Squadron Officer School - Cogito Yearbook (Montgomery, AL)

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A constant upgrading program, supported by SAC in- structors, keeps the school abreast of the latest tech- niques. These instructors, together with the faculty of the school, prepared a manual on unarmed combative measures. The students develop their abilities to an ac- ceptable level and then are given this complete step-by- step guide so that they may continue to progress in the use of unarmed combative measures. They need only re- fer to the manual to be able to practice the proper methods and they take the manual with them upon graduation from the school. More than half of the students bring their wives with them, and the school offers a program for them also. ln the academic area they hear special lectures on timely Air Force topics. Wives participate in the competitive sports program by cheering for their husbands' section. They accompany their husbands to most of the school's social functions. So it was no surprise that the ladies took an interest also in the unarmed combative measures training program. The ladies find it to be useful know- ledge, since the far-reaching duties of their :Air Force husbands so often leave them to care for themselves. Faculty members of the Squadron Officer School developed a two- hour program to present to the wives as one of a series of orientation programs. Two of the wives of the Squadron Officer School faculty were able to help with this program after taking ten hours of instruction. These two ladies were able to perfect certain of the iudo tech- . r niques to such a degree that they were able to throw their husbands effectively during the demonstration for the students' wives. Although there is no such course, over 90 percent of the wives who attended the lectures and demonstrations on physical self-defense for women in- dicated that they would like to attend iudo and self- defense classes. The vitality of Squadron Officer School has taken on a new dimension with the addition of unarmed combative measures training. The faculty of the school also has been responsible for the spread of interest in this activity throughout the Montgomery area. They formed an Air Uni- versity Judo Club and have appeared on local television. As a result of tlfiese television appearances, the club has been asked to perform for local community clubs where their programs appealed to men, women, and youngsters. But the greatest spread of interest is among the faculty of the school. All members were required to learn the fundamentals in order to instruct in the unarmed com- bative measures program. The graduates of the Squadron Officer School are far better equipped mentally and physically to defend their nation as a result of having attended this i4-week school. Now that they have been exposed to unarmed combative measures training, the graduates have increased their potential effectiveness in situations calling for self- fense or hand-to-hand combat. -5f'i55 7'i-'7-ffi-'1 .s3'T'r'.? '3 X .. ..,.,:: ,if'X .11 Z'1i:l - L e-- -1 1g-w-- 1 1 P---W - M . , ,. M 3 will 1 ' 1 l' .sv--P1is'f2a ig? ' ' H., .. .. ..... A W W, -A I 1 ..,,..,, ,. , c. , .,...,..., R Fm 'sfpg 'fm .1'11 1 -, sigffr11..i Qgpmwe.-.11,'111 .1 1 'll 41' ' ' ,Qanzsw-Qi '11- ' 4 'W 1 'Sai .zilibglh 'iw' 11' l ,,, if ' . s ft five?-.: l ' ... ju... W D...-'..L,w, F W . - f, .-.-. . 5, - ' 2'5'1W '1f-:1'I'5'vQQki' 5354 4 -l.- ' 1 - ---. 1 f i t ol-1 :eieMaiei Tff1.:e22i2+5'f.f1-5 +11'3.X ' RU-ali' K 1, . i iz, 1 . -1 i f Haig A i K if i f' 5i iEL1fi:i Qu 1 1 1 gi, 'M tn we is ., Mg, 52143 11 ' fi ...H 'mr CN fi -1 Q QE1, xg ,.-L , 1, pgs: '1.v !l 9'F '5 3- -19 H- We

