The United States Army Officer
Candidate Schools Alumni Association

I attended OCS through the New York Army National Guard, Empire State Military Academy (ESMA) Class of 1966 and went on to get a Regular Army commission and complete 34 years of service. The curriculum came right out of Ft. Benning and phases I and III were conducted on state property adjacent to the West Point USAMA grounds. We had senior West Point cadets as our tactical officers who were interspersed with the rest of the OCS cadre. Interestingly, because this was during the summer these cadets were running beast barracks and giving us much of the same treatment. However, I must say that the discipline and instruction was very professional and high quality giving candidates the benefit of not only officership from an Army and National Guard perspective, but also giving us a piece of West Point's Duty, Honor, Country ethos. I know that this training served me well and took me through Vietnam and all the way to the Army War College while in the military. Many of the lessons and internal discipline that I learned while in OCS has carried with me my entire life and I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to attend.