Enlisteds tapped for OCS

[USMCRET6391]

By Melissa Vogt and Jim Tice
Times staff writer

Senior field commanders have chosen 78 enlisted soldiers and warrant officers to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga., later this year and in 2007, according to information released Wednesday by the Army Human Resources Command.

The current group of selectees range in rank from private first class to chief warrant officer 3. Soldiers below the rank of sergeant will be promoted to E-5 before attending the 14-week candidate course at Fort Benning, Ga.

The soldiers selected were assigned to classes starting Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Jan. 14, Feb. 11, Feb. 25 and May 13. But the 2007 dates are subject to change, personnel officials said.

Under the direct selection OCS program, major command, field army, corps and division commanders can select up to 30 candidates annually, while installation commanders in the United States and Puerto Rico can select 20 each.

Unlike the regular OCS selection program, candidate files and applications do not have to undergo a formal and competitive Board review at the Human Resources Command.

In this group, the single location with the most soldiers among those selected was Fort Lewis, Wash., with 13 soldiers. Fort Polk, La., was represented with six selections, and three posts each had five soldiers selected — Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Jackson, S.C. and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Officer Candidate School trains selected personnel in the fundamentals of leadership, basic military skills and professional ethics, preparing them to be officers. After finishing the 14-week school, participants are commissioned as second lieutenants.

After commissioning, the lieutenants attend the Basic Officer Leadership Course.

For additional information about either program, soldiers should contact a supervisor in their chain of command.