ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OCS

The Army National Guard is the Army’s combat reserve. Organized and equipped in the same manner as the Regular Army, it has same need for quality small-unit leaders. Following World War II, the Army National Guard, recognizing the immense benefits of OCS, developed OCS programs to provide those leaders. The first OCS programs started in 1946 and by the start of the Korean War, four states had such programs. During the 1950s, a special 10-week Reserve Components OCS program of instruction commissioned hundreds of officers into the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. By the 1960s each state had its own program. Like their Fort Benning counterpart, these programs have undergone significant changes since their first classes commissioned.

Today, Army National Guard Regional Training Institutes offer programs in two different formats to accommodate reserve component soldiers. The traditional OCS program is a 16-month course of instruction conducted from April to August of the following year conducted in four phases.

  • Phase Zero – is four drill weekends designed to prepare Officer Candidates for the OCS program.

  • Phase I – is a 15-day annual training period held in the Summer.

  • Phase II – is conducted one weekend per month for a period of 13 months.

  • Phase III – is a final 15-day annual training period, culminating with graduation and commissioning.

    The Army National Guard also offers an accelerated OCS program, which is a 56-day, full-time program. The accelerated program is the most physically and mentally demanding program, and while the majority of candidates in the accelerated program are enlisted Soldiers, the failure rate is consistently over 40%. Notable graduates of this program include Member of Congress Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard received her commission as a Military Police officer and served in Iraq.

    Upon successful completion of either Army National Guard OCS program, graduates receive commissions as second lieutenants in their respective state National Guard. Upon completion of the Basic Officer Leader Course II, these officers receive federal recognition as second lieutenants and are indistinguishable from their Federal OCS, ROTC or Military Academy graduate counterparts.

    On 12 June 1998, to further integrate the Army, the Army National Guard OCS Phase III candidates began training alongside their active duty counterparts at Fort Benning. Officer candidates from the National Guard and Army Reserve conduct the final phase of training before commissioning during their two-week annual training period. The Army trained over 650 future officers in the first year, with similar numbers completing training in subsequent years.