Officer Training School trainees participate in a baseline expeditionary leadership problems exercise during their third week of training at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Oct. 3, 2012. This exercise required trainees to move as a group without verbally communicating. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class William Blankenship)
Officer Training School trainees participate in a baseline expeditionary leadership problems exercise during their third week of training at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Oct. 3, 2012. This exercise required trainees to move as a group without verbally communicating. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class William Blankenship)
by Airman 1st Class William Blankenship
Air University Public Affairs
12/4/2012 - MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) -- Beginning in January, the Air Force Officer Training School's Basic Officer Training course will be shortened by three weeks, officials announced Dec. 4.
Cutting the course from 12 weeks to nine weeks was the result of finding efficiencies in the course's scheduling processes and curriculum, said the OTS commandant.
"Our staff was able to adapt its operations and curriculum in several innovative ways to save money and Airmen's time while still producing fully qualified and capable second lieutenants," said Col. Thomas Coglitore. "We've also beefed up our total force academics in order for our trainees to better understand the cultures between the active, Reserve and Air National Guard components."
The commandant said, shortening the course falls in line with Air Education and Training Command's cost-conscious culture initiative, or C3, which challenges AETC units to seek more efficient ways of using available resources.
"By developing and delivering qualified second lieutenants in a new way, we preserve our resources," he said.
Coglitore said estimated savings of about $1.9 million may be gained from the change.
"There is a potential for much larger savings as the result of the decreased course length and an increase in the number of classes offered annually by allowing for a more efficient training pipeline flow," he said.
In fiscal 2012, OTS officials graduated 642 second lieutenants from its basic officer training course and are expected to graduate 1,055 new officers in fiscal 2013. BOT graduates both active-duty and Reserve line officers. OTS's officer production numbers fluctuate in response to variations between projected and actual Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC accessions and Air Force end-strength requirements.
"If we get hit with a national emergency and need to commission more officers quickly, OTS gives our nation the surge capacity to do it, and this new construct increases our maximum capability," said Coglitore.
The syllabus is now pared down to the minimum necessary to fulfill federal commissioning standards.
"There are 116 tasks directed by Air Force instructions to commission someone as an officer and 10 more from the Joint Chiefs of Staff," he said. "I am comfortable that we are not lowering standards, but becoming more efficient with how we schedule and conduct the training."
Producing motivated officers of character who embody the American warrior ethos and are culturally aware, expeditionary minded and prepared to lead is the mission of OTS. Blending those principals with the culture of cost consciousness in today's Air Force assures the future of air power, said Col. Scott Wiggins, OTS vice commandant.
"When things have been done a certain way for a long time, and while tradition is important, sometimes you have to weigh tradition versus progress," he said. "We always need to be willing to ask why do we do something a certain way and how can we do it better."
Comments
12/15/2012 4:07:30 PM ET Kudos to the lead-from-the-front warriors who cranked out the research to shorten this course. They should be rewarded and applauded. I am even more excited to see the research 7 years from now supporting the idea of a course that is 3-weeks longer and I super look forward to seeing those lead-from-the-front warriors rewarded and applauded. I can't wait to see the OPR bullets Kudos
David , Washington DC
12/12/2012 1:09:28 PM ET I'm going to have to agree with the comments that place an emphasis on the integrity and character on the individual instead of the means of commisioning. I have heard all of the stereotypes of officers telling me who is more qualified who doesn't trust enlisted folks etc etc. In a nutshell it boils down to an individual. I've known plenty of irresponsible hypocritical officers that have come out of OTS the Academy and ROTC. I've also seen responsible fully qualified and amazing leaders from all three commissioning programs. I've seen civilans off the street and prior service- some good some bad. The bottom line is that people said the same when they changed the BMT program around also that enlisted Airmen will be better or worse because of it. Honestly there are people I've worked with for years that are awesome Airmen who put 110 percent every day and there are brand new Airmen that do the same. Does the length of the course really matter Or maybe just maybe there is a li
2cents, MARB
12/11/2012 5:23:02 PM ET Future OTS Grad AFB You are right Wisdom and leadership come from experience. And you get more experience in four years than in nine weeks. What's next an OTS app on your iphone Sometimes wisdom and leadership only come through rigorous training. Longer commissioning programs make you earn it and allow more time to find character flaws for individuals who aren't cut out to be officers. OTS you are putting your reputation on the line for these nine week wonders.
