Cadets enrolled in the Professional Officer Course attend class three hours a week and participate in a weekly leadership laboratory lasting three hours. In the Professional Officer Course, cadets apply what they have learned in the General Military Course and at field training encampments. Professional Officer Corps cadets conduct the leadership laboratories and manage the unit's cadet wing. Each unit has a cadet wing based on the Air Force organizational pattern of flight, squadron, group, and wing. Professional Officer Course classes are small.
Emphasis is on group discussions and cadet presentations.
Classroom topics include management, communication skills, and the national defense policy. Once enrolled in the Professional Officer Course, all cadets are enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and assigned to the Obligated Reserve Section. However, the entry procedure differs. Entrance into the Professional Officer Course is competitive and two-year applicants must be selected through the selection system described above. Field Training Field Training is, in most cases, a cadet's first exposure to a working Air Force environment.