Officer Candidate School (OCS), part of the Officer Training Command program at Naval Air Station Pensacola, was for many years the main OCS facility of the United States Navy, a twelve-week program that made ensigns of recent college graduates and other civilians.
The Navy's Officer Training Program was initially established in 1939 by the Naval Reserve Act. In 1955, the Aviation Cadet Program at Naval Air Station Pensacola became the Aviation Officer Candidate School.[1] It later expanded to include officers in other fields, began admitting women to the program in 1979, and became the Navy's sole Officer Candidate School on April 11, q1994.[2]
Following a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision, the program merged with the OCS in Newport, Rhode Island.
The final class of officers at NAS Pensacola graduated on September 21, 2007. The guest speaker, deputy chief of Naval operations Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, reaffirmed the place of NAS Pensacola in the Navy: "The commitment of the Navy to Pensacola is deep. We are partners — we have been, we will be, and that is not going to change."[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Last officers graduate from OCS." Pensacola News Journal, September 22, 2007.
- ↑ Navy Press Release, March 1994.
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