If you join the Air Force with a college degree already in hand, you’ll begin your career with Officer Training School.
Officer Training School
Find the leader in you
Phase 01:Indoctrination Phase 02:
Development Phase 03:
Application Phase 04:
Transition
If you join the Air Force with a college degree already in hand, you’ll begin your career with Officer Training School. This rigorous, nine-and-a-half-week program is organized into four phases designed to challenge you both mentally and physically. Throughout the course of the program, you’ll develop the skills and confidence you need to lead the men and women of the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant.
In the first phase of your training, you’ll focus on teamwork, discipline and standardization. You’ll acquire the skills you need to form and operate as a team as you begin to learn the fundamentals of leadership, military management and Air Force culture.
Phase two of your training allows you to further develop your understanding of the fundamentals of leadership, military management and the profession of arms. You’ll focus on learning the history of the Air Force, basic combat skills and the importance of cross-cultural competence as it relates to the Air Force mission.
Phase three focuses on the practical application of the lessons learned in the first two phases. You’ll experience the pressures of leadership and command by training in the new lower class, as well as by leading your peers through officer trainee wing positions. At the end of this phase, you’ll be required to pass individual leadership evaluations at the Leadership Reaction Course in order to advance to the final phase of Officer training.
The final phase of the program prepares you to make the transition from training environments to the operational Air Force. This phase concentrates on mentoring and the practical transition into the traditions and everyday life of an Air Force Officer and culminates with your graduation from Officer Training School.
Training and academics
Here are some of the training and academic courses you may complete during the Indoctrination phase of your training:
Training and academics
Here are some of the training and academic courses you may complete during the Development phase of your training:
Training and academics
Here are some of the training and academic courses you may complete during the Application phase of training:
Training and academics
Here are some of the training and academic courses you may complete during the Transition phase of your training:
- TRAINING:
- Blue-Line Ceremony
- In-processing
- Uniform Purchase
- Dorm Instruction
- Drill Block
- Confidence Course
- Project X
- Physical Fitness
- ACADEMICS:
- Academic Orientation
- Military Customs and Courtesies
- Profession of Arms
- Air Force Leaders
- Airman’s Creed
- Personal and Group Goals
- TRAINING:
- M-9 Weapons Qualifications
- Basic Expeditionary Leadership Problem Solving (BELPS)
- Air Force Combatives Program (hand-to-hand combat)
- ACADEMICS:
- Military Briefings
- Airpower from Pre-WWI to Present Day
- Handling Culture Shock Effectively
- Military Law
- Leadership Authority and Responsibility
- Standards and Accountability
- TRAINING:
- Assault Course
- Small-unit Tactics
- Preparation for the Arrival of the Lower Class
- Leadership Reaction Course (LRC)
- Base Defense Field Exercises
- ACADEMICS:
- Leadership and Management Case Studies
- Group Dynamics
- Professional and Unprofessional Relationships
- Advocacy Briefing Measurement
- Air and Space System Capabilities
- TRAINING:
- Air Expeditionary Force Exercise (AEF)
- First Officer Assignment
- Career Day
- Dining Out
- Graduation
- ACADEMICS:
- Army, Navy, Marine Corps Panel
- Oath of Office
- Senior Officer Perspective
- Financial Briefing
Responding to covid-19
Officer training school update
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Air Force has made updates to Officer Training School to ensure the safety of our new recruits, our active-duty Airmen, and their families. OTS has now been accelerated from nine and a half weeks to eight weeks.
Learn moreGet started on your journey.
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