The Space Force on Tuesday kicked off its first-ever Officer Training Course (OTC), marking a turning point in how the service trains and develops its next generation of officers.

All newly commissioned officers entering the Space Force from the Air Force Academy, the Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Officer Training School will be required to attend this 12-month training course. The program is designed to equip officers with fundamental skills in areas that are at the core of the service’s operations — intelligence, space and cyber — ensuring that all new officers “learn to be a Guardian first and specialist second.” 

“OTC is our initial leader development course to produce a multidisciplinary officer corps with a broad understanding of mission concepts and a foundational baseline to identify, plan, integrate, and synchronize effects across the range of operational missions assigned to USSF. To successfully reoptimize for Great Power Competition, the Space Force is focused on developing all officers with a broadened knowledge of military operations in the space domain, as well as joint and combined forces planning and employment,” Sarah Fiocco, the Department of the Air Force spokesperson, told Federal News Network.

The program is broken down into four blocks, each lasting four months. Upon graduation, officers will “receive an initial specialty vector in satellite, intelligence or cyber operations based on their aptitude, preferences and the needs of the Space Force,” according to Fiocco. Their first three-year operational assignment will be based on that initial specialty vector, although they will have the opportunity to move into a different role. 

“The assignment process seeks to match demonstrated Guardian performance at OTC, Guardian preference and projected needs of the Space Force. After graduation, Guardians will have time to PCS to their new assignments,” said Fiocco.

The first cohort of about 80 officers who just started the training will receive their first assignments by the end of the program. Acquisition officers will be required to undergo the program as well, which will “enable them to better understand the needs their systems must support.”

The Space Training and Readiness Command will oversee the program, and Space Delta 1 will be responsible for execution of the course.

The service set up this initiative using existing resources within the budget, but any extra costs associated with the program will be part of the fiscal 2026 budget.

The program is part of the service’s “sweeping” set of efforts to “reoptimize for great power competition,” announced in February. And while the Officer Training Course only impacts the service’s commissioned officers, the Space Force is “reexamining career paths for all its personnel, including civilian and enlisted Guardians.”

In 2025, the Space Force plans to review and update its noncommissioned officer professional military education requirements and provide more educational opportunities “via new formal education pathways and expanded engagement with technically relevant industries” for officers and enlisted Guardians.

Meanwhile, the service noted it has no plans to introduce the warrant officer track, unlike its sister services. The service signaled it will prioritize building career paths focused on technical expertise, especially for its enlisted personnel.

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