At the height of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army couldn’t train enough officers for rapid deployment. The solution? Expand Officer Candidate School. Within this expansion, the need for aviation, truck and watercraft unit leadership was addressed with the Transportation Corps OCS, or TOCS, at Fort Eustis from 1966-1968.
The exhibit showcases the story of the Soldiers who attended TOCS and tells the history of the Officer Candidate School. The exhibit includes a video, artifacts from the TOCS candidates, exhibit panels, a mural of photos and a kiosk to learn more about the Soldiers who went through the 23-week course.
Over the course of its existence, the TOCS program graduated 2,459 candidates. Although created to meet the demands for transportation officers for Vietnam, not all graduates were shipped there. Many were assigned to posts, camps and stations throughout the United States and around the world.