So next summer, i plan on going to the PLC Marine officers camp, and i have a few questions for anyone whose done it.

How much stuff physically should i be able to do by then? People are telling me different things and i'd like to know what should be an actual idea.

How long will they keep me in the marines once i finish college?

Any other suggestions?

I'd ask a Officers School rep about it, but i'm sure they'll keep bugging me to join once i request information. So id like to know what i'm getting into. Im becoming a junior at a university in the fall, so i belive i would go to the 10 week course in quantico next summer. Any input is appreciated. Thanks

Btw, what sling do the marines use on the rifles?
I'd like to practice with my AR so i can get marksmanship and blahblahblah.
Thanks guys

btt

For what?  A drink.

A max PFT score is 300 points.

20 dead hang pull ups = 100
100 crunches in 2 min = 100
3 mile run in under 18 minutes = 100


The training is more about mental toughness then physical toughness.  But keep in mind that the physical aspect WILL leave you so exhausted you can't pick yourself up out of the sweat mudpuddle you just mountain climbed into the deck.  

You gotta WANT it!

Oh yeah, the sling is the standard black web sling with the quick adjust buckle.

GO ARMY!

A jarhead's job is to die... and die in droves!

Join the Army and lead troops in battle.

First of all, are you currently a Marine?  If not, I am sure you'll have to go through boot camp before Officer's School.

Did you see that 3 mile run number...18 minutes.  That's 6 minute miles times three.  Better get running if you don't already.

Nope, Im not currently a marine.

Sorry i meant to say PLC not OCC. If you are graduation from a four year college, you can take the camp during the summer, 10 weeks, and then depending how well u do you enter the marines upon college graudation as a 2nd lieutenant.

Damn, 3 miles in 18? I only got it down to 24 minutes. Talk about torture....but 18 minutes is the max score.
I still got almost a year to get my ass into shape, so i'm pretty sure my times will improve.
Thanks guys.


LOL, ping3, Im doing officers not enlisted. But i'd really like to make the most out of my life i guess. I was planning on going to med school, but my grades arent to optimal at the moment. Which means they're gonna want me to go out and get some life experience. And i have alwyas wanted to join the military, so i see this as a good opportunity to set my future for the next 8 years or so....
I dont plan on making a permanent career out of this. But i definitely do want this.
Do i still have to take the ASVAB?


No boot camp, thats for enlisted personnel. PLC is boot camp for potential officers, and well, its less everyday exercise but more grueling. The mental attitude is different. They dont push you, but they want you to push yourself, and they want to see ur progress and how bad you really want it.

If you see enlisted Marines as cannon fodder maybe you should take Pings advice an go Army. Sorry but that just grates me. As an officer you will be entrusted with the most valuable resource the Marine Corps has. That is the lives of your Marines. The sons and daughters of the people that you are sworn to protect and defend. They are far too precious a resource to have their lives trivialized and thrown away by arrogant, asinine officers who could not care less about the true meaning of leadership. I don't know about other services but in the USMC the enlisted Marines welfare and needs come first. They will win battles if you lead them with honor, integrity and respect. If you pass the test you will be a leader. Start thinking like one. There is nothing more useless to the United States Marine Corps than an officer who places his career ahead of the good of the Corps.

OCS is screening and evaluation for potential service as a commissioned officer, you will be screened by enlisted Marines to see if they think you can lead them.  So don't look at enlist Marines as potential cannon fodder, we are always told the most valuable thing we have is the lives of our Marines, because unlike equipment their lives cannot be replaced if lost.

The hardest part of OCS is the PT, it is several times harder than Marine boot camp, it is in fact probably physically the most demanding thing you do in the US military outside of special operations.  The only guys I remember in my OCS class that didn't find the PT challenging was a former Force Marine and one or two colligate athletes.  But in general even those that come in extremely good shape (you have to or you will be sent home) tend to get worn down because there never is any rest to let your body recover.

Marine officers [b]LEAD FROM THE FRONT![/b] If your enlisted men are "cannon fodder," and you're out in front of them, what does that make you?

Please, [b][size=5]PLEASE[/size=5][/B], do something else with your life if you think of enlisted Marines as "cannon fodder."

Agreed!  The Corps would do itself a great favor if it would require All Officers to be Mustangs.  Every Marine Officer should have at least one GCM.  I might give a break to the Canoe U. grads, but they would have to choose the Marine Option by the end of their sophomore year and spend two summers under the watchful eye of a FMF SNCO.

PINGi3,  The reason the Army is as big as it is, is because historically they HAVE died in droves!

gunsmithdude, 3 miles in 24 min is an average formation run.  You will generate a passing PFT score with that but you will be at the back of the herd and that is no place for a leader to be.  That 24 min run time will most likely get stretched by a minute or two once you wear down your upper body and abs with the pull ups and crunches.  Take Cincinnatus up on his offer.  That kind of knowledge comes at a steep price and he is giving it away!

