U.S. Air Force: What is Officer Training School (OTS) Like?
If you think Officer Training School at Maxwell, AFB is tough — you’re right. It’s not so much physically difficult as it is mentally. Don’t get me wrong, you will definitely need to be in shape to successfully complete training, but more than anything you need to be mentally strong.
The main thing you will need to mentally persevere through is lack of sleep. Lights out is at 2200 but it would behoove you to get to bed by 2100. That will give you a proper 7.5 hours of sleep for 0430 wake up. You may have gotten away with only getting 5–6 hours of sleep per night, but training will exhaust you much more than your typical day.
Once you’re done with Scheduled Military Training (SMT), it will be up to you to manage your time before bed. Most cadets did laundry, worked on academics, cleaned their room, rolled clothes, or worked on additional duties (yes, you will have at least 1 additional duty). My suggestion is to do laundry, roll clothes, and clean your room on the weekend. That will give you plenty of time to study, prep for the next day, and be in bed by 2100.
I witnessed several cadets fall asleep in the auditorium and get lit up for it. Don’t be that cadet! Make sleep a priority over everything else. There are very few things you can control during OTS. The amount of sleep you get is one of them. Take advantage of that.
Marching
You will become very good at marching. I know what you’re thinking — why the hell do we need to march around? We don’t need to march operationally! You’re right. That doesn’t change the fact that you will be marching 8 hours a day. Your marching will be scrutinized individually, as an element, as a flight, and occasionally as a squadron.
DFAC
