"35 Years" - Sunday May 16 to Wednesday May 19, 2004

The following link will take you to pictures I took in the OCS Battalion area on Wednesday March 18, 2004.

Our "Guest Speaker" at our Memorial Dedication Service will be COL Robert B. Nett (Ret). The following is some information about COL Nett and after that, an overview of OCS at Ft Benning as it is conducted today..................

A Brief Biography of COL Robert B. Nett (RET)

COL Nett entered the service in the spring of 1940, when he enlisted in Company C, 107nd Infantry, at the Goffe Street armory in New Haven. He joined at the urging of a friend who was already in C company, and who agreed to split the $2.50 recruitment bounty that he would receive from enlisting Nett with him (in order to pay for a double date with two sisters that they were both interested in). Nett was in his junior year at Hillhouse High School in New Haven at the time.

The 102nd, along with the rest of its parent 43rd Infantry Division, were part of the nation wide yearlong activation of the National Guard in 1940, and were sent to train at Camp Blanding, Florida. Every night after training, Nett and many of the other soldiers still in high school would have to do correspondence assignments, in order for them to receive their high school diplomas in the mail. It was at this time that he was promoted to Corporal.

Shortly after Nett's promotion, the 43rd ID participated in the army-wide Louisiana Maneuvers of 1940-41. During these massive field problem exercises, Nett was promoted to Sergeant. .

In February 1941, the lst, 2nd, and part of the 3rd battalions of the 102nd Infantry, minus their attached armor and artillery support, became the first American units to be sent to the South Pacific in preparation for the expected Second World War. The destination of the 1st battalion (of which Nett was a part), was a place called Christmas Island.

While on Christmas Island, Nett's company commander (and former First Sergeant), Francis "Babe" Carberry convinced Nett to go to Officer Candidate School, which he did. Upon his commission, Nett was assigned to a regiment in the 77th Infantry Division. It was while commanding his regiment's E Company (or "Easy" company. in the phonetic alphabet then employed by the Army) that young Lieutenant Nett earned the Medal of Honor.

During the Battle of Leyte in the Phillipines, Nett was wounded in the neck by a sniper's bullet, which nicked his jugular artery. He survive~ however, and a few days later was assigned to lead his company against a heavily fortified Japanese bunker that had held up the battalion's advance for 4 to 5 days. , As the structure was heavily reinforced (later investigation showed that the inner walls and ceiling were made of concrete, and over three feet thick), it had to be taken by assault rather than bombardment, and so it was that Lieutenant Nett led the charge against the bunker. In the process, he shot seven Japanese soldiers and bayoneted 6 more when he ran out of ammunition for his M-l rifle. He was shot once in side, losing part of one of his lungs. A second shot blew away part of his ribs on the other side. Still, he continued to advance until a third bullet to the hip immobilized him.

From where he lay, Nett continued to direct the assault. When the bunker was taken, he refused to be evacuated until he consolidated his men and turned his command over to his executive officer. When that was accomplished, he attempted to walk back to the Battalion Aid Station on his own before he passed out. He was carried to the aid station, and eventually wound up in a General Mobile Hospital (the precursor to the MASH units). On a side note, it was here that he met his future wife, Francis, who was there as a nurse. They recently celebrated their fifty-third wedding anniversary.

Later, when he was to be presented with the Medal of Honor by then President Truman on the lawn of the White House, Nett turned down the opportunity. He preferred to be presented the award at the Goffe Street armory in New Haven, in the presence of his buddies from C Company 102nd Infantry. His wishes were respected, and a representative of the President awarded him with the Medal.

Nett spent a total of thirty-three years in the Army. He served in the Korean War, and was an ARVN advisor in Vietnam under General Westmoreland. Later, he served as an Inspector General in USAEUR, and commanded both the Ranger School and the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. After he retired, he took a job teaching carpentry at a trade school in Georgia, where he received an Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award for three years running. He was also instrumental in getting a monument built on Fort Benning ground for the ill-fated troop ship Leopoldville, which sank off of the coast of Normandy after being torpedoed by a U-boat in 1944.

