Misplaced Pages

Navy Officer Candidate School
Officer candidates from Officer Candidate School march in the Bristol Fourth of July Parade
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Train and commission U.S. Navy Officers
Part of	Officer Training Command Newport
Garrison/HQ	Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
Mascot(s)	Bulldog

The United States Navy's Officer Candidate School (abbreviated OCS) provides initial training for officers of the line and select operational staff corps communities (supply and CEC) in the United States Navy. Along with United States Naval Academy (USNA) and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), OCS is one of three principal sources of newly commissioned naval officers.

Selection

Qualified U.S. citizens who hold a bachelor's degree meet with an Officer Recruiter and prepare packages for consideration. Selection is competitive.

Officer Candidates are already associated with a designator when they begin their training at OCS. This is in contrast to USNA and NROTC, where trainees are not associated with a community until soon before commissioning.

Course of training

OCS classes are numbered by the federal fiscal year of their graduation (e.g., 09-19 would be the ninth class to graduate in fiscal year 2019).

Those in training at OCS are mustered at the pay grade of E-5 unless they are prior enlisted already holding a higher pay grade. While attending OCS the students hold the rank of Officer Candidate Under Instruction Second Class (OCUI2). Officer candidate uniforms are similar to those worn at NROTC programs and USNA, but officer candidates are never referred to as midshipmen.

Classes advance through four distinct phases, gradually taking on greater responsibility and preparing to commission:

In addition to constant physical training and rifle drill, instruction inside and outside the classroom includes:

• Naval history
• Engineering & weapons
• Damage control
• Division Officer Basics
• Leadership
• Seamanship
• Navigation
• Military law

Every action is scrutinized and shortcomings are swiftly corrected. Candidates who do not meet milestones can be held back in training or removed from the program. Adherence to an honor code is mandatory; violators are removed.

Upon successful completion of the 13-week course the candidates are commissioned as active duty Ensigns (O-1) in the United States Navy. The new officers then join their predetermined designator communities and are eligible for orders to the fleet or follow-on training.

History

The structure and course of instruction at OCS has changed many times over the years.

Part of the Post-War Holloway Plan, OCS was originally established to meet the demands of Cold War officer procurement. The successful OCS/Midshipman Schools of World War II era curriculum was followed. In addition to Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, the Navy still operated Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at NAS Pensacola, Florida. AOCS trained prospective naval aviators, naval flight officers, aviation maintenance duty officers, and air intelligence officers, while OCS trained all other naval officer line communities (e.g., surface warfare officers, submarine officers, special warfare (SEAL) officers) as well as select staff corps officers. However a small percentage of OCS graduates also entered naval aviation.

During the 1950s and through the 1990, OCS lasted for 16 weeks. The first 8 weeks most candidates wore enlisted uniforms. College graduates, recruited directly from civilian life, were placed in special rate of OCSA (E-2), "officer candidate seaman apprentice." They wore the seaman apprentice rate with blocked letter "OC" over rate insignia, while prior service candidates (referred to as "fleet men") wore their enlisted rate with a blocked letter "OC" over their badge. Chief petty officers wore their CPO uniform, complete with distinctive CPO cap device, and a blocked letter "OC" on left shoulder. Warrant officers (W-1) also continued to wear their uniform, complete with shoulder boards/collar insignia and warrant cap device, with blocked letter "OC" on left shoulder. In final 8 weeks all candidates wore the uniform of a midshipman fourth-class with blocked "OC" letter on left shoulder. They were addressed as ''officer candidate" and/or "mister." Beginning with Class 38 (April–August 1958) college graduates and fleet sailors were integrated in each company, with all chief petty officers and warrant officers (W-1) placed in their own company.

Aviation Officer Candidate School

AOCS contained two parallel track programs, the "traditional" AOCS for college and university graduates that operated on a year-round basis, and the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC) program during the summer and early fall. AVROC, similar in nature to the Marine Corps' Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program, split the AOCS curriculum in half, with college and university juniors attending the first half during the summer between their junior and senior years, then returning the following summer after college graduation to complete the second half of the program and receive their commissions. During the summer months, AVROC classes would typically enter every other week, with their graduations on alternating weeks from AOCS graduations. For AVROCs, the advantage of their program was that their pay entry base date was adjusted to the day they signed up for the AVROC program, typically two to three years before their commissioning. As a result, when they were finally commissioned, they received a higher base pay rate reflecting two to three years of service (i.e., O-1 over 2 years or O-1 over 3 years) versus their traditional nonprior service AOCS counterparts (i.e., O-1 less than 2 years). AVROCs were otherwise indiscernible from traditional AOCs.

