All Air Force Reserve officer candidates to train at Maxwell

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ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Starting in October, Air Force Reserve Command will send all candidates for reserve line officer training to the Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Previously, only rated officer candidates - pilots, navigators and air battle mangers - attend OTS at Maxwell AFB.  

The first combined class of rated and nonrated Air Force Reserve officer candidates at Maxwell AFB starts Oct. 11 and graduates Jan. 18.

Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, announced this change and other total force initiatives Sept. 13 during a ceremony at Maxwell AFB. Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, AFRC commander, attended the ceremony with General Moseley.

"In light of the ongoing total force integration initiatives, Air Force Reserve Command has secured enough OTS class seats to accommodate all Air Force Reserve line officer candidates," wrote General Bradley in a memo to his commanders in June.

Each year Air Force Reserve Command receives 155 officer candidate training slots for unit reservists, individual mobilization augmentees and Active Guard Reserve fulltime reservists.

In the past, AFRC did not send all of its officer candidates to OTS because of a lack of class seats available. Eighty of the candidates went to OTS, and 75 attended training at AMS.

One major difference between OTS and the Academy of Military Science is the duration of the training. OTS is 12 weeks; AMS is six.

During the first six weeks of OTS, officer trainees are "underclassmen." They go to classes, and focus on physical training, drill and ceremonies, and standardization. During the final six weeks of training, the "upperclassmen" develop as leaders and mentors for a new group of underclassmen. They attend field training exercises, projects and small arms training, while building team skills by overcoming challenges in a simulated deployment environment.

Many of the officer candidates who attended AMS were prior enlisted. The only prior-enlisted people who were eligible to attend OTS were the ones applying for a rated position.

General Bradley said sending all line officer candidates to OTS will standardized their training and enhance force development of newly commissioned officer. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)

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