RED TABS

RED TABS, is a novel based on the author's firsthand experience as a candidate in the Army's Officer training program designed to turn outstanding enlisted men into second-lieutenants during the Vietnam War.
All the major branches had their own OCS Programs: Infantry, Artillery, Armor, Signal, Quartermaster, etc., taking place at each branch major training post. Infantry OCS was at Fort Benning, Georgia; Armor was held at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Artillery were at Robinson Barracks, Fort Still, Oklahoma.
After the Vietnam War, all the Officer Candidate Programs were consolidated at one location and changed from a very intense leadership program to a COED college atmosphere.
During the Vietnam Era, OCS was designed to run off as many of the candidates as possible. Tactical Officers and senior candidates took pride in forcing candidates to drop out of the program. ANYTHING could get a candidate dropped, especially an honor call. There was only a ten-year spread (1957-67) where harassment was so intense the candidate dropout rates were over 50%.
The Tactical Officer for the author's OCS Platoon told the platoon he would graduate the platoon from the backseat of his car. There were 25 candidates starting the program, and there were only 8 of the original members who graduated.
Less than 20,000 second-lieutenants graduated from the OCS programs during that era and of that number 3,000 became artillery officers, who were sent to Vietnam upon graduation and were assigned as forward observers with infantry companies, spending their tours in the field.
The officer death totals during the Vietnam war was almost all from the OCS officers and ROTC. West Point officers were not allowed to be assigned to Vietnam until they were first lieutenants.
After the war, the Reduction-in-Force was totally OCS and non-regular Army ROTC officers. West Point officers, no matter how poorly they had performed in combat were not considered for the Reduction-in-Force.
Thousands of OCS officers ser