Maj Griswold, Japan
12/11/2012 11:19:02 AM ET I dont know about that the length is the issue. I think what some are describing is people that dont take anything away from the training. I agree that 9 weeks vs. 4 years may not be the same. When it comes down to it you can have someone that took nothing from their 4 years. You can have someone that took everything from their 9 weeks. Wisdom and leadership come from experience. If the only experience you have is 4 years in a classroom you wont always do better then someone that has done 10 years in the field. Its the person that makes a good officer not 3 weeks. Cant wait to apply to OTS.
Future OTS Grad, AFB
12/10/2012 11:54:36 PM ET I think it's good to try to be wise with taxpayers' money. However the problem with this change is too much emphasis on saving money or at least that is how the article came across.There is a lot more to producing a good officer than finding a way to check the minimum number of boxes required by federal law. The new program adheres to minimum commissioning requirements. However that does not mean that the change is prudent or in good judgement.There are too many bad officers that slipped through the cracks and engage in unwise or illegal activity and end up being kicked out.The value of a little longer commissioning program is that it gives a little more time to find personality or character weaknesses for individuals who are simply put not fit to be commissioned officers.I am the product of a four year ROTC commissioning program. I can say one thing for certain that amount of time allowed the faculty to identify and weed out individuals who are not officer materi
Maj Griswold, Japan
12/7/2012 2:40:48 PM ET irregardless is not a word. Hope yer not one of them edumucated officers.
fedup, somewhere
12/7/2012 8:40:49 AM ET Irregardless of the commissioning source....if you see a 2lt that is on point it is becasue the Master Sergeant standing behind him is keeping him out of trouble. If they want to make a SMART choice get rid of the age cutoff.....Zero Tolerance shoudl extend to age disrimination as well. Good enough to serve as enlsited should eb good enough to serve as an officer. Anyone who thinks junior officers succeed on their own is delusional.
JG, SD
12/7/2012 8:32:35 AM ET Having been through and graduated OTS in the last 6 months I can tell you first hand that there is a lot of wasted time and relatively unproductive things in the current program. The last 2 weeks we were basically just killing time not much going on. Activities like flickerball and mini mac although somewhat fun and team building are really not necessary. OTS has the full range of individuals from extremely competent prior service master sergeants to sheltered kids who literally were living with their moms before they got to Montgomery. I agree with the other comments that being a leader is all about the individual and I fully believe the OTS provides a good environment to start those inexperienced future officers down the road to leadership. Three more weeks of a simulated leadership environment is not going to make a big difference. The program is already designed with a rigorous sink or swim approach and the staff makes it very clear to the trainees that it will not get easi
OTS grad, GA
12/7/2012 8:24:57 AM ET I think it is a great idea to shorten the class since we already have specialized classes that cover the areas they are cutting out. I know my eyes roll when I have to attend multiple classes that all cover the same ares. This will hopefully focus attention on the areas that are important during OTS.
Junior, Scott AFB
12/6/2012 7:11:02 PM ET All this will do is push more inexperienced Officers into doing way too much with less. For some not all this will simply be setting them up for failure in a BIG way. It's unfair for any brand new Lt USAFA ROTC OTS to be put in a position like this and then expected to keep their head above water. It's bad enough their first 2 years is spent fighting the butter bar stigma. This will take away even more credibility. If you want to cut down on spending how about we take a look at retention rates from commissioning sources. Pretty sure the most expensive Lt-producing source has the lowest by a wide margin. Fairly certain we could cut down costs just by cutting their campus in half. Zoomie indeed
RDC, keystone
12/6/2012 6:18:27 PM ET The one thing that some people don't seem to understand is you clearly can't compare the three commissioning sources against each other. Like mentioned OTS is a highly competitive program. These individuals are selected based on potential and experience much like a resume..they have degrees. There may have been an 85 percent selection rate sometime in the past but that is not the norm. Just ask all those non-selects for non-rated jobs. ROTC you basically just have to apply and stick with it. You can pay yourself or be fortunate enough to receive a scholarship. USAFA is basically the same way. Much of its selection criteria is based on the individuals academic ability and sometimes who you know or who you are. Bad apples and superior officers come from all sources equally. The most issues I have seen from any commissioning source is the USAFA. The immaturity level due to age of some of these graduates shows in the operational AF. I agree that there is a lot of wasted time at OTS
Rob, EAFB
12/6/2012 4:28:13 PM ET It really doesn't matter if you go through OTS ROTC or the Academy. Either way you're not going to come out and instantly be a leader. I'm a recently retired Officer who had 11 years of prior-enlisted experience. I went through OTS in 01' and taught ROTC the last two years. I've also been out to the Academy coordinating training events. I've worked around a lot of folks who have commissioned from each...and it's not the commissioning source that makes the person a leader..it's the person with the help of experiences and good mentors along the way. If you take care of your people and treat them with respect and care...they'll take care of you.