Currently, Colonel Nett resides in Columbus, Georgia, "but comes back to Connecticut several times a year for regimental reunions and other functions, most particularly those pertaining to the old C Company. He attends the funeral of every member of his old company, no matter where in the country the service is held. He also remains very friendly to members of the 102nd Infantry, past and present, who call on him at his Georgia home.

Information given by MSG (RET) Frank Carrano, In a telephone interview on 26JANO1

Transcribed by SPC Darryl Mesaros,

HHC 1-102nd Infantry (L)

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An Overview of Army OCS

The idea for the modern Officer Candidate School for Infantry was conceived in June 1938, when a plan for an officer-training program was submitted to the Chief of Infantry by Brigadier General L. Singleton, Commandant of the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. No action was taken until July 1940, when Brigadier General Courtney Hodges, Assistant Commandant of the Infantry School, submitted a revised plan. The new program went into effect in July 1941, as the Infantry, Field Artillery, and Coastal Artillery Officer Candidate Schools. Other branches later followed with their own Officers Candidate Schools. On September 27, 1941, the first Infantry OCS class graduated 171 second lieutenants out of the 204 men who started the 17-week course.

The man credited with establishing the format, discipline, and code of honor still used in OCS today was General Omar Bradley, then Commandant of the Infantry School. As the Commandant of the Infantry School, General Bradley emphasized rigorous training, strict discipline and efficient organization. These tenets remain the base values of today's Officer Candidate School.

Between July 1941 and May 1947, over 100,000 candidates were enrolled in 448 Infantry OCS classes, of these approximately 67 percent were commissioned. After World War II, Infantry OCS was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, as part of the Ground General School. All other Officer Candidate Schools were discontinued.

On November 1, 1947, the Infantry OCS program was discontinued. The final class graduated only 52 second lieutenants.

A shortage of officers during the Korean conflict caused Infantry OCS to reopen at Fort Benning on February 18, 1951. At this time, the course was lengthened from 17 to 22 weeks. The name was changed from The Infantry Officer Candidate School to the First Officer Candidate Battalion, Second Student Regiment. The strength of OCS increased rapidly. As one of eight branch programs, Infantry OCS included as many as 29 companies with a class graduating every week. During the Korean War, approximately 7,000 infantry officers graduated from OCS at Fort Benning.

On August 4, 1953, OCS was reduced from eight to three programs: Infantry, Artillery, and Engineer.

Shortly before the onset of the Vietnam Conflict OCS had been reduced to two programs, Infantry and Field Artillery. During the height of the Vietnam Conflict, Infantry OCS was one of five programs and produced 7,000 officers annually from five battalions at Fort Benning. Towards the end of the conflict OCS reduced to two programs, Infantry and Female OCS. Infantry OCS was reduced to two battalions and presently maintains one battalion.

In April 1973, a Branch Immaterial Officer Candidate School was created to replace the branch specific courses and the length of the course was reduced to 14 weeks. OCS for female officer candidates remained at Fort McClellan, Alabama until December 1976, when it merged with the branch immaterial OCS program at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Today's officer candidates enter the school from throughout the force. OCS continues to provide commissioned officers to the total force for all sixteen basic branches of the Army.

On June 12, 1998 to further integrate the Army, the Army National Guard OCS Phase III candidates began training alongside their active duty counterparts at Fort Benning. Officer Candidates from the National Guard and Army Reserve conduct the final phase of training before commissioning during their two-week annual training period. Over 650 future officers were trained for the Army in the first year, with similar numbers being trained in subsequent years.

The mission of OCS remains; to train selected personnel in the fundamentals of leadership; basic military skills; instill professional ethics; evaluate leadership potential; and commission those who qualify as second lieutenants in all sixteen basic branches of the Army.

Standards! No Compromise!

This page was last updated on 04/02/04 03:16 AM.