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Revitalization of the Commissioned Corps Training Programs
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This month, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) will
test the new 2-week Call-to-Active Duty Officer Basic Course (OBC). It is scheduled
to be held at the National Conference Center near Dulles, Virginia, from May 13
through May 26. The OBC is the first in a series of courses that will be tailored
to the needs of the Corps and its officers as they progress through their careers.
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The development of the 2-week course for officers at the beginning of their Corps
careers is an Implementation Plan priority. While it has often been thought of as
an extended Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC), the fact is that the OBC is a
totally new course. It has been designed from the ground up, in collaboration with
military staff at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Corps
officers, and a panel of experts in instructional design and adult learning principles.
This advisory team recommended an approach for development of the OBC and subsequent
training courses to the Training and Career Development Working Policy and Design
Group (WPDG) that relies upon articulating competencies, learning objectives, and
evaluation methods for all Corps training.
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Working with the advisory team’s recommendations, the Training and Career Development
WPDG gathered input from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Operating
Divisions/Staff Divisions (OPDIVs/STAFFDIVs) and non-HHS organizations to which
Corps officers are detailed, Professional Advisory Committees, and groups (e.g.,
Junior Officer Advisory Group) as resources. Using this input, the WPDG identified
the skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and abilities an officer requires at the beginning
of his/her Corps career and formulated competencies addressing these findings. Key
among the competencies that will be addressed in the OBC is the importance of meeting
and maintaining the basic readiness standards of each individual officer and the
Corps as a whole.
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Officers participating in the OBC will acquire competencies that will enable them
to more effectively promote the values of our Service, with emphasis on officership
and readiness. Unlike the current BOTC, officers will gain firsthand knowledge and
basic experiences in readiness and response which will facilitate each of them quickly
meeting the readiness requirements.
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This course fosters officers’ identification as a member of a uniformed service,
initiating the first essential step in development of esprit de corps and relating
as members of a uniformed service. The Corps values provide the foundation upon
which many of the lessons are built. The OBC uses the core values of Leadership,
Service, Integrity, and Excellence and emphasizes public health as the bedrock of
a Corps officer’s professional identity. The course design imparts pride in the
Corps. The duty to serve the mission of the Department, the employing agency and
the public health of the Nation repeats throughout.
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The OBC will also deliver the basic administrative information an officer will need
to function and will begin to build the identity as a Public Health Service Commissioned
Corps officer. With the addition of a module addressing “Public Health Fundamentals,”
the OBC will begin to lay a foundation for future training in this area. From the
daily raising and lowering of the flag with its protocol, to sharing quarters, unifying
into teams, building or discovering leadership skills, the OBC focuses on the development
and duty of the officers to serve to fulfill the mission of the Corps, including
fulfilling the missions of the Department and the many non-HHS organizations to
which officers are detailed.
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The roster of participants in the pilot OBC course includes officers from a variety
of OPDIVs/STAFFDIVs and non-HHS organizations, and includes some true call-to-active
duty officers, some officers who are recent calls-to-active duty, and officers who
have previously attended the 3-day or 5-day BOTC. These participants, and several
invited subject-matter experts, will be instrumental in the OBC evaluation and assessment
to assist the Training Section in their pursuit of a course that delivers a foundation
for the continuum of officer development courses. The goal is to continue to assess
and improve the OBC, giving officers a strong foundation in public health principles,
leadership, officership, and cultural competencies on which to build their careers.
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