Another subset of the traditional AOCs was the Naval Aviation Cadet (NavCad) Program. NavCads, who had some college, but typically lacked a bachelor's degree, completed the entire AOCS curriculum but were not commissioned upon graduation. Instead, they attended their entire flight school program as noncommissioned candidates and did not receive their commissions as ensigns until they completed flight training and received their wings as Naval Aviators or (prior to 1966) Naval Aviation Observers or (1966 and later) Naval Flight Officers. These former NavCads, commissioned officers without bachelor's degrees, would complete their initial fleet squadron tour and would then be sent to the Naval Postgraduate School or a civilian college or university as lieutenants on their first shore-duty assignment in order to finish their baccalaureate degree. AOCS stopped taking NavCad civilian and enlisted candidates in 1968, and the program was discontinued. The NavCad program was reintroduced in early 1986 owing to increased fleet requirements for naval aviators (naval flight officers were not procured via this later incarnation of NavCad), but the program was eliminated again in October 1993 as a result of the end of the Cold War and resultant manpower reductions in the active duty naval officer ranks.

AOCS was a department of the Naval Aviation Schools Command (NAVAVSCOLSCOM), a tenant command at Naval Air Station Pensacola, and organized as a regiment with three battalions until just following the Vietnam War, when it was reduced in size to two battalions. Each battalion consisted of several AOCS classes graduating every two to three weeks. Like OCS, AOCS also emphasized leadership and physical and military training. However, whereas OCS incorporated academics such as shipboard engineering and shipboard navigation, AOCS incorporated "the Big 3": aerodynamics, aircraft engines, and air navigation, as well as land and aviation water survival training that USNA, NROTC, Marine Corps OCS, and PLC, and USCGA and Coast Guard OCS graduates concurrently attended as part of NAVAVSCOLSCOM's Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) program for commissioned officer flight students.

Unlike OCS, AOCS classes were numbered by graduation date in the calendar, rather than fiscal year.

Unification and relocation to Newport

The first U.S. Navy OCS at Newport, Rhode Island, began operation in 1951 and was closed down in April 1993 when the programs were merged into a single OCS in the former AOCS facilities at NAS Pensacola.

In September 2007, OCS returned to Newport as a result of the 2005 BRAC Commission.

Marine Corps presence

At AOCS, all basic military training was administered by enlisted United States Marine Corps drill instructors, a holdover from World War II when AOCS and NavCad graduates were given an option of a commission as either an ensign in the Navy or a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps. This facet of the training was considered a point of pride by the graduates of AOCS and a mark of distinction they felt separated themselves from the graduates of the original OCS in Newport, as well as NROTC and the Naval Academy. Tradition dictated that when AOCS graduates were commissioned, the first salute they received was from their former Marine Corps drill instructor (returned with a silver dollar handshake).

When AOCS and OCS merged, the unified OCS program retained the Marine Corps tradition alongside Navy Recruit Division Commanders (RDC). This continuing Marine presence is the origin of the slogan "Navy owned, Marine Corps trained" and the distinctive blue "Bulldog" company guidons.

Notable alumni

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2015)

In popular culture

• The 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman is set at AOCS on a fictional naval air station in Washington state.
• Beginning with the 3 April 2019 episode of the TV series SEAL Team the character of Petty Officer Lisa Davis started attending U.S. Navy OCS.

See also

• Officer Candidate School (United States Army)
• Officer Candidates School (United States Marine Corps)
• Air Force Officer Training School
• Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Merchant Marine Academy

References

1. Brown, V. I. (18 March 2011). The Complete History of the Vietnam Conflict (Le Comédie Vietnamien): A "Popular" War That Won't Go Away. iUniverse. ISBN 9781450266376.

