The article examines the creation of military training centers (MTCs) in Russia as a method for training officer personnel. The acute shortage of junior officers in the early 2000s led to the development of a program to establish MTCs at civilian universities, which involved military training for students followed by contract military service. The article describes the process of developing and implementing this initiative, including scientific research, legislative amendments, and experiments at several universities. However, with the start of the military reform in 2009, the need for MTC graduates decreased, and the program was discontinued. Nevertheless, the experience of creating MTCs became the foundation for further development of the military training system in Russia.