OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL GRADUATIONS NOW BEING LIVE STREAMED

Story by Scottt Thornbloom on 01/15/2019

From Naval Service Training Command Public Affairs Office

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The graduations of the Navy's newest officers are now available live from Officer Training Command (OTC).

OTC is now broadcasting its Officer Candidate School (OSC) graduations on the internet so that family, friends and anyone interested in the ceremonies can view it wherever they are.

The live stream broadcasts of the graduations are from Kay Hall at OTC on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, through the Defense Visual Distribution Service (DVIDS) website (https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NSTC).

The first live streamed broadcast was Dec 14. The next live streamed OCS graduation will be Jan. 18 and can be viewed at https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/18219.

"Unfortunately, not all of the family members and friends that want to attend the graduation ceremonies for any of our five programs (OCS, Officer Development School, LDO/CWO Academy, Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course, and Naval Science Institute) can afford the time or funds to make the trip to Newport," said Capt. Mark Nicholson, commanding officer of OTC. "Live stream gives them an opportunity to participate in the excitement of what is a big milestone for these junior officers as they begin their careers in the Navy."

Nicholson said he and his OTC staff were excited to have this capability up and running. "We were finally able to take advantage of technology and share the excitement and energy of commissioning these young men and women with our Navy family and the American public."

"The young men and women undergoing training here at Officer Training Command Newport (OTCN) have made a commitment to serving in our Navy," he said.

"Furthermore, our OTCN staff put in a lot of long hours and hard work into transforming these young men and women into the next generation of Navy leaders. Our Navy family is composed of not only our service members and civilians, but their families and friends as well. The live stream connects our graduates and staff with our Navy family and the American public, sharing the results of their commitment and sacrifice and inspiring others to do the same."

Response to the live streaming of the OCS graduation has been greatly received by the officer candidates.

"They are extremely thrilled to be able to share their graduation experience with their families and friends that were not able to travel to Newport," Nicholson said.

The Navy's only boot camp, Recruit Training Command (RTC), on Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. RTC has been livestreaming their weekly Pass-In-Review graduations since September 2013.

OTC is supported by Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), headquartered on Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. NSTC manages all initial Navy officer and enlisted accessions training except for the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA).

OCS is one of five officer training schools located aboard Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. There is also the Officer Development School (ODS), Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course (DCOIC), Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer (LDO/CWO) Academy and Seaman-to-Admiral (STA-21) program. The staff officers, Recruit Division Commanders and Drill Instructors also provide training assistance for these schools, especially with the physical training of the students.

Navy OCS was established in 1951. The Navy previously operated two officer candidate programs, OCS in Newport and Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla. AOCS trained prospective naval aviators, naval flight officers, aviation maintenance duty officers, and air intelligence officers, while OCS trained all other officer communities.

The original Navy OCS in Newport was closed in April 1994 when the programs were merged as a single OCS aboard NAS Pensacola. Subsequently, in 2007 the consolidated Navy OCS curriculum was relocated back to Newport by direction of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission of 2005.

For more information on OTC and OCS, visit http://www.ocs.navy.mil/.

NSTC supports 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This includes Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, made up of more than 870 RDCs and instructors who oversee and train more than 39,000 recruits annually. OTC annually graduates more than 2,900 students per year under the instructing guidance of 39 RDCs, Marine Corps drill instructors and technical trainers. NSTC also supports Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) units at more than 160 colleges and universities across the United States, with more than 5,900 midshipmen enrolled annually who are taught, guided and molded by more than 500 Navy and Marine Corps officer and enlisted instructors. NSTC also supports Navy Junior ROTC and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

For more information about NSTC, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ or visit the NSTC Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/NavalServiceTraining/.

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/.

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Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/.