Direct Commission & Officer Training School

Additional opportunities are available for college graduates interested in becoming USAF officers. Candidates for direct commission enter the USAF as trained professionals in the medical, legal, engineering or religious fields. Special consideration is given to their unique educational backgrounds and experience, and as a result direct commission candidates are not required to undergo the standard military training regimen. Only approximately 11% of officers entering the USAF are judged eligible for Direct Commission. Candidates are admitted via Direct Commission due to the Air Force's need for their specialized professional skills; all are screened quite thoroughly. As a result, only a recruiter will be able to answer specific questions about eligibility as well as questions about rank upon enlistment. Direct commission officers typically make a standard 4-year service commitment.

The quickest route for the majority of college graduates considering becoming USAF officers is to apply to Officer Training School. Approximately twice as many candidates become officers through OTS as through direct commission. To be eligible for OTS candidates must have graduated or be within 270 days of graduating from an accredited college or university. Candidates entering Officer Training School receive an intensive 14-week training program located at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama, and upon its completion they obtain full commissions as USAF officers.

Officer Training School is one of the USAF's most demanding training programs. It is a highly stressful training course, and severely tests each candidate both physically and academically. Becoming an officer through the OTS process carries a 4-year active duty obligation for non-rated officers, a 6-year obligation for navigators (after completion of undergraduate navigator training), and an 10-year commitment for pilots (after completing undergraduate pilot training). Students and college graduates interested in OTS should speak to their local recruiter.

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