N.C. National Guard’s Officer Candidate School Welcomes New Officers, Inducts Past Graduates into Hall of Fame, and Honors a Fallen Hero

Photo By Sgt. Odaliska Almonte | FORT BRAGG, N.C. - 2nd Lt. Bryan Fields stands with a High School teacher who became his mentor and mother figure during his commissioning ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, October 17, 2020. (N.C. National Guard photo by Sgt. Odaliska Almonte, Public Affairs/Released)  

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

10.17.2020

Courtesy Story

North Carolina National Guard

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The North Carolina National Guard welcomed nineteen new second lieutenants into its ranks during a graduation ceremony for the 139th Training Regiment’s Officer Candidate School (OCS) Class 62 and the Accelerated Office Candidate Class (AOC) 30 at the John F. Kennedy Special Forces Warfare Center and School, October 16, 2020.

Before the candidates were sworn in as second lieutenants, previous distinguished officers and graduates of 139th’s OCS were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame and honored Sgt. James Slape who was killed in action in Afghanistan, in 2018. Slape was a graduate of one of the 139th's NCO schools.

Col. Brent Orr, commander of the 139th Training Regiment, and Col. William Grey Jr., Chief of Staff for the Deputy Commanding General at FORSCOM were presented with their Hall of Fame award.

“To me, it’s an honorable culmination of a long career,” said Col. Orr. “When I started here 30 years ago, at a young age it’s hard to envision yourself as a future colonel, and to see it come to fruition is a big deal to me and hope that the officer candidates can see it as an achievable goal.”

After the Hall of Fame honorees were recognized, Sgt. James Slape, one of NC Guard’s fallen Soldiers was recognized and inducted into the N.C. Military Academy Wall of Honor. Sgt. Slape's family received a plaque symbolizing Slape’s induction. The Wall of Honor was established by the 139th Regional Training Institute in 2018 to honor any service member who attended the N.C. Military Academy and later paid the ultimate sacrifice to our state or nation.

With the current safety restrictions, only close family members were present as their loved ones entered a new chapter in their lives as N.C. Army National Guard Commissioned Officers. But for one particular Soldier, his attendee was the woman who was his high school teacher and mentor that he also considers his mother.

Second Lieutenant Bryan Fields was raised in East Orange, New Jersey, but due to his difficult living environment was a ward of the court for most of his childhood. He moved to North Carolina to finish high school and hadn’t considered that going to college was even a possibility until one of his teachers began to mentor and encouraged him to graduate and go to college.

Fields has earned three degrees, is an officer in the North Carolina Army National Guard, and works full time for the Department of Defense as an Intelligence Analyst.

“I enlisted as a Geospatial Intelligence Analyst in 2016,” said Fields. “I started looking for ways to continue to advance even with challenges, and as someone who has been through a lot in life, I can tell you that OCS was a challenge physically and emotionally. It was hard.”

Second Lieutenant Bryan Fields received the Leadership Award that came with the added distinction of receiving an 1822 Colt .45 Revolver and the North Carolina Commendation Medal.

The Distinguished Honor Graduate Award went to 2nd Lt. Joshua M. Orihood, who achieved the combined overall highest graded in leadership, academics, physical fitness, and peer evaluations.

“We are a truly unique class, having dealt with so many challenges in 2020.” Said 2nd Lt. Orihood “Despite our challenges I’m happy to report to you that N.C. is holding a firm line on what kind of officers it allows into our ranks. All due to our platoon trainers and their unwavering commitment to holding the standard.”

North Carolina Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School was established at Fort Bragg, on Dec.19, 1957, and has commissioned over 1,800 officers. The school is designed to train, assess, and evaluate potential commissioned officers in the fundamentals of leadership, basic military skills, professionalism, physical fitness ethics, evaluate leadership potential, and commission those who qualify as second lieutenants in the Army Total Force.

• Date Taken: 10.17.2020
• Date Posted: 10.20.2020 10:03
• Story ID: 381273
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US