The Pic of the Day: You want one of these?

Training, Advising, and Counseling (TAC) officers and non-commissioned officers from the South Carolina National Guard, 218th Regional Training Institute, 2nd Battalion, Officer Candidate School (OCS) introduced themselves to the Officer Candidates of OCS Class 71 during the opening of the first phase at McCrady Training Center in Eastover, South Carolina on June 1, 2019.

The TACs are responsible for training, guiding, and mentoring officer candidates through the course. To signify the official start of OCS, it’s tradition that the TACs will cause  mental and physical stress for candidates through loud music, explosions, smoke, physical exertion, and being drilled with questions or given orders by a screaming TAC. This is to cause not only confusion among the candidates, but also introduce them to the stresses they’ll face during the course and struggles they have to overcome as officers. Phase one consists of two-weeks of training including a ruck march, physical fitness, drill and ceremony, classroom instruction and exams, land navigation, and leadership evaluations.