what is it like to be in platoon leaders class
| Officer Candidates School | |
|---|---|
 The OCS insignia | |
| Active | 1891 – present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Type | Training |
| Role | Screen and evaluate officeholder candidates |
| Part of | Training and Education Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Base of operations Quantico |
| Motto(s) | "Ductus Exemplo" "Leadership past Example" |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel David C. Hyman |
The U.s. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School (OCS) is a preparation regiment designed to screen and evaluate potential Marine Corps Officers. Those who successfully consummate the menstruum of instruction are deputed as Second Lieutenants in the United States Marines. Unlike the other U.s.a. military services, the bulk of Marine Corps officers consummate OCS to earn a commission; the exceptions are midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy, limited duty officers, and inter-service transfers. Information technology is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
Depending on the course, Officer Candidates go through either a ten-calendar week (PLC Combined/OCC), or two six-week courses (PLC) over dissever summers, designed primarily to screen and evaluate candidates' fitness to pb Marines by placing them in leadership positions in a stressful environment. The 10-week grade only happens after a candidate's junior yr of college.[1] Students are evaluated during two–three day garrison command billets at the company and platoon level, and squad and fire-team level tactical billets during field exercises.
History [edit]
Prior to World War I, Marine officers came primarily from the Naval University or were commissioned from the enlisted ranks. But as the Marine Corps expanded, it needed its ain training pipeline for officers. OCS traces its roots to the "School of Awarding", established in 1891 in Washington, D.C. With the expansion of the Marine Corps for World War I, all instructional efforts were consolidated—commencement at Marine Corps Station, Philadelphia, then in 1940 at MCB Quantico, where they remain today.
Location [edit]
OCS is currently located at Brown Field at Marine Corps Base of operations Quantico. PLC Juniors was at Army camp Upshur through 1987 but was later on consolidated with PLC Seniors at Brown Field.
Selection and entry [edit]
Entry to the Officer Candidates School comes from several different commissioning programs:[2]
- Officer Candidates Grade (OCC) for higher seniors and graduates
- Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) for college students with one or more years left in school
- NROTC (Marine Selection) in addition to regular NROTC program requirements, NROTC (Marine Selection) midshipmen must laissez passer a 6-calendar week OCS form known every bit "Bulldog" during summer between junior and senior year. "Bulldog" is modeled later on the PLC Seniors Class.
- Enlisted Commissioning Programme (ECP) for enlisted Marines with a college degree
- Meritorious Commissioning Program (MCP) for enlisted Marines within eighteen months of graduation (No longer an active commissioning plan)
- Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP)
Officer Candidates must pass a series of tests before being admitted into the Officer Candidate School.[3] An Officeholder Selection Officer (OSO), usually a Captain, meets with a prospective Officer Candidate. Upon completing a satisfactory interview, the OSO then makes the conclusion to move the prospective candidate onto the next step. The prospective candidate then must consummate a short essay almost why they desire to be a Marine Officer, provide identification (usually a nascence certificate and Social Security bill of fare), pass a background check, provide five letters of recommendation, and complete a physical medical test.
After successful completion of these steps, the OSO may and then conduct the Officer Candidate through a Concrete Fitness Test. Upon reaching a score on the test that the OSO deems to be acceptable (a minimum get-go class score is necessary), the Officer Candidate then signs the contract (including the contract to nourish the course, the fraternization policy acknowledgement, and the Marine Corps drug policy acknowledgement). Candidates choose to enter the program equally either a footing, air, or police contract.
All of this information is sent to a review board, which will vote to decide if the Candidate should be accepted to Officer Candidate School. These review boards generally convene only once a month. After receiving a majority vote of acceptance from the review board, the Officer Candidate is officially accustomed into the Officeholder Candidate Program and scheduled for a class.
Grooming [edit]
A Sergeant Teacher corrects an officeholder candidate
OCS screens potential officers using a program designed to examination and appraise the candidates by using the three graded categories of Academics, Leadership, and Physical Fitness. This includes evaluated events such every bit the leadership reaction form (LRC) and minor unit leader evaluation (SULE).[4] The Period of Pedagogy (POI) is divided into must pass events, such every bit hikes and the Endurance Form, and purely graded events that factor into one of the three graded categories, such as LRC and SULE. Candidates must maintain a minimum of 80% in Academics, Leadership, and Physical Fitness to graduate, too as passing all the mandatory pass/neglect events such as the Endurance Course. Events that must be passed for graduation are too given percentage grades that factor into i of the three graded categories.
Regardless of grade, the instructors usually include officers to handle most academic instruction, enlisted sergeant instructors (Staff Noncommissioned Officers taken from the drill instructor community) to conduct near of the day-to-twenty-four hour period management, and other instructors (virtually often not-commissioned officers) to teach about field skills. Officer Candidates on both courses have many related expenses (including travel to and from Officer Candidate School, meals, and lodging) paid for them (after the conclusion of training), and have expenses for uniforms, books, and other supplies deducted from their pay. The Training and Pedagogy Command designs the program of pedagogy for OCS.
