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  1. #1
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    Default Initial Officer Selection

    I am doing some comparative research into initial officer selection processes.

    The Brit system termed the AOSB (Army Officer Selection Board) is a two phase exercise comprising the two-day AOSB Briefing followed by, if successful, the four-day AOSB Main Board.

    During the ASOB Briefing candidates "will be assessed on physically and practical exercises designed to test your leadership and teamwork potential." While during the Main Board; "The officers assessing you will be interested in your approach to problems and challenges, and your attitude towards other members of the group – both as a team player and as a team leader."

    The Royal Marines have the POC (Potential Officers Course) which claim; "The POC is designed to see whether you are likely to meet the challenge. It is a gruelling test of your physical fitness, and we are assessing your determination and commitment. But we are looking for a little more than that: your leadership potential and intelligence, how you communicate and whether you can keep a sense of humour even when exhausted. Can you think on your feet when the going gets tough?"

    As far as the US is concerned I have a document Policies, Procedures, and People: The Initial Selection of U.S. Military Officers.

    Two questions.

    One, is this document an accurate and current reflection of the subject matter? Or is there better out there?

    Two, it is not evident from the quoted document whether any of the US initial officer selection processes involve group activities such as the Brit examples. Is this so?

    Clarity would be appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Default Army OCS

    Having just finished Army OCS I can say the initial selection was non existent. I went before a board of three Officers, they asked a few trivial questions. Basically tried to make sure I was not completely incompetent. About 25% of the candidates is OCS were garbage (many did not make it through). So I do not give much to the initial selection.
    The worst part of the initial selection was the one year wait to get into OCS. Frankly, many highly qualified future Officers were dissuaded by the long wait.
    There are no group activities until OCS.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by jpk View Post
    Having just finished Army OCS I can say the initial selection was non existent. I went before a board of three Officers, they asked a few trivial questions. Basically tried to make sure I was not completely incompetent. About 25% of the candidates is OCS were garbage (many did not make it through). So I do not give much to the initial selection.
    The worst part of the initial selection was the one year wait to get into OCS. Frankly, many highly qualified future Officers were dissuaded by the long wait.
    There are no group activities until OCS.
    Thank you for the response. If I may ask a question or two (assuming you to be a 'young' officer with the training fresh in your mind).

    One, (in the military context) do you believe (or were you taught to believe) that leadership can be taught (off a zero base if necessary) or that those with 'natural' leadership ability routinely demonstrate this skill by the age of officer selection (18-22) which can be honed and developed but not taught?

    Two, cadets learn to assess each other pretty well during an Officer Cadet Course and know who the 'no-hoper's' are. Do you consider it fair to to such individuals to let them start a course only to be failed after months of sweat and toil (and humiliation)? And does their presence on the course distract the other course members?

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    Default

    From YouTube we get these clips on:

    ASOB - Briefing

    ASOB - Main Board

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    Army OCS assumes that Officership can be taught on the fly, sometime after OCS. There is a minimal amount of selection.

    They go through the right steps, but they provide no quality control.

    There are teamwork exercises, but people that fail them and prove themselves unable to either lead or follow routinely graduate.

    I still believe that OCS ought to be selection based, where qualified, board selected candidates are evaluated in a modified SFAS setting and judged on (primarily) integrity, flexibility and determination.

    The current setup is a watered down, 12 week USMA, which is not surprising considering that the men that started it were VMI/USMA sourced Officers, and it hasn't changed as much since 1941 as one might hope.

    Just my opinion, as a grad.

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    The best wartime recruiting scheme is imo to approach proved NCOs who showed the necessary potential.

    The best peacetime recruiting scheme is imo still to be attractive for a far too large quantity of applicants and then be able to pick the most promising ones in an assessment centre approach (btw, the latter was pioneered by the Prussian army pre-WWI).


    The situation as of now seems to be that
    * we apply peacetime mechanisms because we're 'not enough' at war for a real wartime mode
    and
    * we fail to attract enough applicants for a well-done peacetime mechanism.

    This "we" means "just about every country on earth".



    IIRC even wartime officer courses of the Wehrmacht (can't vouch for this) required to dismiss 40% of those who attended the course back to their NCO life.

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