The U.S. Army Officer Candidate School

The U.S. Army Officer Candidate School trains, educates, branches, and commissions competent and committed leaders of character to win in a complex world.

OCS History
During the summer of 1940 General George Marshall recognized the absolute importance of establishing rigorous training facilities for new officers. His vision for this officer training was first put into action at Fort Benning, Georgia. Brigadier General Asa L. Singleton, Commandant of the Infantry School, established the plan for the modern Officer Candidate School for Infantry. His p

lan went into effect in July 1941 as the Infantry, Field Artillery, and Coastal Artillery Officer Candidate Schools. Other branches later followed with their own Officer Candidate Schools. The first Infantry OCS class began with 204 candidates, and on September 27, 1941, graduated 171 second lieutenants. General Omar Bradley, former Commandant of the Infantry School, is credited with establishing the foundation of training still used in OCS today. General Bradley emphasized rigorous training, strict discipline and efficient organization. These tenets remain the base values of today’s Officer Candidate School. After World War II, Infantry OCS was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the Ground General School. Subsequently all other Officer Candidate Schools were discontinued to include the Infantry OCS which was eliminated on November 1, 1947. A shortage of officers during the Korean conflict caused the Department of the Army to re-open Infantry OCS at Fort Benning on February 18, 1951 and lengthen the course from 17 to 22 weeks. The Infantry Officer Candidate School became the First Officer Candidate Battalion, Second Student Regiment. The strength of OCS increased rapidly. As one of eight branch programs, Infantry OCS included as many as 29 companies with a class graduating every week. During the Korean War, OCS commissioned approximately 7,000 Infantry officers. On August 4, 1953, the Department of the Army reduced OCS from eight to three programs: Infantry, Artillery, and Engineer, and with the onset of the Vietnam conflict, further reduced the OCS program to only 2 branches: Infantry and Field Artillery. During the height of the Vietnam Conflict, Infantry OCS produced 7,000 officers annually from five battalions. Towards the end of the conflict, Female OCS was established and operated at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A Branch Immaterial OCS was additionally established at Fort Benning in April 1973. The two programs merged in 1976 to produce a program very similar to the modern OCS consisting of a 14 week training cycle. OCS has continued to grow and adapt to meet the needs of the Army. The addition of C Company in June 2000, and D Company shortly after increased the Battalion strength to four line companies. The most recent addition, E Company, was activated in October 2005 and began training in January of 2006. Each company trains up to 160 officer candidates during a class and conducts up to three classes a year. This increased operational structure is a reflection of OCS’ ability to transform and execute its mission to meet the needs of a fast pace and changing Army. The mission of OCS will always remain constant: train selected personnel in the fundamentals of leadership, basic military skills; instill professional ethics, evaluate leadership potential, and commission those who qualify as second lieutenants in all sixteen basic branches of the Army.

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Our Story

OCS History
In 1913, Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Leonard Wood, hosted a volunteer summer military camp for East Coast college students. Upon its success, this model was repeated at the Presidio at Monterey, California and at Plattsburg, New York. As World War I began in 1917 the camp at Plattsburg, New York, became an important officer training facility. The continuing critical need for Infantry Replacement Officers led to the creation of the Reserve Officers Corps Army Training Camp at Langres, France in 1918. These so-called “Ninety Day Wonders,” who graduated from an abbreviated pre-commissioning and Infantry Officers Basic Course, were sent directly into combat, often with only six weeks of training.

Between World War I and World War II, the Civilian Military Training Corps provided voluntary summer camps to train Soldiers for service in the Enlisted Reserve. Following three successful completions, the graduates became eligible to apply for a U.S. Army Reserve Commission. By 1938, the United States Army began considering options for a systemized approach for rapidly preparing candidates for commissions in the event that large numbers of officers would be needed to lead in a rapidly expanding force for a future world war.

During the summer of 1940, Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. George C. Marshall, recognized the importance of establishing rigorous training facilities for new officers. His vision for this officer training was first put into action at Fort Benning, Georgia. Brigadier General Asa L. Singleton, Commandant of the Infantry School at the time, established the plan for the modern Officer Candidate School for Infantry. His plan went into effect on July 5, 1941 as the Infantry, Field Artillery, and Coastal Artillery Officer Candidate Schools. Other branches later followed with their own Officer Candidate Schools. The first Infantry OCS class began with 204 candidates, and after a 13 week course, graduated 166 Second Lieutenants on September 27, 1941 with Gen. Marshall as the guest speaker of the graduation ceremony.

