The United States Navy's Officer Candidate School (NAVOCS), currently located at NAS Pensacola, Florida provides training to become a commissioned officer. Attendance at NAVOCS is one possible way for civilian college graduates (bachelor's degree or higher) with no military experience to earn a direct commission as a U.S. Navy officer. Alternatives include the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) and graduation from the United States Naval Academy. USN redirects here. ... Naval Air Station Pensacola, The Cradle of Naval Aviation, is a United States Navy base located in Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In military organizations, a commissioned officer is a member of the service who derives authority directly from a sovereign power, and as such holds a commission from that power. ... The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps commissions individiuals into either the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. ... The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is in Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington D.C. The Academy often is referred to simply as Annapolis although naval officers normally refer to it in conversation...

NAVOCS classes are designated by the fiscal year of their graduation (e.g., 08-04 was the eighth NAVOCS class to graduate in fiscal year 2004; 01-05 was the first NAVOCS class to graduate in fiscal year 2005). Upon completion of the 12 week course the candidate will be commissioned an Ensign (O-1) in the United States Navy. Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ...

Two former OCS graduates have served as the Chief of Naval Operations, America's highest ranking naval officer. These two Admirals were Jeremy Michael Boorda and Vern Clark. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is the senior military officer in the United States Navy. ... Jeremy Michael Boorda (November 26, 1939 – May 16, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy and the 25th Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). ... Admiral Vern Clark Admiral Vern Clark is Chief of Naval Operations in the United States Navy. ...

Officer Candidate School is sometimes called "Couth School" or "Knife and Fork School," emphasizing a perceived focus on the "superficial" qualities of officership over practical knowledge, skills, and abilities, in spite of the fact that OCS graduates have passed intense academic courses in Seamanship, Navigation, Naval Warfare, Engineering, and Damage Control.

External links

• Offical Site
• NavyOCS.com (OCS Foundation)
• Rongstad's Naval Jargon Archive