Education

As an AMEDD officer, your military education is as important to your military career as your civilian education is to your civilian job. Both must be kept up to date and within the guidelines established by your specific area of expertise. Whether your specialty is Physical Therapy or Optometry, there are certain levels of education required for all officers. A typical course of action for the AMEDD officer is outlined below:

1. Civilian education/licensure:

As an AMEDD officer, you will be required to maintain any professional license you may hold by meeting the requirements specified for that license (i.e.; continuing education credits, annual/renewal fees, exams, seminars, etc.) You may also be required to obtain a more advanced degree for promotion to the next higher rank, if not already qualified.

2. Military Education:

Just as you would go from an Associate, to a Bachelors, to a Masters and so on, the military also has courses to develop your professional soldier skills.

1. Officer Basic Course (OBC)

This is the basic course which qualifies you in your area of concentration (AOC). It is designed to train the officer in his/her specialized area with a focus on how that area relates to military operations. The course includes basic military doctrine and physical training as well. There are two options for completion of OBC:

1. Active Component (AC)

This option is mainly for AD soldiers or new soldiers who have no training (or very little) in their AOC. It is normally 18-20 weeks in duration and includes in depth coverage of the specialized field plus a more concentrated study of military operations. (Required for all MS officers in AOC 70 and AN officers that have graduated with an ROTC scholarship.)

2. Reserve Component (RC)

Normally two weeks in duration, this course is specifically designed for AMEDD officers in the ARNG and USAR.

2. Officer Advance Course (OAC)

More advanced training in your area of expertise to prepare officers for command and Staff assignments. OAC is offered in both an AC and RC course.

NOTE: Both OBC and OAC courses for AMEDD officers are held at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX. All MS officers in AOC 70 must be enrolled within 12 months of commissioning. All other AMEDD Officers are required to complete OBC within 24 months of commissioning. All AMEDD officers are required to complete OBC.

3. Combined Arms Service Staff School (CAS3)

Effective 1 Oct 94, all officers must complete CAS3 to be eligible for promotion to the rank of Major (with the exception of Medical Corps Officers). CAS3 is comprised of two phases: a 140-hour correspondence course, which is a prerequisite of Phase II, and a two-week resident phase. Another option, utilized primarily by RC officers, consists of 3 phases: the correspondence phase (same as above), Phase IIA, consisting of 8 weekend training sessions, and Phase IIB, a two-week resident phase. Note: most of the analytic, communication and problem-solving skills acquired in CAS3 are directly applicable to civilian job skills.

4. Command & General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC)

A more advanced course for senior officers, also offered in resident and resident/correspondence phase options. There are 2 levels of CGSOC: the Tactical Level (completion is required for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel), and the Operational Level (completion is required for promotion to the rank of Colonel).

5. MS officers (70B only)

In addition to the requirements listed above, basic MS officers (70B) must be aware that the Medical Functional Area (MFA) of 70B can only be held through the rank of CPT. To be promoted to MAJ, he/she must be eligible for a different skill/MFA. Many of those can be obtained through additional school training, (70E, 70K) which would be done by correspondence and then a two-week phase at Ft. Sam Houston, TX in lieu of AT, while the 70H can be awarded following completion of CAS3, and 70A may be awarded if you hold an Master’s degree in Health Care Administration.