Editing Officer Candidate School

{{Status|Canon}}

'''Officer Candidate School''' ('''OCS''') is a type of [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] military academy that trains enlisted personnel or civilians to become officers.<ref name="for38">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 38''</ref> Gaining a record with [[Colonial Militia]] experience or high grades in secondary schooling gives individuals a higher chance of enlistment in an OCS.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 137''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 133''</ref> Enlistment age varied between schools, with sixteen being considered average at the [[Corbulo Academy of Military Science|Corbulo Academy]],<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5IEiHdTv7E& '''YouTube''': ''Halo After Dawn: Episode 6 - Joyride'']</ref> but considered very young at the [[Academy at Mare Nubium|Luna OCS Academy]].<ref name="news">'''[[Halo: Reach Limited Edition]]''', ''[[Intersystem News]], LCDR Miranda Keyes Awarded Silver Star''</ref> At some point after 2489, the UNSC mandated that all applicants for officer schools must have some form of field experience, as they would be responsible for managing irreplaceable military equipment and personnel, and later the lives of civilian populations. [[Preston Cole]] was among the first admirals to institute it.<ref name="ImpossibleLife"/>

The curriculum of the Officer Candidate School is diverse between schools. An OCS curriculum is generally open-minded, allowing cadets to choice between the several different military branches in the [[United Nations Space Command]] armed forces.<ref>'''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''' ''Part 1''</ref> The time a cadet serves at a school generally lasts four years and includes classroom instruction and field exercises on military science, physical training, and leadership.{{Ref/Reuse|for38}}<ref>'''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn: Squad]]'''</ref><ref name="ImpossibleLife">'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]", ''page 430''</ref> Although generally meant for any military-capable civilian, some academies featured blatant nepotism. The [[Corbulo Academy of Military Science|Corbulo Academy]] was based around the concept of training the offspring of high-ranked military and government officials as commissioned officers.<ref>'''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn''', ''Part 3''</ref> Some critics suspected that nepotism was the reason that [[Miranda Keyes]] excelled at her OCS at a young age, due to [[Jacob Keyes|her father's]] respected status in the UNSC and former teaching position at her academy.{{Ref/Reuse|news}}

Of all OCS Academies, only Reach Naval Academy and Corbulo Academy were known to be destroyed during the [[Human-Covenant War]], requiring the transfer of all their OCS Cadets into other OCS Academies to continue their education.

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