commissions as officers. The courses generally last from six to seventeen weeks and include classroom instruction in military subjects, physical training, and leadership.

People may earn a commission in the United States Armed Forces through OCS or OTS, by staff appointment, through Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or through one of the five federal service academies.