Basic Officer Leaders Course
The Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) is a two-phased training course designed to produce commissioned officers in the United States Army. It is a progressive model designed to produce US Army officers with leadership skills, small unit tactics and certain branch specific capabilities.
BOLC A
For almost all Army officers, Phase I of BOLC consists of pre-commissioning training, either through Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Officer Candidate School, or the United States Military Academy. It is at this stage the officer candidate learns basic leadership skills and basic small unit tactics.
For many direct commissioned officers (generally only medical providers such as doctors and nurses, as well as lawyers), BOLC A consists of a six-week Direct Commission Course (DCC) at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The primary purpose of this post-commissioning training is to allow those officers who generally have little to no prior military experience to obtain the skills necessary to continue on to BOLC B. DCC may not be required for all direct commissioned officers with prior service experience, but it is still required for active duty officers who participate in the Judge Advocate General Corps' Funded Legal Education Program.
BOLC B
The second phase of the Basic Officer Leaders Course - previously referred to as the Officer Basic Course (OBC) and BOLC III - is designed to develop new combat-effective officers and train them to perform their wartime duties as commissioned officers. It is during this phase that they learn the specifics of the systems and equipment they will use in their duty unit.
- Chemical, Engineer, and Military Police officers train at the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
- Infantry and Armor officers train at Fort Benning, Georgia.[1][2]
- Signal Corps officers train at Fort Gordon, Georgia.[3]
- Military Intelligence officers train at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
- Adjutant General, Finance and Chaplain Corps officers train at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
- Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery officers train at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.[4]
- Logistics (Transportation, Ordnance, and Quartermaster) officers train at the Army Logistics University (ALU) at Fort Lee, Virginia.
- Aviation officers train at Fort Rucker, Alabama.[5]
- Army Medical Department (AMEDD) officers train at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.[6]
Notes
- BOLC II was discontinued at the end of 2009, and as of 2010, any required training has now been merged into BOLC B (formerly BOLC III).
- Until June 2013, Army Judge Advocates, complete their training 'backwards', first attending BOLC B at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS) in Charlottesville, Va., and then attend the DCC course at Fort Benning. As of the 191st Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (JAOBC), the direct commissionees will attend DCC first and then attend BOLC B at TJAGLCS.
- Chaplains, who are direct commissioned, complete initial training and BOLC in one setting at the US Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS) located in Fort Jackson (South Carolina). The initial phase is called Chaplain Initial Military Training (CIMT) with the remaining three phases consisting of Chaplains BOLC (CH-BOLC). The four-phases are usually referred to as CH-BOLC, with little distinct separation between the different phases.
See also
- Armor BOLC
- Engineer Officer Basic Course
References
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