Platoon Leaders Form [edit]
The Platoon Leaders Class normally consists of two half dozen-week training sessions taken between consecutive schoolhouse years, which occur in the summers with no commitment during the school year. Young men and women at any accredited four-year higher or academy are eligible for this grade.
Officer Candidates who attend the Platoon Leaders Class may opt for either the PLC Juniors/Seniors program or the PLC Combined program. In the Juniors/Seniors program, a freshman may attend the PLC Juniors class the summer between their freshman and sophomore years, then nourish the PLC Seniors class the summer before their senior year begins. Sophomores can attend the PLC Juniors class the summer before their junior yr in school and the PLC Seniors course the post-obit summer. PLC Combined is a 10-week program for those interested in completing officer screening during a unmarried summer later completing their inferior year in college.
Training includes academic and field topics. Academic subjects covered include Marine Corps history, leadership, shut order drill, weapons treatment, and general military subjects such as land navigation, the Uniform Lawmaking of Military Justice, interior guard, moral and upstanding leadership, and basic combat. PLC candidates need to be physically fit as the concrete training is demanding; for example, Officer Candidates in the PLC Seniors course run and hike an boilerplate of 250 miles (400 km) or more than during a 6-week period.
Those who opt for the Juniors/Seniors plan volition discover that the divided program is tailored to provide progressive training. The Juniors course is an introduction into the Marine Corps, and allows the candidates to be evaluated and motivated for a possible commission. Concrete training, small unit leadership, and basic infantry tactics are addressed, as well as significant academic teaching. PLC Seniors is an avant-garde course of indoctrination and contains similar physical grooming, small unit leadership, infantry tactics, and academics; but at a faster rate and with more instructor-induced stress. Those candidates who opt for the combined course cover the same areas of education, but it is integrated without the need to reevaluate candidates due to a twelvemonth-long gap. NROTC midshipmen attend the PLC Seniors course for their final summer cruise, nicknamed "Bulldog".
Officer Candidates Class [edit]
The master culling is the Officeholder Candidates Class, which is designed for college seniors or graduates and enlisted Marines, and consists of one 10-calendar week training session. While the curriculum is identical to the 10-week PLC Combined session, OCC is held iii times a year (winter, summer, and fall), and accepts only college graduates. Additionally, graduates of OCC are commissioned immediately upon graduation of OCS.
The Quigley [edit]
The Quigley is a legendary h2o obstacle that is currently part of the Combat Grade at OCS.[5] Lieutenant Colonel William J. Quigley, a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, designed it in 1967. Information technology consists of a long canal with 4-foot (1.2 one thousand) cement culverts submerged in swampy h2o; candidates must immerse themselves and navigate through the Quigley without continuing as a part of the OCS training plan. The Quigley, as well as the Combat Grade of which it is a role, however, is non a graded exercise and is not necessary for graduation.
USNA Leatherneck [edit]
Midshipmen Starting time Form at the United States Naval Academy who limited involvement in joining the Marine Corps nourish a four-week summer program in Quantico called Leatherneck after the slang term for Marines. They are evaluated on leadership, physical training and military skills, with physical evaluations including the Physical Fitness Test, Combat Fitness Test, Obstacle Class and Endurance Course. Midshipmen also learn basic war machine skills such as land navigation, combat orders, offensive gainsay tactics, and basic weapons familiarization, which are practical during multi-day field exercises including the culminating event when each midshipman is given the opportunity to lead a squad attack on an objective.[6]
Further training [edit]
Officer candidates who complete OCS (and accept obtained their higher degrees) are then deputed as Second Lieutenants and sent to The Basic School (TBS) at Quantico for six months of farther training with other newly commissioned Marine officers from all other commissioning programs. At TBS, they receive the skills and knowledge necessary to lead Marines in combat; much like "every Marine is a rifleman", every officer is introduced to the skills necessary to lead a provisional rifle platoon.
See too [edit]
- Officer Candidate School (Usa Regular army)
- Officer Candidate Schoolhouse (Us Navy)
- Air Force Officer Training School
References [edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
- ^ "US Marine Corps Platoon Leader Course: What Y'all Demand to Know". The Balance . Retrieved 2017-10-08 .
- ^ "Earning a Committee". U.South. Marine Corps Officeholder Candidate's Guide. Us Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2012-07-xiv. Retrieved 2007-01-28 .
- ^ "U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate'south Guide". Retrieved 2007-01-27 .
- ^ Lowe, Christian. "Leadership ability tested in frustrating 'SULE' class Archived 2010-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, April 07, 2004. Accessed April 07, 2010.
- ^ Lowe, Christian. "Walking the razor's edge: Those who don't quit or aren't booted go along upward the fight" Archived 2010-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Marine Corps Times website, Apr 07, 2004. Accessed January 30, 2010.
- ^ United States Marine Corps Summer Training Usa Naval Academy
External links [edit]
- USMC Officeholder Candidates School website
- Comparison between Officer Candidate School and Basic (Enlisted) Recruit Training
- Marine OCS Forum
- Candidates Regulations
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_Candidates_School_%28United_States_Marine_Corps%29
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