In response to an article titled: So You Want to Become an Air Force Officer.
You forgot to mention the 4-week commissioned officer training school option. Officer Training School is divided in to Basic Officer Training (BOT) and Commissioned Officer Training (COT). Interested applicants, like my husband, typically contact Air Force recruiters if they are interested in becoming a commissioned officer. Recruiters will provide application details, and they will also schedule applicants for the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) if necessary. This test covers assesses math, verbal, and analytical skills, as well as measures pilot and navigator potential. To have a reasonable chance at acceptance, either the AFOQT scores, college GPA, or previous pilot skills must be in good standing. Applicants will be given an opportunity to apply for Air Force career fields that correspond with the applicants’ expertise or desires. My husband has a nursing degree, so he chose to remain an Emergency Room Nurse for the USAF. Applicants will be interviewed by active Air Force officers and will receive a medical examination. Applicants will be notified of acceptance or rejection by their recruiter. Applicants will enlist in the Delayed Enlistment Program, and will be assigned an officer training school class begin date.
COTS is a 4-week course for professionals who have received a direct commission. Note the word “professionals.” In many cases, not all, these officers have advanced degrees such as chaplains, doctors, and lawyers. They often enter at an advanced rank, such as First Lieutenant or even Captain. There is a formula used when determining rank, and it includes your education prior years of military service, as well as length in your career. The higher rank is basically rewarding them for their high level of education or for their number of years in the career field. My husband entered as a First Lieutenant because of his previous 8 years of service in the USAF combined with his years of experience as a civilian registered nurse. It is possible for officers to be commissioned up to the rank of Colonel if they possess enough experience. All chaplains, lawyers, and medical personnel go through COTS.
Commissioned Officer Training School is responsible for instilling character, knowledge, and motivation essential to serve in the United States Air Force into the officers. The 23rd Training Squadron at Maxwell Air Force Base provides the 4-week Commissioned Officer Training course. The 23rd Squadron also holds a 13-training day Reserve Commissioned Officer Training (RCOT) program for hard-to-recruit medical officers in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.
For COTS, you will be placed in a small dorm room with one other person. The rooms have no TV or refrigerator, but you do get a computer. (There is a TV in the lounge.) You can expect to wake up every morning Monday through Friday at 4am. At 5am, you will have physical conditioning for an hour. Then it’s breakfast and personal time. Then from 730 to 1800 or 1900 in the evenings you will be in class learning proper officer dress, life, benefits, saluting, marching, Air Force history, etc. You also take part in a physical fitness test which you get severely graded on. So, before you go, get in shape! Later in the course, you will be required to participate in an exercise, much like ropes course, that measures your readiness to be an Air Force Officer. Be prepared to sleep in a tent on a cot, climb and repel walls, as well as guide your team through obstacles.
During your stay at Maxwell AFB, you are stuck on base for the first weekend. Afterwards, you are free to travel within a 120 mile radius on the weekends. Montgomery, where Maxwell is located, is full of history that you can check out while you’re there. However, I should mention that your weekend privileges can be taken away if the “head honchos” see or hear of something foul, wrong, or bad.
So far my husband enjoys being a commissioned officer, and so do I. When time comes for an overseas trip, he only goes for 4 months, unlike the year tours others make. Even then, he only has to go if there is a true need for him somewhere. Otherwise, his name gets thrown back in the pile for another few years.
Being a commissioned officer definitely has its perks, pay and privileges being the biggest.
