OTS-Victory: One Year Later Published Oct. 1, 2024 By Capt Abigail Bowles, Officer Training School Chief of Training Photo Details / Download Hi-Res The final Officer Training School-Victory class for fiscal year 2024, graduated Sept. 27 from the Officer Training School schoolhouse, marking one year since the new accessions program kicked off at Maxwell Air Force Base. Since embarking on the OTS-V journey last year, OTS has graduated 2,685 newly commissioned Air Force and Space Force officers focused on great power competition and the future fight. The updated training program better aligns with National Defense and Security strategies, along with Department of Defense priorities, to produce mission-ready officers who are better equipped to lead Airmen and Guardians in modern, contested operating environments. In the end, OTS’s goal is to produce warrior-minded leaders of character ready for the challenges in an era of strategic competition. “We’ve modernized the way we instruct and train our Air Force and Space Force officers,” said Col. Derrick J. Iwanenko, OTS Commandant. “Assessing trainees through the competencies and executing mission command experiences challenges them physically and mentally. The warfighters we produce now are resilient and better postured for the future fight with our near-peer adversaries.” One of the key changes made to OTS-V is the incorporation of a five modular-based approach to the training program. These individual mods execute deliberate training regimes aligned with the Air Force Force Generation, or AFFORGEN, model to provide officer trainees an experiential learning scenario to introduce them to the competition continuum. Through these scenarios, trainees attach curriculum objectives and competencies to action, allowing them the opportunity to problem solve in an environment where they can fail and, ultimately, continue to learn. Photo Details / Download Hi-Res The course is structured to develop an officer trainee across all foundational competencies within 60 training days. To ensure OTS delivers Mission Ready Airmen, trainees are challenged to problem solve in roles that could extend beyond their technical roles within the Department of the Air Force. Officer trainees lead their teams through 60 hours of challenging mission command experiences that affords them a chance to make decisions and demonstrate flexibility, initiative, and risk management while executing commander’s intent. These officer graduates leave OTS better equipped with a broader range of skills to solve future complex problems. Additionally, the new training construct allows OTS to easily surge production to meet annual production numbers set by Congress in both steady state and contingency mobilization posture, if required. OTS is one-of-three officer accessioning programs for the Department of the Air Force.