Brigadier General Omar N. Bradley, Commandant of the Infantry School from March 4th, 1941 to February 10th, 1942, is credited with establishing the foundation of training still used in OCS today. Brig. Gen. Bradley emphasized rigorous training, strict discipline and efficient organization. These tenets remain the base values of today’s Officer Candidate School. After the first class, OCS grew to 17 weeks and some 67,056 Infantry second lieutenants graduated from OCS during Word War II. From June, 1947 to January, 1951, Infantry OCS transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the Ground General School. Subsequently thereafter, all other Officer Candidate Schools were discontinued to include the Infantry OCS, which was inactivated on November 1, 1947.

A shortage of officers during the Korean War caused the Department of the Army to re-open Infantry OCS at Fort Benning on February 18, 1951 and lengthen the course from 17 to 24 weeks. The Infantry Officer Candidate School became the First Officer Candidate Battalion, Second Student Regiment. The strength of OCS increased rapidly. As one of eight branch programs, Infantry OCS included as many as 29 companies with a class graduating every week. During the Korean War, OCS commissioned approximately 7,000 Infantry officers. On August 4, 1953, the Department of the Army reduced OCS from eight to three programs: Infantry, Artillery and Engineer.

With the onset of the Vietnam conflict, further reductions concentrated the OCS program to 2 branches: Infantry and Field Artillery. During the height of the Vietnam Conflict, Infantry OCS produced 7,000 officers annually from five battalions. Towards the end of the conflict, Female OCS was established and operated at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A Branch Immaterial OCS was additionally established at Fort Benning in April 1973. The two programs merged in 1976 to produce a program very similar to the modern OCS program consisting of a 14 week training cycle.

OCS has continued to grow and adapt to meet the needs of the Army. The addition of Charlie Company in June 2000, and Delta Company shortly after, increased the Battalion strength to four line companies. The most recent addition, Echo Company, was activated in October 2005 and began training in January of 2006. In 2008, “The Surge,” a term that refers to the 2007-2008 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn strategy change and subsequent manning increase, necessitated a rapid increase in the output of commissioned officers. USMA and ROTC commissioning sources remained a 4 year program, and OCS adapted to meet this task by shortening the POI from 14 to 12 weeks.

OCS is currently a 12 week course. Phase 1, the Basic (Black) Phase consists of physical development, leadership and ethics, basic soldier skills, Operation Orders (OPORDs) and Troop Leading Procedures (TLPs) from weeks 1-5. Phase 2, the Intermediate (Blue) Phase consists of field leadership exercises (FLXs) and evaluations from week 5-9, and Phase 3, the Senior (White) Phase consists of history, officership, mentorship, senior leadership seminars and a staff ride to Andersonville National POW monument and museum during weeks 9-12.

Additionally, the 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment (OCS) is responsible for the Direct Commissioning Course (DCC). DCC directly commissions professionals from their civilian special field into the Army. DCC primarily focuses on commissioning lawyers for the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, but also includes directly commissioning officers into the Cyber Branch as well. DCC is 6 weeks long and focuses on basic officer tasks and military customs and courtesies. Training events during DCC are military customs and courtesies, Oath of Office, National Infantry Museum tour, leaders reaction course, risk management, BRM, squad FLX and graduation. DCC conducts 3 courses per fiscal year and graduates over 300 directly commissioned officers annually.

This increased operational structure is a reflection of OCS’ ability to transform and execute its mission to meet the needs of a fast pace and changing Army. The mission of OCS will always remain constant: Train selected personnel in the fundamentals of leadership, basic military skills; instill professional ethics, evaluate leadership potential, and commission those who qualify as second lieutenants in all seventeen basic branches of the Army.

Location

Fort Benning

Contact the school

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Telephone

(706) 545-9161

Website

http://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/199th/ocs/

Address

6510 McVeigh Drive
Fort Benning, GA
31905

General information

Our Alumni Association can be found @ www.ocsalumni.com

OCS Yearbooks from 1946-1986 are being uploaded to the Donovan Research Library Digital Collection. Yearbooks can be found @ http://www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/OCS/index.htm
Be sure to check back as the process of scanning nearly 200 yearbooks is ongoing. If you have a yearbook you would like to donate, please contact the Hall of Fame/Special Projects officer through our staff duty number listed below.