sdsurferdude77
OCS
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — When candidates arrive at Officer Candidates School, they enter a calm and relaxed environment. This allows them to become accustomed their surroundings before meeting their company staff. They begin to feel at ease. After a brief welcome from the school's commanding officer, the training begins."Get out, get out, get out! Pick this trash up and move it, candidate!" yells one sergeant instructor. "Oh, we just want to take our time, now, huh? What is your name, candidate?" yells another as candidates come racing out of the auditorium-sized classroom doors. Candidates are then ordered to march across the football field-sized parade deck in columns, carrying all their belongings however they can. The next 10 weeks will be anything but relaxing.It's not a test of physical strength. It's not just about following orders. Instead, it's an evaluation of how well potential Marine Corps leaders think and lead under stress in a combat environment. The Officer Candidates School is a place where many have proven their ability to be great leaders, while others have failed and been told they don't have what it takes to be a Marine Corps officer. "We create an atmosphere of evaluation for leadership potential through chaos and uncertainty," said Maj. Patrick Kelleher, OCS operations officer. "The candidates generate their own stress depending on how well they can function in that chaos and uncertainty."There are various types of programs provided by the school, to accommodate varying situations. The Officer Candidates Class is a 10-week course for four-year college graduates. The Platoon Leaders Class Junior and Senior are six-week courses for college students who attend OCS during the summer months of their junior and senior years of college. PLC combined is a 10-week course attended by college students who have completed their junior year of college. The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps is the final course that involves college students who are enrolled in a ROTC program at their college and are in their junior year. The staff conducts the curriculum, physical training and evaluation of leadership potential in the same manner for each of the programs, with the mission to motivate, train, evaluate and screen potential officers, said Kelleher. Each candidate is evaluated and treated equally regardless of the military experience some may have had. "Marines who have gone through recruit training may come here better prepared, and they should, but all the candidates are held to the same standards," said Kelleher. For the candidates who are moving through obstacle after obstacle, running mile after mile and taking class after class, regardless of which program, the goals are the same: to show the Marine Corps they have what it takes to be a leader of Marines.
OCS
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — When candidates arrive at Officer Candidates School, they enter a calm and relaxed environment. This allows them to become accustomed their surroundings before meeting their company staff. They begin to feel at ease. After a brief welcome from the school's commanding officer, the training begins."Get out, get out, get out! Pick this trash up and move it, candidate!" yells one sergeant instructor. "Oh, we just want to take our time, now, huh? What is your name, candidate?" yells another as candidates come racing out of the auditorium-sized classroom doors. Candidates are then ordered to march across the football field-sized parade deck in columns, carrying all their belongings however they can. The next 10 weeks will be anything but relaxing.It's not a test of physical strength. It's not just about following orders. Instead, it's an evaluation of how well potential Marine Corps leaders think and lead under stress in a combat environment. The Officer Candidates School is a place where many have proven their ability to be great leaders, while others have failed and been told they don't have what it takes to be a Marine Corps officer. "We create an atmosphere of evaluation for leadership potential through chaos and uncertainty," said Maj. Patrick Kelleher, OCS operations officer. "The candidates generate their own stress depending on how well they can function in that chaos and uncertainty."There are various types of programs provided by the school, to accommodate varying situations. The Officer Candidates Class is a 10-week course for four-year college graduates. The Platoon Leaders Class Junior and Senior are six-week courses for college students who attend OCS during the summer months of their junior and senior years of college. PLC combined is a 10-week course attended by college students who have completed their junior year of college. The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps is the final course that involves college students who are enrolled in a ROTC program at their college and are in their junior year. The staff conducts the curriculum, physical training and evaluation of leadership potential in the same manner for each of the programs, with the mission to motivate, train, evaluate and screen potential officers, said Kelleher. Each candidate is evaluated and treated equally regardless of the military experience some may have had. "Marines who have gone through recruit training may come here better prepared, and they should, but all the candidates are held to the same standards," said Kelleher. For the candidates who are moving through obstacle after obstacle, running mile after mile and taking class after class, regardless of which program, the goals are the same: to show the Marine Corps they have what it takes to be a leader of Marines.