Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a five-week long Professional Military Education

Professional Military Education

Professional Military Education refers to the professional training, development, and schooling of service members in the United States Armed Forces...

 course for U.S. Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 Captains. It fulfills the U.S. Air Force's requirement for primary developmental education (PDE). SOS is based at Maxwell AFB

Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...

, Alabama, and the in-residence version of the course is taught there. SOS is part of the Squadron Officer College, an element of Air University.

History

The school traces its roots to the Air Corps Tactical School founded in 1946. SOS became an arm of Air Command and Staff College

Air Command and Staff College

The Air Command and Staff College is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate professional military education school. It prepares field grade and equivalent officers of all U.S...

 in 1950 when the Tactical School closed. Colonel Russell V. Ritchey, founder and first commandant, opened the Squadron Officer Course at Maxwell that same year. In 1959, SOS became a separate Air University school reporting directly to the Air University commander.

Since its activation, the program has received the following awards and recognition :

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (four times)

• 1 Jan 1969 - 31 Dec 1970
• 1 Jan 1973 - 31 Dec 1974
• 1 May 1980 - 30 Apr 1982
• 1 Jan 1983 - 31 Dec 1984

Air Force Organizational Excellence Award

Organizational Excellence Award

The Air Force Organizational Excellence Award is an award of the United States Air Force and is the lowest ranking unit award. The award was first created in 1969 and is presented to Air Force internal organizations that are entities within larger organizations...

(ten times)

• 1 Jan 1985 - 31 May 1986
• 1 Jul 1993 - 30 Jun 1995
• 1 Jul 1997 - 30 Jun 1998
• 1 Jul 1998 - 7 Feb 2000
• 8 Feb 2000 - 30 Jun 2001
• 1 Jul 2002 - 30 Jun 2003
• 1 Jul 2003 - 30 Jun 2004
• 1 Jul 2005 - 30 Jun 2006
• 1 Jul 2006 - 30 Jun 2007
• 1 Jul 2007 - 30 Jun 2008

Transfer Credit

Some colleges and universities recognize Squadron Officer School graduates with graduate-level transfer credits. Some of these programs include:

• American Military University and American Public University allow three semester hours of transfer credits to SOS graduates to be applied for a graduate degree.
• Central Michigan University
  Central Michigan University
  Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
  
  allows for three semester hours of transfer credit to be applied by SOS graduates to a graduate degree.

External links

• Squadron Officer School home page