External links

• Official Site
• Navy OCS Foundation

v t e  United States Navy
Category
Leadership	Secretary of the Navy Under Secretary of the Navy Chief of Naval Operations Vice Chief of Naval Operations Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy 4-star admirals 3-star admirals 1864–1959 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present 2-star admirals House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces Senate Subcommittee on Seapower
Structure	Navy Navy Reserve Fleet Marine Force Expeditionary Combat Command Merchant Marine Units Active ships Future ships Aircraft wings Aircraft squadrons Carrier strike group Installations Naval Observatory Master jet base Operating forces Fleet Forces Command Commander Pacific Fleet Commander Naval Forces Europe – Naval Forces Africa Naval Forces Central Command Naval Forces Southern Command Naval Special Warfare Command Naval Reserve Forces Operational Test and Evaluation Force Naval Network Warfare Command Military Sealift Command Shore Naval Sea Systems Command Naval Air Systems Command Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Naval Supply Systems Command Naval Information Warfare Systems Command Fleet Cyber Command Naval Academy Naval Education and Training Command Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Office of Naval Intelligence Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center Naval Legal Service Command Naval Observatory Naval Safety Center Bureau of Naval Personnel Chief of Naval Personnel Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Navy Installations Command Navy Working Capital Fund Fleets Second Fleet Third Fleet Fourth Fleet Fifth Fleet Sixth Fleet Seventh Fleet Tenth Fleet Ships A–B C D–F G–H I–K L M N–O P Q–R S T–V W–Z Aircraft carriers Airships Amphibious warfare ships Auxiliaries Battleships Cruisers Destroyers Destroyer escorts Escort carriers Frigates Mine warfare vessels Monitors Patrol vessels Registered civilian vessels Sailing frigates Steam frigates Steam gunboats Ships of the line Sloops of war Submarines Torpedo boats Torpedo retrievers Unclassified miscellaneous vessels Yard and district craft
Personnel and training	People Officers Insignia Designators Enlisted Rates Ratings Classification Personnel Chaplain Corps Chief Deputy Chief Explosive ordnance disposal Medical Corps Dental Corps Nurse Corps Medical Service Corps Supply Corps Civil Engineer Corps JAG Corps JAG DJAG NCIS Boatswain's mates Hospital corpsman Naval Aviator SEALs Seabees Master-at-arms Operations specialist SWCCs Hispanic sailors Training Recruit Officer Candidate School STA-21 NROTC Naval University System (Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Academy, Naval Community College, Marine Corps University) BESS BFTT CNATT COMPTUEX NAWCTSD AIM Naval Chaplaincy School Naval Hospital Corps School Naval Justice School United States Armed Forces School of Music Navy Senior Enlisted Academy Navy Supply Corps School Nuclear Power School JMTC TOPGUN USNTPS Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Equipment	Uniforms Awards and decorations Badges Current fleet Future fleet Reserve fleet Current aircraft Weapons Naval reactors
History and traditions	History "Anchors Aweigh" Blue Angels Continental Navy Ensign Fleet bands Fleet Week Jack Line-crossing ceremony National Museum Navy Band Ceremonial Guard Navy Flag Navy Hymn Navy Memorial Navy service numbers Navy Weeks Revolt of the Admirals Sailor's Creed Ship commissioning Ship decommissioning Ship naming conventions Tingey House USS Constitution WAVES Wetting-down United States battleship retirement debate

v t e United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks

Pay grade / branch of service Officer candidate O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7 O-8 O-9 O-10 Wartime grade Special grade Insignia Army CDT / OC 2LT 1LT CPT MAJ LTC COL BG MG LTG GEN GA GAS Marine Corps Midn / Cand 2ndLt 1stLt Capt Maj LtCol Col BGen MajGen LtGen Gen Navy MIDN / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM FADM Air Force Cdt / OT 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen GAF Space Force Cdt / OT 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen Coast Guard CDT / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM PHS Corps OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM NOAA Corps OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM No universal insignia for officer candidate rank No official insignia and not currently listed by the Army as an obtainable rank. John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: (collar) (epaulettes) These ranks are reserved for wartime use only, and are still listed as ranks within their respective services Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created Grade has never been created or authorized

• United States Navy schools and training
• Military officer training in the United States