Retired, Montgomery Al
12/6/2012 10:15:46 AM ET Fiscal constraints seem to guide everything we do in the military. Cutting OTS by a few weeks will have little detrimental effect on the students curriculum or overall finished product. Cutting OTS by a few weeks isn't the problem selection of candidates however is. The powers to be in the AF would much rather choose a young adult straight out of college with little leadership experience over an active-duty enlisted member with leadership and expeditionary experience. This corporate practice of hiring young inexperienced college grads over older active-duty members is depressing and poor form.
Jesse Cook, Colorado
12/6/2012 9:23:25 AM ET My only beef with this is the Colonel's statement that OTS produces fully qualified and capable 2nd LTs. No commissioning source does that. A 2nd LT might be fully qualified right about the time they pin on 1st LT. I was one of those 2nd LTs once and I didn't feel qualified at all when I got to my first duty station. It took lots of OJT mentoring and falling flat on my face to get qualified. Also this will not lead to an increace in the percentage of prior enlisted selectees. Civilians have a higher selection rate because they have degrees that are in demand such as Nursing engineering meterology and foriegn languages. Enlisted degree seekers tend to major in fields which are not in such high demand such as social sciences arts and general business. Not always but generally this is the case.
Chris Kimball, Indiana
12/6/2012 8:43:18 AM ET The problem with many of the serices Officer training programs is they spent ALOT of time hazing candidates. When one arrives at OTS they are already an Airman.....the training should focus SOLELY on how to be an officer. 30 seconds to be downstairs in formation ready to gowith the dorm ready for inspection etc. serves no purpose other than to build up the ego's of the cadre. Cut out the crap and OTS could be done in 6 weeks no problem. OTS isn't to weed out folks the selection process PRIOR to selection serves that purpose....requirement of completing enlisted basic training seves the purpose of the basics.....treating a candidate like an Airman Basic doen't teach them how to lead and as a taxpayer wastes my money.
JG, SD
12/6/2012 5:56:19 AM ET Powerpoint email wear a reflective belt that's really all you need to know to be an officer.
Hoooah, Behind the desk
12/6/2012 4:47:39 AM ET I am a prior service OTS grad '04. Shortening the course will only degrade the credibility we have as AF officers. For example the Marine Corps Basic School is 6-months months long and turns out some pretty good officers from my experience. I very clearly understand the difference between the services and missions but we should not undercut ourselves or our future AF leaders in the name saving a paltry 1.9M.
Jim, Italy
12/6/2012 3:13:47 AM ET There definitely needs to be an effort to focus selections on prior enlisted applicants as this will give the Air Force more for their money. After all it is all about the money. Make no mistake that the priority was not to make the program better but make the program cheaper and then we will figure out a way to spin it so that it sound like we are making it better. Hopefully it truly is better.
Maj P Formerly SSgt P, Remote
12/5/2012 10:08:12 PM ET @jm Wash DC I hear you about weeding people out but at OTS we also had good wash rate when you contemplate all that is required to get picked up for OTS especially if you are a prior. I think OTS had less tolerance for buffoonery from a lot of the stories I have heard for other programs graduates. Knew a guy that lied about failing a room inspection and then taking weekend liberty anyway he was gone within the week. I think the only way the shorter time will work is if you stay a lower classmen for the same amount of time but your upper classmen time is cut shorter. Just like many things in the AF now OJTjob performance will make or break our people now.
themadhatter, NC
12/5/2012 7:46:06 PM ET The AETC C3 folks should take a good look at Undergraduate Cyber Training at Keesler. It is a very bloated six months long and the amount of time new Lieutenants spend doing nothing in casual status is ridiculous. It has been around for a couple of years now so there should be plenty of data to look at. Cheers.
