The 117th Regiment (Tennessee Military Academy) is the Regional Training Institute (RTI) and a National Guard Education Center for Region D. The Academy is alive with tradition and a forerunner in the development of the military leader. The tradition begins with the location. TMA is located in Smyrna, Tennessee, at the Grubbs/Kyle Training Center, former site of Sewart Air Force Base. Classroom fa
cilities consist of a 300-seat auditorium, a 126 theatre-seat style classroom, and 15 classrooms of various sizes to provide the best in small group instruction. All classrooms, dining facility, administration and supply rooms are under one roof for the finest in training support. TMA graduated its first OCS class in 1958 and in 1999 graduated its 1,800+ officer candidates. Military occupation specialty qualification (MOSQ) courses are taught at the Tennessee Military Academy, Nashville, and Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Since Guard soldiers drill one weekend a month and attend two weeks of annual training during the summer, it takes a Guard air defender about two years to achieve MOSQ as a 14R and about one year as a 14M.
