Basic Officer Leaders Course

Two-phased training course designed to produce commissioned officers in the United States Army

The Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) is a two-phased training course designed to commission officers and prepare them for service in the United States Army. Prospective officers complete Phase I (BOLC A) as either a cadet (United States Military Academy or Reserve Officers' Training Corps) or an officer candidate (Officer Candidate School (United States Army)) before continuing on to BOLC B as Second Lieutenants. If BOLC B is not completed within two years of commissioning, 2LTs will be administratively separated from the service unless there are extenuating circumstances. This a progressive model designed to produce US Army officers with leadership skills, small unit tactics and certain branch-specific capabilities.

## BOLC A[edit]

The majority of Army officers start in Phase I of BOLC pre-commissioning training through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Officer Candidate School, or the United States Military Academy. At this stage officer candidates learn basic leadership skills and small unit tactics.

Direct commissioned officers (primarily medical/dental, legal and chaplains) not from a pre-commission training source must attend the Direct Commission Course (DCC) in place of BOLC A. DCC consists of a six-week course at Ft. Moore, Georgia or Ft Sill, OK (AMEDD). The primary purpose of this training is to provide basic military training to obtain the skills necessary to continue on to BOLC B. DCC is required for all direct-commissioned officers regardless of prior service experience.

## BOLC B[edit]

The second phase of the Basic Officer Leader Course - previously referred to as the Officer Basic Course (OBC) and BOLC III - is designed to develop new combat-effective officers and train them to perform their wartime duties as commissioned officers. It is during this phase that they learn the specifics of their branches, and the systems and equipment they will use in their duty unit.

* Chemical, Engineer, and Military Police officers train at the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
* Infantry and Armor officers train at the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Moore, Georgia.[1][2]
* Signal Corps and Cyber Corps officers train at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia.[3]
* Military Intelligence officers train at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
* Adjutant General, Finance and Chaplain Corps officers train at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
* Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery officers train at the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence (FCoE) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.[4]
* Logistics (Transportation, Ordnance, and Quartermaster) officers train at the Army Sustainment University (ASU) at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia.
* Aviation officers train at Fort Novosel, Alabama.[5]
* Army Medical Department (AMEDD) officers train at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.[6]
* Judge Advocate General's Corps officers train at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.[7]

## See also[edit]

* Armor BOLC
* Engineer Officer Basic Course

## Notes[edit]

* BOLC II was a 7-week combat preparation course located at Fort Sill, OK and Fort Moore, GA. It was discontinued at the end of 2009, and as of 2010, any required training has now been merged into BOLC B (formerly BOLC III).[8]
* Until June 2013, Army Judge Advocates, complete their training in reverse order, first attending BOLC B at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS) in Charlottesville, Va., and then attend the DCC course at Fort Moore. As of the 191st Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (JAOBC), the direct commissionees will attend DCC first and then attend BOLC B at TJAGLCS.
* Chaplains, who are direct commissioned, complete initial training and BOLC in one setting at the US Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS) located in Fort Jackson (South Carolina). The initial phase is called Chaplain Initial Military Training (CIMT) with the remaining three phases consisting of Chaplains BOLC (CH-BOLC). The four-phases are usually referred to as CH-BOLC, with little distinct separation between the different phases.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Fort Benning | Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course (IBOLC)".
2. ^ "Fort Benning | U.S. Army Armor School".
3. ^ "Fort Gordon - 442nd Signal Battalion". Archived from the original on 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
4. ^ "Basic Officer Leader Course - Fort Sill, OK". Archived from the original on 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
5. ^ "U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence". Archived from the original on 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
6. ^ "U.S. Army Medical Department Center & School Portal - Welcome!". Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
7. ^ https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/Sites/tjaglcs.nsf/homeContent.xsp?open&documentId=1AA8592B56D0ADE585257BB1006B8FA4[permanent dead link]
8. ^ Crawley, Jeff (February 11, 2010). "Army changes structure of Basic Officer Leadership Course". United States Army (IMCOM).

* v
* t
* e

United States Army

Leadership|

* Secretary of the Army
* Under Secretary of the Army
* Chief of Staff
* Vice Chief of Staff
* 4-star generals
* 3-star generals
* 1798–1959
* 1990–1999
* 2000–2009
* 2010–2019
* 2020–present
* Army Staff Senior Warrant Officer
* Sergeant Major of the Army
* House Armed Services Committee (House Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces)
* Senate Committee on Armed Services (Senate Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces)

Components
and
commands|

* Regular Army
* Army Reserve
* Army National Guard
* Active Units
* Reorganization plan of United States Army

| Commands|

* Forces
* Futures
* Materiel
* Training and Doctrine

|

Service
components|

* Central
* Europe–Africa
* Pacific
* North
* South
* Special Operations
* Surface Deployment and Distribution
* Space and Missile Defense
* Cyber Command

Direct reporting
units|

* Second Army
* Medical
* Intelligence and Security
* Criminal Investigation Division
* Corps of Engineers
* Military District of Washington
* Test and Evaluation
* Military Academy
* Reserve
* Acquisition Support Center
* Installation Management
* War College

Field armies|

* First
* Third
* Fifth
* Sixth
* Seventh
* Eighth
* Ninth

Branches|

* Acquisition Corps
* Adjutant General's Corps
* Air Defense Artillery Branch
* Armor Branch
* Aviation Branch
* Army Band
* Chaplain Corps
* Chemical Corps
* Civil Affairs Corps
* Corps of Engineers
* Cyber Branch
* Dental Corps
* Field Artillery Branch
* Finance Corps
* Infantry Branch
* Inspector General's Corps
* Judge Advocate General's Corps
* Logistics Branch
* Medical Corps
* Medical Service Corps
* Medical Specialist Corps
* Military Intelligence Corps
* Military Police Corps
* Nurse Corps
* Ordnance Corps
* Psychological operations
* Quartermaster Corps
* Signal Corps
* Special Forces
* Transportation Corps
* Veterinary Corps

