The Philippine Army, through the Army Personnel Management Center (APMC), facilitated the conduct of the oath-taking and send-off ceremony of 400 officer candidates of the Officer Candidate Course Class 60-2024 on July 24, 2023, at the Headquarters Philippine Army, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Out of 11,000 applicants, only 400 successful candidates will undergo rigid military training to develop their physical, mental, and leadership capabilities as the Army's future platoon leaders make it to the cut. The dispatch of 400 officer candidates to the Training and Doctrine Command, Camp O'Donnell, Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac is the largest number of Army officer candidates in the PA Officer Candidate School (PAOCS) history.
As the Army shifts from Internal Security Operations to Territorial Defense, there are essential specializations that the organization needs to maintain a strong defense posture of the state and to protect the nation's interests against internal and external potential threats. These include recruiting candidates with diverse academic and professional backgrounds in engineering, education, criminology, accountancy, psychology, and other fields.
The Officer Candidate Course (OCC) program is a one-year military training program conducted annually by the Philippine Army through the Officer Candidate School for aspiring Army officers who have completed a four-year bachelor's degree. The OCC program administers the Integrated Basic Officer Leadership Course, composed of Basic Military Training, Officer Training, and Army War Fighting Functions Training.
The Army leadership lauded the APMC on its efforts in bolstering the nationwide recruitment for Army officer candidate program which addresses the organizational demand of future platoon leaders in serving the people and securing the land.
Photos by Sgt Josel P Sucayan, OACPA