Officer Training School
Published February 11, 2015
Mission
Produce leaders of moral character
Personnel and resources
The Officer Training School staff of 150 full-time active duty, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members includes 103 officers, 41 enlisted and six civilian personnel, as well as 10 Air Force Reserve officers. OTS is a group-level command with three squadrons and an Air National Guard detachment. OTS trained 2,278 officers in fiscal year 2015 (1,012 line officers, 1,266 non-line officers). OTS graduates enter all Air Force components: active duty, Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard.
The OTS complex on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, consists of two academic buildings with auditoriums, four dormitories, dining facility, physical conditioning center, parade field, running track, and sports fields. Additionally, OTS maintains an Air Expeditionary Force garrison training site, a 200-acre field training facility, high-ropes course, confidence course, and two expeditionary assault courses. OTS also hosts 2,400 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets during their summer field training encampments, as well as 280 Air Force civilians attending the Civilian Acculturation and Leadership Training program throughout the year.
History
The U.S. Air Force initiated OTS at Medina Annex, Lackland AFB, Texas, in 1959. The school subsequently moved to Maxwell in September 1993 as part of the Air Force chief of staff's vision to align all officer education and training programs under Air University. Its predecessor, the Officer Candidate School, was established in 1942 at Miami Beach, Florida, with the mission of training and commissioning officers from within the enlisted ranks. OCS moved to Lackland in the spring of 1944 and gained the additional mission of training officers directly from civilian status in September 1951. OCS closed its doors with its last graduation in June 1963.
The first OTS class comprised 89 trainees, including 11 women. Accession numbers have varied over the years, from 323 the first year to a high of 7,894 officers in 1967.
Total Force Officer Training
The purpose of TFOT is to train and commission second lieutenants to fulfill Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve requirements, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC. TFOT accession numbers fluctuate in response to variations between projected and actual Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC officer accessions and Air Force end-strength requirements.
The TFOT program consists of nine weeks of military training and leadership development for college graduates, leading to a commission as a second lieutenant. The goal of this training is to instill high standards of conduct and provide cadets with the essential military knowledge and skills needed for effective performance as Air Force leaders.
To ensure OTS graduates have the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective Air Force officers, OTS faculty members provide instruction and guidance in critical officership areas such as leadership studies, professional knowledge, communication skills, military studies, and field leadership application.
TFOT instructs these areas concurrently, emphasizing team building, followership, and knowledge acquisition during the first half of training, followed by leadership application during the second half. Lectures, readings, guided discussions, classroom exercises, field leadership exercises and after-hours training activities combine to provide graduates with an in-depth understanding of their roles as future Air Force commissioned officers.
TFOT is, above all, a leadership laboratory. One of the highlights is the Leadership Reaction Course. The LRC is a field exercise using a specialized obstacle course where small groups of students practice handling stress in situations that test their ability to reason quickly and lead effectively. The program also features an Air Expeditionary Force exercise, a capstone field leadership assessment event during which students demonstrate their ability to integrate and apply the communication and leadership skills learned throughout the course.
Once TFOT cadets successfully complete all OTS graduation requirements, they receive the oath of office and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the Air Force. Most of these new lieutenants attend follow-on training after OTS. Training specialties include pilot, navigator, air battle manager, cyberspace, space, missile operations, and many other support career fields. The length of training varies according to the specialty.
Commissioned Officer Training
COT is a five-week program that provides initial officership training to Air Force judge advocates, chaplains, health professionals (doctors, nurses, dentists, biomedical science corps officers, and hospital administrators), and medical scholarship recipients. COT conducts training for Air Force active duty, Guard, and Reserve officers. There are six COT classes per fiscal year.
COT also executes a 13-day Reserve COT, or RCOT, program for extremely difficult to recruit Reserve medical officers as determined by their respective functional managers. There are two RCOT classes per fiscal year.
COT students receive direct commissions prior to training and their military rank is awarded based on their professional credentials in their respective fields, typically ranging from second lieutenant to lieutenant colonel. The program began in September 1996 and combined three previous courses: Air Force Officer Orientation Course, Health Professions Officer Indoctrination Course, and Military Indoctrination for Medical Services Officers.
The COT program covers the same subject areas as TFOT. However, the program is more compact than TFOT due to its shorter length and the recognition given for the advanced professional and educational experiences of the students. Upon completion of COT, judge advocate and chaplain officers normally attend career specialty schools offered at Maxwell. Medical scholarship recipients report back to various medical schools located throughout the country, and most health profession officers report to their operational units throughout the world.
Motto and Honor Code
The OTS motto "Always with Honor" is reflected in the school’s honor code: "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." The code is a standard of personal conduct for each cadet. OTS expects each graduate to adopt the code as the ethical standard maintained throughout their Air Force careers.
For more information
For more information on Air Force OTS, go online to http://www.au.af.mil/au/holmcenter/OTS/. If you are interested in a career as an Air Force officer and considering applying to OTS, contact your local Air Force recruiter via the Air Force Recruiting web site, http://www.airforce.com. If you are currently an active-duty Air Force enlisted member, contact your base education office or military personnel flight.
(Current as of March 2016)