DC, AETC
12/5/2012 6:32:15 PM ET It's disappointing reading some of these comments. I am a SSgt with less than two years from getting my bachelor degree and have been preparing myself to apply for OTS for the past two years. I have operational experience that Academy cadets cannot possibly have after spending four years in a glorified university. Granted there are definitely merits to attending the Academy and if I had the chance to do so I would have but calling OTS graduates inferior and undertrained is downright ignorant. If Academy officers would get to know their enlisted troops better as leaders should they would see that the enlisted side of the house has more respect for prior-e brass than Academy brass. Or does everyone think chest-bumping the POTUS during an Academy graduation was a good idea
Stripes to Bars, Edwards AFB CA
12/5/2012 5:30:47 PM ET jm people don't slack off the last two weeks the course was purposefully designed to have lots of free time. There were entire days where we did nothing and yet had to be in the flight room. Huge waste. Glad to see they're cutting out the fat. Would have preferred to see the course stay at 13 weeks and pack it full of operationally related stuff at the end prior to leaving but...Oh well. The insistance that USAFA and ROTC produce better officers is ridiculous. They do not study officership full time for four years. I've actually seen some incredibly clueless folks come out of the Zoo and from ROTC dets. No idea whatsoever about how the operational side works. Scary. Proof that you can have horrible officers even with a four year program. You get great officers and crap officers out of all three commissioning sources. It's the quality of the individual that counts. My persional opinion...if you've not been through OTS to see what the program is like then you're opini
BTDT, us
12/5/2012 4:47:39 PM ET The USAF would be better served if every line officer was prior service and went through OTS. A minimum of 3 years as enlisted would suffice. ROTC and AFA should go the way of the dinosaur and there would be only one pipeline for line commissions OTS. Perhaps this 9 week training could be held at the vacated AFA compound in Colorado Springs. One pipeline that includes Reserve and Guard personnel as well.ROTC was developed because new Lts needed to be mass-produced for the Civil War the AFA is a throw-back to elitist concepts of the upper crust leading armies. No I didn't receive my commission via OTS but am prior service since 1988.
Mr. McChord, McChord Field
12/5/2012 3:01:38 PM ET The problem is that cutting down the course never cuts down on the wasted time. If people start slacking off the last two weeks of a 12 week course because they have senioritis they will slack off the last two weeks of an 9 week course. And while ROTC and Academy Cadets don't spend all their time learning officership 4 years does give you a lot of time to weed out some of the bad apples.
jm, Wash DC
12/5/2012 2:07:32 PM ET Glad to hear this it's long overdue. When I went through in 2008 we spent two hours traveling between Maxwell and Tuskegee just to hear a former AF maintenance officer who kept referring to himself as a Tuskegee Airman talk about his career for three hours. Complete waste of time and money. Towards the end of the program we took a three-hour bus ride to Eglin to experience a non-AETC base. We saw a room full of servers ate at the base dining facility and returned to Maxwell. A full day wasted.
Brian, Hill
12/5/2012 1:57:07 PM ET Hey maybe this means they'll pick up more prior-service folks for OTS... people with actual military experience instead of civilian degree-holders with perfect GPAs
12OT02 non-select, Planet Earth
12/5/2012 1:40:04 PM ET I went through OTS in 2004 and yes there was a lot of wasted time. At least now it appears OTs are getting alot more expeditionarycombat training than we ever got. Frankly we spent most of our time writing memos. Even a 9-week program today is probably better than the 12-week program we had then.
Jeremy, San Antonio TX
12/5/2012 12:15:17 PM ET PJB seriously You think in 4 years at the Academy cadets only undergo a total of 9 weeks of officership training While there cadets are fully immersed in military training both formal and informal for the entire 4 years. I do think that a few years after commissioning there is little difference in the quality of officer but have you considered maybe this is because the initial standard is set high by 2Lts commissioned by the Academy. I remember how the OTS grads acted in pilot training for the first few months until they figured out that they couldn't act like teenagers anymore.