Deepest apologies guys.
I wasn't being serious about that remark about cannon fodder.
I do value the lives of every single person in the armed forces, and am proud to support them. In fact, that is the reason why i am joining, so that i can serve the needs of the country, especially over my own. One of my deepest reasons for wanting to join the marines is to give something back to this damn awesome country that we live in. I see it as an honor to serve, not some personal challenge or anything.

Well if you decide to go the Infantry Route remember this those cannon fodder Lcpl's have been there done that.They have 2 years on you and they know more than you.
Those Staff Nco's have at least 9 years on you.

Now as far as the ARMY goes,give me a break.Ya they have Spec Op's and Rangers and all that happy hor$e$hit.But as far as regular infantry goes forget it ARMY does not even come close.

The Marines send regular Infantry to Ranger school and our completion rate is about oh 96% sent to the school injury is the main reason for falling out of the course,way higher than the rate of regular ARMY infantry.

The Marines are just better trained,better conditioned and better prepared.Its not just because im a Marine its the truth,ive trained with regular ARMY Infantry and they just cant compare.

P.S
I dont consider a run time of 24 minutes bad.I run an average of 22 minutes and im a pretty good size guy about 6'2 230 and no im not over weight,im special i have an alternate weight standard cause im a fricken moose.
Some people are not great runners we have an officer who runs 22-23 minutes but he is a first class pft.My best ever was 265 but my norm is around a 250 and i picked up SGT before alot of the PT studs did.

OCS is a different world than the FMF, if you show up running in the 22 or higher you will be looked at as someone who didn't take going to OCS serious or someone who may not be physically able to make it in the Corps.  Because of being your run time you will be the subject of unwanted attention.  This is not to say you cannot still make it, but the less attention you bring to yourself for negative reasons the better.  

Hey, but when was the last time the Marines actually killed any bad guys?

You don't sound like Marine material, you should look into the Army or Air Force.

Well Marine Cobras took over in Operation Anaconda when most of the AH-64 were being repaired because of enemy ground fire.  Prior to most of TF Raakasaan arriving there, TF 58 consisting of 2 MEU (SOC)s was in country ands its elements were involved in multiple engagements, to include an ambush that the MPEG is on the Marine Corps web site.

...yeah, but did they kill any bad guys?

They hurt their feelings pretty bad.

Hey buddy! Marines flip out all the time and chop off peoples heads!

Oh yeah, that's Mall Ninjas. Never mind.

[Marines]

Semper Fi! Do or die! Gung Ho! Gung Ho! Gung Ho!

Well since we have our own air wing, and had been dropping bombs under the plan laid out by the JFACC for a long time before anyone went into the country, they defiantly killed more enemy than anyone on the ground.

That is what I really find interesting about allot of the anti-Marine bias by some army SNCOs they really don't know what they are talking about, yet they still are willing to look ridiculous by talking.

Grow some sack and talk to the friggin recruiters and find out. You seem to be concerned that you will be pestered by them...news for you buddy recruiting for Officers is way different than for Enlisted. The guys who contact us with their BA's in "Cultural Fucking Anthropology" and the realization that they just wasted alot of time and money into a degree with no job potential are a dime a dozen. FYI the Marine officer recruiter in my parts is a Gunny. As you will find out in due time his job (ALL Gunnys) is to make shure you will not look stupid in front of your CO or more importantly your men! So basically the first person you will be in contact with and who will decide if HE wants you in HIS CORPS is...cannon fodder. Cute phrase did ya get that from a Marchiko book? As for what will be expected from you physically...110%. There are minimum standards for everything if that is 110% of what you have to give then that is acceptable. Dont think for one minute that you can grunt and moan,lag behind and convince Gunny you are giving it your best he will see through it. Its a matter of heart the guy who is last on everything and is told to quit but still carries on no matter what has heart. Guess who will decide? Yup cannon fodder. 110% remember that. I hope to God that you are not one of those fuck heads that talks to the recruiter making demands and asking whats in it for me. You must prove yourself to them. Its simple DO YOU WANT TO BE A MARINE? Shit or get off the pot. The fact that you havent even spoken to a recruiter because you do not want to be "bugged" is just pissing me off as I type.

I hope this pisses you off.

I hope you are not the person I am stero typing you as.

I hope that the input from the people on this forum will help you decide if you should be looking at the Corps.

More than anything I wish you the best of luck whatever path you choose be it USA,USN,USMC or USAF just serve your country.

To the MARINES...HOO-YAH see you in the fleet in 3 years. I'll be in the Zodiac in the mine field.

Take care brothers hard times ahead.

V/R DC1  

Well said eastsideDC1.
I don't want you in my Navy or Marine Corps with your attitude.