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'''Officer Candidate School''' ('''OCS'''), part of the [[Officer Training Command]] program at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], was for many years the main [[Wikipedia:Officer Candidate School (U.S. Navy)|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.<ref name="graduate"/> It later expanded to include officers in other fields, began admitting women to the program in [[1979]], and became the Navy's sole OCS location Officer Candidate School on [[April 11]], q[[1994]].<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pnav/is_199403/ai_3639315457 Navy Press Release], March 1994.</ref>  Following a [[2005]] [[Wikipedia:Base Realignment and Closure, 2005|Base Realignment and Closure]] decision, the program will merge merged with the OCS in Newport, Rhode Island.  The final class of officers at [[NAS Pensacola]] will graduate 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."<ref name="graduate">"Last officers graduate from OCS." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 22, 2007.</ref>