Maj, Home for a change
12/5/2012 11:41:33 AM ET As an OTS Grad and a prior-enlisted curriculum developer I can say that there was a significant amount of wasted time and wasted activities in the 12 week OTS course. Much respect to the Academy Grads who deal with that environment for 4 years but the amount of time you're trained doesn't make you a leader it's the quality of your character and abilities. If I remember right it's a SNCO responsibility to guide and mentor junior officers not tear them down as 9 week wonders. I'm quite sure I read that somewhere.
OTSGrad, East Coast USA
12/5/2012 11:41:30 AM ET This is in response to the comment about OTS officers being inferior to officers from ROTC or the Academy. I disagree. There's going to be idiots where ever you go but just because OTS is shorter does not mean they suck more. I'd say nearly half my OTS class were prior enlisted too. I don't think many people think about where they come from being priors etc. I've worked with others who came from the Academy and ROTC and it seems like we're all on the same page. From what I gather after talking with those from ROTC OTS is just ROTC squished into 3 months of suckage...now 9 weeks. Also I see no problem with the new 9 week program. I was in for 13 weeks and towards the last 2 weeks there was quite a bit of downtime. We're all officers it doesn't matter where we commissioned from.
AM, FL
12/5/2012 10:58:27 AM ET No one said AFA or ROTC was better what I said was 9 weeks isn't representative of the leadership work they put in. If you honestly think there's 9 weeks of work in 4 years of ROTC or USAFA you're fooling yourself. Cripes ROTC summer camp is approx half that meaning you think there's a month of work in 4 years of ROTC traditional commissioning sources.
JKB, KS
12/5/2012 9:54:50 AM ET Responding to comment about ROTC and AFA. Student cadets in these programs are in the program to get their undergraduate degrees along with a commission. They don't spend the entire 4 years learning officership etc. OTS trainees arrive at OTS with a degree in hand. I would guess that if the numbers were crunched the time spent on officership-leadership training that student cadets receive in ROTCAFA would probably be similar to what trainees get at OTS.
PJB, AL
12/5/2012 8:21:19 AM ET After serving for 25 years I agree that the cuts aren't going to help those 9 week wonders to survive first contact....but I also wouldn't make a blanket statement that ROTC and USAFA officers are clearly superior...I've worked with all three and if they can survive to 1st LT it's a wash. We always wanted someone to write a research paper entitled The USAFA Does it create social misfits or just attract them
JW, DC
12/5/2012 4:17:43 AM ET I know a way to cut costs and keep programs that benefit the AF. Stop hiring contract labor for land scaping maintainence and put these types of responsibilities back on the units designated for such taskings.
E Guy, AOR
12/4/2012 8:27:54 PM ET I believe that this decision is a poorly thought out response to the Service's budgetary dilemma. Too often especially now training and qualification is sacrificed with too little regard for the opportunity cost. A 12-week OTS is not some quaint tradition that we've suddenly felt the need to outgrow. 12 weeks was already an early-2000s cut-back that many leaders then felt deprived young officer candidates of a mutch-needed character forging and mental conditioning required to effectively lead and grow into tomorrow's generals. With the fact that other commissioning sources spend no less than four academic years training and conditioning new officers this change now places OTS in a position of irrelevancy.
Tim Cummings, Tennessee
12/4/2012 5:35:54 PM ET This would be less troubling if the list of OTS selectees each time wasn't 85 percent from out of service but it's still a joke. The idea that you can accomplish what ROTC and USAFA take 4-5 years to do in 9 weeks is a sham. And the nonsense idea that this will produce national emergency necessary officers fast and efficient shows the academics are making ops decisions. Shorten basic shorten OTS trim the standards continue to set and accept de-militarized standards from personnel... enough is enough. We've diluted our pool in the interest of speed and it's showing. We are first and foremost a professional fighting force and you aren't a professional military member let alone leader after 9 weeks.
JKB, KS
12/4/2012 3:56:41 PM ET Well this certainly adds a lot of credibility to the USAF officer corps...especially in the eyes of our sister Services who are already suspect of our ability to conduct ourselves a leaders and officers and not as administrators. So we lengthen the course for BMT at Lackland and shorten the training for the offiders who are to lead them Probably should have lengthened the course to add some actual leadership officership and ethics training.
