The AEC Series

Title

The AEC Series

Language

English

Source

Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume 6 (No. 6) November 1953

Year

1953

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

3y C~pt.oin fiDEL L. ONGPAUCO "For most men, the matter of learning is one of personal preference; but to Army officers, the obligation to leam, to J'l'Ow in their profession, is cleuly a public duty." -Gen. Omar N. Bradl,;y '•Jl is criminal for an untrained gffiter to lead his men to battle." -A uehor unknoum r HOM the lime the Philippines joined the fam\ly of nations as an independent '=ountry seven year, ago, the responsibilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have inct·eased trentendously. As a consequence 0f this fact 'and the rapid growth and expansion of nur defense establishment the maintenance and training of a strong, well-prepared officer corps has become vitally important. The great bulk of our officers are in thP. Re11crve Force which forms the main bulwatk of our defense in the event of o;~.·ar or other emergent)'. The importance of the training of these officers cannot be too stronK"I)' stressed. These officers however, being mostly on Inactive status live in distant places all over tb'!l country. Those of them who are on active duty are also moatly atationtd in remote AFP inatallatlona or earnpa tn the prov:lncea. This· situatinn has always presettted a greal obstecle to any officer training program. To solve the problem, the Armed Forces ~:u~:c~~~\~~. i~ ~::!Je ~~~ent~~~i;;u;i AFP offi~ers through less(JIJlS by correspondence. The Army Extension Courses Program is designed for the benefit of both R<lgular and Reserve officers. Although a similar program was conducted by the Philippine Ar1ny before the war, it was only last year that Gen. Calixto Duque, AFP chief of staff, felt the great need for its revival. The quf!stion of funds delayed its opening, but in July this year an allotment was given to it. The Army was then able to launch the first extenston course, the Officer Basic Course, last Septemb. er 1. This course being common for all branches of service is sometimes called the Com.onon Course, but the familiar offiClal reference to it is the "10 Series." The correspondence courses, with thP. exception of the courses on medical subjects are prepared by nine of the eleven different schools of the Philippine Army School Center <PASC) of the Philippine Army Trainm~ Com. mand CPATC> at Fort McKinley. The medical subjects arc prepared with the cooperation of t}>e Armed Jo'orce~ Medical School located in QueUJn City. All the courses are generally equiv3lent to the reaident courses offered in thoae schools. No fee Ia char~d and no expenses are incurr.ed by the students bo!to!ause addreased atamped en. wlnpPs are provided and special texh. and equipment are furnished on a loan 37 THE.' AEC sJ:RIE'S basis. The opening of, the Extenmon Program had scarcely been announced when a flood of inquiries swamped AFP general headquarters. "How can I take an extension course?!' inquired a technical sergeant on duty at a BCT Headquarters somewhere in .Central Luzon who is a graduate of the School for Res.erve Commission CSRC> of the Philippine Army School Center and who has been commrssioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Infantry Branch of the Reserve Foree. A similar question has been askecl by an Advanced RC\TC graduate who is a commissioned officer in the Reservf' Foree and is at present employed in a bank in Manila. Applications for enrollment in the AEC should be filed with the commanding officer of the PATC. These applications are then referred to GHQ, AFP for approval. After such approval, the applicants are enrolled, and the Philippine Anny School Center sends them their first lessons. The date of the receipt of the first Ieason is considered the ~ffective date of enrollment. What is the "10 series?" This I~ the Basic Officers' Course for oil branches : the Infantry, the AGS, the FS, the Artillery, the QM, etc. It is designed primarily for 2o.d lieutenant.. The BCT sergeant whom we have metttioned before, for ~xample, can take the "10 series" because he ia a commissimled 2nd lieutenant in the Reserve Force and it is his first time as a commissioJIed officer to take service schooling. The designatV>n for the series for particular grades is not however arbitrary. A major may take the ''20 series" designed for 1st lieutenants while a 2nd lieutenant may take the "20 aeries" if he has taken the "10 series". The ''10 aeries" is divided into 21 units called common aub.coursu which are numbered aerially into Common Sub-courae1o 10-1 to 10..21. 10..1 is the "Organization of the AFP"; 10-2, ia "LeaderahiJI, Diaeipline, Courtesy and Cuatom1 of the Serviee", and ., on. Subcout1e 10..1 con.aim of lout Ies. toni and an examinatioJa. all for a total of eight •credit hours. Lesson 1 has a err.dit of one hour; Lcsaon. 2, two hours; LesJiln 3, one hour; Lesson 4. two hours and thr Exammahon. two hours. Just what are these credit hours? If a lesson is credited one hour, an average student is supposed to finish it in one hour. These credit 1\our!. are meant fo; crediting purposes only; not for limiting the student in the number of hours he may devote in rf'ading hi~ lcllsons and soh·ine- the lr.sson exercii'IClt U: an officer completes the "10 series," lessons and examination, he will be gi\'<m a certificate attesting to his completion of the course. His grados will be sent to GHQ where a credit for the series will be recorded at the G-l Division where a roster of officers, both Re2ular and Reserve, il' maintained tor ear.h S'!ries of thP A EC. In addition, his !cholastic record is also incorporated in his personal file kept by The Adjutant GenerAl, After completion of the "10 series' , an officer is qualif1ed to tuke thr next higher course, the "20 series" for the branch of service to which he belong11. This is designed for 1st lieutenants anrl is the Bran('h Basic Course. As told previously, it has a total of 300 credit just like all the other series. Thl' next higher series is the "30 series,'' equivalent to a reaident Advanced C.:oursl'. This course is designed primarily fur captains. The "40 series" is a higher Advanced Course. In thia series, tho GHQ limits the number of students in consonance with the needs of the service. It is a course designed especially for majors. The highest course il' the "50 series," whlch la a branch immaterial course lor General Staff Officers. This course is designed for lieutenant colonels. In this course, GHQ again earefully screens the lieutenant colonela or colonels who apply !or enrollment. Many Replar officers now aak th1s queltion, "Aaide from my sense of dllty to study, what incentive has the AFP to offer Ita officera to take thP extension course?" 40 THE AEC SERIES GHQ Circular No. 61 published m SeptcmU er _1953 makes the succesaful compl~tion of an appropriatl. extension course a prerequisite to promotion, that is, if the AEC is able to accommodate all officers to take appropriate extension courses. If all officers cannot be :1ccommodated because of limited funds, then the successfu.! completion of a course becomes only a strong (:u;. tor for promotion. It also becomcll a great determining factor for calla to active duty of reserve officers. The mission of the .\EC is a big one. While resident courses can only rear.h out to a few officers in the active l!ervice, the AFP can extend the benefits of ita training pt<.gram to those who need them most- the officers of our big Reserve Force, our Citizen Armyin the most convenient and inexperience ...·ay, hJI mail.

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