• Officer Candidate School teaches the Army's future leaders.Statuesque Silhouette image by La de Boheme from Fotolia.com
  
  Army Officer candidates are trained to lead enlisted soldiers in war. To perform this job, most of them are trained at the Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS). While at OCS, candidates have many required duties. Some, like saluting and reporting procedures, may seem unnecessarily arbitrary but are steeped in tradition and they measure each candidate's level of discipline and attention to detail.
  
  

Academics

• Officer Candidate School first and foremost a school. Therefore, the officer candidate's ultimate duty is to absorb the information taught and perform well on tests. There are several lectures every class day on topics such as leadership skills, report writing and sexual harassment. Students also have free time during the evenings. Even though the officer candidate can choose how to use this time, most use it to complete homework and hold group study sessions.
  
  

Saluting and Customs

• All officer candidates have a duty to observe proper military customs at all times. These customs come from a rich history and following them instills discipline and camaraderie in candidate classes. Officer candidates must render a hand salute to all superior officers and senior candidates they meet. When an officer or noncommissioned officer (NCO) enters a room, the first candidate to see the officer must call the rest of the candidates to the position of attention.
  
  

Reporting

• Candidates must also observe proper reporting procedures. Reporting is an important process because officer candidates are identifying and presenting themselves to a superior officer for duty. When reporting in an office, the candidate must knock on the door and wait for acknowledgment to enter. Upon entering, the candidate must walk to a spot three steps away from the officer's desk, salute and say the reporting statement. The reporting statement is "Sir/Ma'am, Basic Officer Candidate [Last Name], reports." When reporting to an officer outdoors, the candidate approaches, salutes, and says the reporting statement.
  
  

Leadership positions

• Candidates are also required to fulfill leadership positions during OCS. Candidates are separated into companies with their own leadership staff. The candidate company commander is the highest-ranking candidate. The CCC is responsible for preparing the company for training exercises. The candidate executive officer assists the CCC with administrative duties. The candidate first sergeant oversees the attendance of the company members and passes concerns from the officer candidates up to the CCC and CEO. The platoon leaders are directly in charge of the candidates in their command and lead them through drills. The PLs ensure that candidates attend class and are keeping up their grades.