Squadron Officer School

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Squadron Officer School (SOS), is the United States Air Force leadership school for company grade officers (CGOs). The school is based at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, and is part of Air University.

The school traces its roots to the Air Corps Tactical School founded in 1946. SOS became an arm of Air Command and Staff College in 1950 when the Tactical School closed. Colonel Russell V. Ritchey, founder and first commandant, opened the Squadron Officer Course at Maxwell that same year. In 1959, SOS became a separate Air University school reporting directly to the Air University commander.