Installations|

* United States and overseas
* Germany
* Japan
* Kuwait
* South Korea

Training|

* Basic Training
* BOLC
* ROTC (ECP)
* OCS
* WOBC
* WOCS
* Military Academy (West Point)
* MOS

Uniforms and
insignia|

* Awards and decorations
* Badges
* Branch
* Officer
* Warrant
* Enlisted
* World War I
* World War II
* Uniforms

Equipment|

* Individual weapons
* Crew-served weapons
* Vehicles

Premier
ensembles|

* Army Field Band
* Army Band
* Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
* West Point Band

History and
traditions|

* History
* Continental Army
* Union Army
* National Army
* Army of the United States
* Center of Military History
* Institute of Heraldry
* America's Army
* Army Art Program
* Flag
* National Museum
* West Point Museum
* Rangers
* U.S. Army Regimental System
* Soldier's Creed
* "The Army Goes Rolling Along"
* Division nicknames
* Draft
* Service numbers
* Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra

Historical|

* Buffalo Soldiers
* Army Air Forces
* Army Service Forces
* Women's Army Corps
* Rough Riders
* U.S. Cavalry
* United States Colored Troops
* United States Army Hospital Corps
* U.S. Sanitary Commission

* Category

* v
* t
* e

United States Armed Forces

Legend
A = Army
MC = Marine Corps
N = Navy
AF = Air Force
SF = Space Force
CG = Coast Guard

Leadership|

* President of the United States
* Secretary of Defense
* Deputy Secretary of Defense
* Secretary of Homeland Security
* Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
* Joint Chiefs of Staff:
* Chairman
* Vice Chairman
* Committees on Armed Services
* Senate
* House
* Active duty four-star officers
* Active duty three-star officers
* United States military seniority
* National Security Act of 1947
* Goldwater–Nichols Act

Organization|

| Military departments|

* Department of Defense
* Secretary
* Department of the Army
* Secretary
* Department of the Navy
* Secretary
* Department of the Air Force
* Secretary
* Department of Homeland Security
* Secretary

|

Service branches and heads|

* Chief of Staff of the United States Army
* Commandant of the Marine Corps
* Chief of Naval Operations
* Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
* Chief of Space Operations
* Commandant of the Coast Guard

Reserve components|

* Reserves:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* CG
* National Guard:
* A
* AF

Civilian auxiliaries|

* Military Auxiliary Radio System
* Marine Corps Cyber Auxiliary
* Merchant Marine
* Civil Air Patrol
* Coast Guard Auxiliary

Unified combatant command|

* Africa
* Central
* European
* Indo-Pacific
* Northern
* Southern
* Space
* Cyber
* Special Operations
* Strategic
* Transportation

Structure|

* United States Code
* Title 10
* Title 14
* Title 32
* Title 50
* The Pentagon
* Installations
* Units:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG
* Logistics
* Media
* Unit mottoes

Operations
and history|

| History|

* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG

|

Timeline|

* Colonial
* World War II

By ancestry|

* African Americans
* Asian Americans
* Buddhist Americans
* Jewish Americans
* Muslim Americans
* Sikh Americans
* Hispanic Americans
* Civil War
* Air Force
* Coast Guard
* Marine Corps
* Navy
* Academy

History centers|

* Army Center of Military History
* Marine Corps History Division
* Naval History and Heritage Command
* Air Force Historical Research Agency

War artists|

* Army Art Program
* Air Force Art Program

Personnel|

| Training|

* Service academies:
* A (prep)
* MC/N (prep)
* AF/SF (prep)
* CG
* Merchant Marine
* ROTC
* A
* MC/N
* AF/SF
* Officer candidate/training school:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF/SF
* Warrant officer:
* A
* MEPS
* ASVAB
* The Basic School (MC)
* Enlisted recruit training:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF/SF
* CG
* Other education

|

Uniforms|

* Uniforms:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* Awards & decorations:
* Inter-service
* A
* MC/N
* AF/SF
* CG
* Foreign
* International
* Devices
* Badges:
* Identification
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG

Ranks|

* Officer:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG
* Warrant officers
* Enlisted:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG

Other|

* Oath:
* Enlistment
* Officer
* Creeds & Codes:
* Code of Conduct
* NCO
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* CG
* Service numbers:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* CG
* Military Occupational Specialty/Rating/Air Force Specialty Code
* Pay
* Uniform Code of Military Justice
* Judge Advocate General's Corps
* Military Health System/Tricare
* Separation
* Veterans Affairs
* Conscription
* Chiefs of Chaplains:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* CG

Equipment|

* A (Designations)
* MC:
* vehicles
* weapons
* other
* N
* AF
* CG

| Land|

* Individual weapons
* Crew-served weapons
* Vehicles (active)

|

Sea|

* All watercraft
* Ships:
* A
* N
* active
* future
* AF
* CG
* MSC
* Weapons:
* N
* Reactors

Air|

* Aircraft
* World War I
* active
* Aircraft designation
* Helicopter arms

Other|

* WWII equipment
* Nuclear football
* Electronics (designations)
* Flags:
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG
* Ensign
* Jack
* Guidons
* Food
* WMDs:
* Nuclear
* Biological
* Chemical

* Category
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG
* Navboxes
* A
* MC
* N
* AF
* SF
* CG

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template