Editing Officer candidate (section)

====U.S. Navy====
{{Main|Officer Candidate School (United States Navy)}}
[[File:US Navy OC shoulderboard.svg|thumb|50px|right|U.S. Navy officer candidate insignia.]]
In the [[United States Navy]], officer candidates are trained at either the [[Officer Candidate School (U.S. Navy)|Officer Candidate School]] or Officer Development School in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].  A parallel program known as [[Officer Candidate School (U.S. Navy)|Aviation Officer Candidate School]] (AOCS) at [[NAS Pensacola]], Florida, previously produced officers slated to become [[naval aviator]]s, [[naval Flight Officer|naval flight officer]]s, air intelligence officers and aircraft maintenance duty officers not otherwise procured via the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] or [[NROTC]].  A major distinction between the two programs was the use of enlisted [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] [[drill instructors]] in the AOCS program, a vestige from the World War II and early 1950s period when AOCS graduates were given the option of being commissioned in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps before proceeding to flight training.  AOCS was disestablished in 1994 due to [[Base Realignment and Closure|BRAC]] action and merged into the current OCS program in 1994.

Officer candidate is also the rank to which participants in the active duty commissioning program "[[STA-21|Seaman to Admiral 21]]" are appointed. STA 21 officer candidates are appointed to the rank at the [[Naval Science Institute]] and go on to hold the rank while training with the [[Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps]] at NROTC-affiliated universities. While attached to their colleges or universities, officer candidates are looked to as mentors to the midshipmen throughout the school year. They must maintain 2.0 GPAs, and are urged to assist midshipmen in developing their own leadership abilities.

STA 21 OCs maintain their enlisted pay grade and eligibility for enlisted advancement. The number of sailors selected each year to participate in the "Seaman to Admiral 21 program" varies from year to year. Fiscal year 2010 admitted about 200 candidates, FY11- 115, and FY12- about 75. Currently, the program has been downsized to only admit 50 candidates.

The rank of officer candidate is denoted by an officer's uniform with no insignia except for a line officer's star device on white and dress blue uniforms.  If the candidate has never had prior service, rank is typically that of Officer Candidate Under Instruction Second Class (OCUI2).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.med.navy.mil/Pages/InfoViewPage.aspx?ItemID=24 |title=Pages - InfoViewPage.aspx |access-date=2020-01-11 |archive-date=2020-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806220013/https://www.med.navy.mil/Pages/InfoViewPage.aspx?ItemID=24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On khaki and working blue uniforms, fouled anchors are worn on the collar points until candidate officer status is achieved, at which time OCs wear the bar insignia similar to their senior/midshipmen 1st class counterparts at the U.S. Naval Academy and in NROTC.