Marine training

I am seeking some advice from anyone that has any knowledge of going to Officer Canadidate School for the Marines or any branch. What is it like physically? How about mentally? What are some good things to prepare and read about? I am going for 6 weeks straight this summer because I’m in the officer training program at my college.

Thanks

Whatever imaginings you may have about how hard it may be both physically and mentally…
It’s harder.
I was a real Marine, not an officer, and 6 years in the infantry was both hell and heaven at the same time. I may have always hated officers, but I was always respectful of their fitness levels. Be ready to lose all muscle mass and run your ass off every day.

Ask your recruiter to show you the video. Expect a great deal of cardio. If you’re not in shape now, you will be by the end.

DI

I was able to get all of the PT books of requirements (and training programs)for all US Military branches.

I haven`t bought anything from them in the last 2 years. I have no idea if it is still as dedicated as it was then.

Just my 2 cents.

Buckle up big dog it,s going to be a rough ride, but then again it wouldnt be the Marine Corps if it was handed to you. I am an enlisted Marine and I’m here to tell you it is no joke. Get ready to run your ass off. You need to work on your pull-ups as well. Good luck on everything. I will be one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and your country. I am always glad to hear of people giving back to America and not bitching about what America owes them. Stay motovated!

Mentally, just know that you WILL succeed going into it, and that every trial they put you through is your chance to PROVE it to every one around you.

ocs is easier than regular enlisted boot camp but still rough. i was an enlisted devil dog for 4 years and that pretty much was the census from some enlisted friends of mine that decided to become officers

GaryE
said it to a “T”

oooooooooooh
rahhhhhhhhhh
sorry its been a while and i just needed to get that out!

Hey i just got back from running a PFT. I pumped out the max in pull-ups and crunches easy. In the run I did alright, 21:13 3 mile. I will be training more for it now. I just don’t want to shift my training over to the endurance side too much. I wish there was a best of both worlds when it came to lifting heavy and gaining while increasing your endurance in running.

You are just going to have to do what you have to do to succeed in your training. I know that it sucks that you are going to have to loose some of your gains but in the end you will have enough time to get it back once you hit the fleet. Your PFT would be considered a first class for a score of 280 of a possible 300 points. Great job. one 4fire you fucking motovat me hardcharger! ooh rah!

F* you Gary E. My brother is a JAG officer who spent the summers before and after law school busting his ass at Quantico. When he was done with training he went to Newport, Rhode Island to study Maritime Law while continuing to learn military strategy. When he was finished there he spent 3 years in Cherry Point, N.C. keeping dumb fuck grunts like you out of jail. Now you want to sit here and tell me he isn’t a “real” Marine because he’s an officer? In the 8 years he’s been an officer he’s never once put down a fellow marine, and he holds nothing but respect for everyone in the service. If he isn’t a real marine, and you are, then the corps is in serious trouble.

BUMP TO WEAPON X!
I successfully completed the three months of USMC OCS and the subsequent 6 months of The Basic School for Officers. Gary E, you’re just wrong.
In fact, OCS is harder physically and mentally…as it should be. Officers lead Marines, and do it best by the example of their own performance.

Just consider, the “Crucible” that enlisted Marines started performing in boot camp several years ago under Commandant Krulak is a duplication of the Small Unit Leadership Evaluation tests given to officers at OCS for decades.

I served with a number of officers who did both enlisted boot camp and OCS. Their consensus is that OCS is much harder physically than enlisted boot camp. I’ve witnessed the physical conditioning of Marines recently graduated from boot camp and Officers from both OCS and TBS. There’s just no real comparison…Officers win hands down.

The quality of the entrant is much different too. I went through OCS with officer candidates who were Harvard, Yale, or Columbia grads, an All-American honorable mention, and an Olympic boxing finalist…all in the same 50 man platoon! That just doesn’t happen at boot camp.

After OCS, all officers, whether grunts, pilots, or lawyers endure an even more rigorous test for six months at The Basic School for officers. I’m here to say, there’s no comparable follow-on school for enlisted personnel. TBS is a true ball buster, it is not for the faint of heart.

I’m not going to call you out on your statement that only enlisted Marines are real Marines. I’m not going to waste my time. You’re probably the type of Marine I routinely send to the brig. The only time I would have spoken to you on active duty would have been to deliver your sentence in a military justice proceeding. I’ll ask you instead…why do you feel such a need to display your ignorance and immaturity in public and give the remainder of enlisted Marines, like my father, a bad name?

I was(key word) training to do this as well. I, like you did well in the pullups(21) and crunches (112) but could never get my run below a 24 for the 3 miles I was at 195#, Im 6’1" at the time. I eventually ended up pulling my hamstring pretty bad and sat down and thought about my future career as a Marine. In the meantime the staff sgt was on my case every other day about running again. I wasn’t in the mood to hear about pushing through the pain so I let him know that until further notice, until I heal up I dont see it happening. I did however happen to go to a mini- ocs weekend which was both an eye opening exeperience and learning on at that. The platoon sgt was a gunny sgt who had taught at both OCS and Pendleton and told us he would be easier on us.
Well I thought I was mentally ready. WRONG! I think the best thing to get through your head, if it is possible is that you will not be mentally prepared. You will be bombarded with things that you will not know and you will face consequences for those things. And if someone isnt pulling there weight everyone suffers.
The biggest thing that I heard from the people that had been to OCS, like you 6 week course is this. Do the 10week your senior year if you can, because its a pain in the ass to get back into the groove the next summer. Those that had been the 10 weeks straight said that once you get going it is easier(if you can call it that) to stay with it.
The other thing was running in boots and humping with a pack. They said that a lot of candidates are not ready to run and hump in boots. So star running in your boots asap.
Also if you have not taken a look at look at marineocs.com
If you have any questions as far as what I said goes let me know. But by no means am I an expert. I only know from what other Marines have told me.

smartbulldog,

Are you a military judge? I’ll say that military justice is harsh and swift.

The JAG program for the Marines is totally different from the other branches, which usually require something like a 2-week “camp” to introduce law graduates to the military before sending them to study military law. The Marines require going through OCS and TBS.

Biceps,

Try using kettlebells - they will work both strength and endurance. Pavel Tsatsouline, who is the big KB proponent, served, and I believe still serves, as a special PT instructor (or some similar title) to the Marines. You used to be a fitness trainer for the Russian Spetznaz.