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UNARMED COMBATIVE MEASURES TRAINING Teaching pilots and navigators hand-to-hand combat might seem as useless as teaching infantrymen how to pilot bombers. But this isn't the feeling at the Squadron Qfficer School, a i4-week professional education course for Air Force captains and lieutenants. An increasing amount of time in the curriculum is being devoted to the study of insurgency, the Communists' latest technique for gaining world domination. President Kennedy has stressed the need for forces trained to fight potential enemy guerrilla forces, and Squadron Officer School students are trained in the role of the Air Force in an operation of this nature. This is a role that could very well require a knowledge of hand-to- hand combat if crews find themselves in an area of guer- rilla fighting, or have to fly their planes from runways threatened by this form of warfare. Thus in May, 1962, the school, in recognition of the value of unarmed combative measures training lUCMTl in a practical war situation, as well as its values as a con- fidence builder, borrowed seven outstanding UCMT and iudo instructors from the Strategic Air Command. Master Sergeant Harvey Jones iShodonl of Stead Air Force Base, Nevada, and Technical Sergeant Charles Brown fNidanl of MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, headed the team which thoroughly trained the faculty of the Squadron Officer School. Since the faculty were already in excellent physical condition as a result of the schoolis physical conditioning program, they were able to take an intensive and accelerated 50-hour course in two weeks. They learned the basic movements, methods for falling properly, and the throws of iudo in the comprehensive unarmed com- bative measures program. Sergeant Brown, past coach and manager of the Armed Forces iudo team in the i962 na- tional competition, was specially successful in demon- strating one of his specialties, karate. The Squadron Officer School faculty then took over and began teaching the student body. Over 800 first lieu- tenants and captains come to the school three times a year and are taught certain of the basic movements and principles of judo, karate, and aichido as they apply to unarmed combative measures. Since excellent physical condition results from the school's field activities pro- gram, the students also are able to proceed quickly to the more difficult techniques, such as gun and knife defense and disarming. ln the lO-hour course, the students learn choking tech- niques and defenses, some karate techniques involving the use of the feet and hands, pistol and knife offense and defense, as well as the proper method of searching an opponent. The value of proper falling ways was realized quickly when the number of iniuries from accidental fall- ing in the competitive games dropped following this training. 1, ,, i, .

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ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT ln the broadest sense, we seek to develop all aspects of the young officers who attend the Squadron Officer School. We speak of this as developing the whole man. We guide and encourage the mental development of our students as do the other professional military schools. But, unlike many of the other schools, we guide and en- courage the physical and ethical development of our stu- dents as well. We believe that we have a responsibility that goes beyond developing a sound mind and a strong body, it is--to inspire, teach, and exemplify ethical development. Our program for the students' ethical development has many facets. Some parts of our program are quite obvious, other parts are less discernible. We cannot, of course, take the approach that a church-owned school might take. For example, we cannot teach a religion, although we know that some belief must be the cornerstone in the foundation upon which ethical development is based. Our students hold beliefs that became a part of their make-up long before they come to our school. However, they do have ample opportunity to strengthen their beliefs while they are here. iiriiwewii - - i hi' ' S it 1' s.. T .wil .,. -nate. -' 'H y . y fig Wu -,Z be established for ethics or ethical, so that we may have a common understanding. The definition which best fits our situation is: Ethical--in accordance with for- mal or professional rules of right and wrong. We assume that our students know right from wrong. They know this from their previously established beliefs or mores. Our approach is that honor, trust, and personal integrity begin with self-respect. Hence a foundation for ethical develop- ment at the Squadron Officer School may be found in the honor code: l will not lie, cheat, or steal, and l will not allow among my associates anyone who will violate these precepts. Our honor system is student monitored, that is, it is set up so that the students themselves govern the system and initiate action on alleged honor violations. We accept an officer's word withoyt question, we do not monitor his activities because we expect him to monitor and control himself. There are no cashiers in our coffee bar. The stu- dents place money in the amount of their purchases in the coin boxes provided. No one checks to see that this is done.Another case in point is that the section commanders do not superintend their section members during exami- nations. Rather, the watchful agents at work are self- respect and personal integrity. The operation of the honor code is an obvious facet of our ethical development pro- Just how then do we, as a military school, promote the gram, yet, it is so well accepted and established that we ethical development of officers? First, a definition Should X ' - if , 'xiti-'1,,f fe, U INTEGRITY