A little known method of commissioning was the Citizen’s Military Training Camps (CMTC). These training camps also developed out of the need for officers in WW1, and allowed men who could not afford to go to college to receive military training and be eligible for a commission. This was a four year program where the men went to a month long camp for each of four consecutive summers. The CMTC program was suspended with WW2 because of a shortage of instructors and training areas. The most common method of commissioning in WW2 was Officer’s Candidate School (OCS). These were branch specific army training schools that took in a civilian or enlisted man and, after approximately 90 days, turned out a 2nd lieutenant. The time frame gave rise to the term “90 day wonder” for a newly minted lieutenant. Every branch had its own officer’s school. Artillery officers were trained at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma; Armored officers at Fort Knox; Kentucky, Quartermaster officers at Fort Lee, Virginia or Fort Warren, Wyoming; and so on. 35% of men graduating from OCS were only high school graduates, and another 6.5% did not even have that much education. This was a remarkable percentage of non-college men being made officers due only to their ability.[ii] Enlisted Men selected for OCS were automatically promoted to the rank of corporal. Once ready to graduate they were officially discharged from the U.S. Army in order to receive their commission (One could not be both enlisted and commissioned at the same time). This led to many jokes about men thinking of just walking away after they had gotten their discharge, but before they received their commission. Some men were given direct commissions into the Army as officers due to their specific experience or special skill. Examples of this would be men with legal, dental, or medical degrees. Some industry experts in areas such as railroad management or chemistry could also be put straight into uniform. Direct commissions in the Army were very rare. Most such experienced men were required to go through some form of OCS before being commissioned. The Navy, on the other hand, was far more lenient in handing out commissions to men it felt were capable without any required military training. Experienced officers were in desperately short supply for most of the war. In 1943 only one out of 50 officers had any previous experience in the military.[iii] The loss of officers due to combat was a serious matter to the Army. Battlefield commissions were one way used to keep up the supply of officers. There were actually two types of battlefield commissions. Until late 1944 a battlefield commission was selecting a man who had demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities in the ranks and making him a 2nd Lieutenant. Problems occurred with this procedure as the new officers had some problems going back to his former unit having stepped directly from enlisted man to officer. This was solved by offering commissions but with the provision that they would be sent to a different unit where they had never been known as anything but an officer. Many soldiers turned down battlefield commissions as they did not want to be sent off to serve with a bunch of strangers. Battlefield commissioned officers also had a problem of not having any more training than a normal enlisted man. They had no knowledge of the specific officer tasks in a company. They did not know how to handle the paperwork, and had little experience with coordinating different units. In the ETO a school was set up at Fontainebleau, France as a refresher course for new officers. While a man who is selected from the ranks and sent back to a standard Stateside service school for officer training is not a battlefield commissioned officer (as he had gone through the standard training) , one who was sent to Fontainebleau for this special course is considered one. [iv] There was a provision for 2nd lieutenants in a combat unit to be eligible for promotion to 1st lieutenant once they demonstrated their ability on the battlefield. Many lieutenants were promoted soon after their first or second time in combat. As long as they had shown their superiors they could operate on the battlefield they were promoted. Officer ranks were divided up into three groups. Lieutenants and captains were known as company grade officers. Captains generally commanded companies, and lieutenants the platoons under them. Field grade officers were Major, Lt. Col and Colonel. These higher ranks were found above company levels in higher units. Colonels (also know as full colonels or “bird colonels” from the eagles on his rank insignia) commanded regiments.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:39:54 +0000