Give me some advice. I'm submitting my App to my OSO in a few days after I finish the paper work and do the PFT.

What to expect?

Stories?

OSO-PFT, WTF?

I'll let you know just as soon as I get out my Enigma machine and figure out what the hell you asked

Programmable Logic Controller? We have one at work to control one of the furnaces, its kind of fun to set the alarm to go of when someone is standing right next to it, its about as loud as a train's horn.

PLC = Platoon Leaders Course.  I think.  The OP is going to be a Marine!  (Hopefully)

Portable Lobotomy Controller:

Its like taking an handheld electric mixer to the human brain!

Quoted: Give me some advice. I'm submitting my App to my OSO in a few days after I finish the paper work and do the PFT. What to expect? Stories?

I wouldn't expect stories, no matter what the PLC is.

My son has a T-shirt they gave him after finishing the first 10-week part of PLC-the names of everybody who started the class were on the back,but about half the names had an I-95 roadsign next to them-meaning they packed up and hit the road out of Quantico before completing the course.

I broke my foot 3 weeks in last summer. That wasn't fun.

My favorite memories from PLC...

- Standing outside Yeckel Hall during inprocessing for 6 hours for the company (~170 guys) to take a piss test and downing canteens the whole time so that'd you have to piss when your time came.

- Forgetting to take a morning shit and going on the 3 mile individual run turtle heading the whole time, with your platoon commander behind you (I was thinking of running to the side and dropping my shorts).

- Having to clean 5 big bottles of sunscreen, sprayed everywhere, off of the squad bay walls, ceiling, racks, etc.

- Sweating your ass off so your cammies are soaked, then going to class in Yeckel with the AC at full blast so that your sweat turns cold and you start to freeze.

- An average of maybe 4-5 hours of sleep a night

- Being informed that you are the first shift for Corporal of the Guard 2 minutes before lights out, when only being dressed in green PT shirt/shorts.


It's a jolly good time.

Quoted: I broke my foot 3 weeks in last summer. That wasn't fun. My favorite memories from PLC... - Standing outside Yeckel Hall during inprocessing for 6 hours for the company (~170 guys) to take a piss test and downing canteens the whole time so that'd you have to piss when your time came. - Forgetting to take a morning shit and going on the 3 mile individual run turtle heading the whole time, with your platoon commander behind you (I was thinking of running to the side and dropping my shorts). - Having to clean 5 big bottles of sunscreen, sprayed everywhere, off of the squad bay walls, ceiling, racks, etc. - Sweating your ass off so your cammies are soaked, then going to class in Yeckel with the AC at full blast so that your sweat turns cold and you start to freeze. - An average of maybe 4-5 hours of sleep a night - Being informed that you are the first shift for Corporal of the Guard 2 minutes before lights out, when only being dressed in green PT shirt/shorts. It's a jolly good time.

So what was an average day like? Physical aspects?

Lots of questions, I know. Trying to figure out what I'm up agaisnt

Average day:

-Wake up at 4 (kid bangs on SI hatch ever 5 minutes til 5)
- 5, morning clean up: scuzz brush and mob floor, clean head
- PT: general PT day is fartlek run, which is 3 miles of sprints with sit-ups, pull-ups, crunches, bends and thrusts, etc. in between. After fartlek, pull-ups, push-ups, crunches. That is an "average" day
- Rest of the day is learning drill, eating, and sitting in class rooms
- Around 8, shower and all that good jazz, hygiene inspection, lights out around 9?
- After lights out, remark gear, write essays, take a shit, write letters, cry, do whatever you gotta do

Rinse wash repeat with other fun events in between


ETA: Once PT is over with, the rest of the day is mind games. Get through PT and it's downhill through there.

ETA2: You have no idea what it's like until your there Anyone could talk to you until they're blue in the face, but you won't understand until you cross the railroad tracks and see where your life belongs for the next 6-10 weeks.

Quoted: Average day: -Wake up at 4 (kid bangs on SI hatch ever 5 minutes til 5) - 5, morning clean up: scuzz brush and mob floor, clean head - PT: general PT day is fartlek run, which is 3 miles of sprints with sit-ups, pull-ups, crunches, bends and thrusts, etc. in between. After fartlek, pull-ups, push-ups, crunches. That is an "average" day - Rest of the day is learning drill, eating, and sitting in class rooms - Around 8, shower and all that good jazz, hygiene inspection, lights out around 9? - After lights out, remark gear, write essays, take a shit, write letters, cry, do whatever you gotta do Rinse wash repeat with other fun events in between ETA: Once PT is over with, the rest of the day is mind games. Get through PT and it's downhill through there. ETA2: You have no idea what it's like until your there Anyone could talk to you until they're blue in the face, but you won't understand until you cross the railroad tracks and see where your life belongs for the next 6-10 weeks.

That sounds like fun

I went in 2001 for the ten week OCC program.  

Quoted: Average day: -Wake up at 4 (kid bangs on SI hatch ever 5 minutes til 5).

It's been a while but here goes:

Good Morning Sir, Platoon Sergeant, Sergeant Instructors, The time on deck is 0400.  

Good Morning Sir, Platoon Sergeant, Sergeant Instructors, The time on deck is 0401.

Good Morning Sir, Platoon Sergeant, Sergeant Instructors, The time on deck is 0402.

This went on until 0500 which is Reveille.  This lasted for the first few weeks.  We then went to every five minutes.  

PT:  Hope you can run...  log runs... fartlek runs two different ones 3 and 5 mile.  Assorted combat courses causing different types of misery.  

All types of classes.  You will be smoked and it's hard to stay awake.  You drink more water to stay awake and hydrated.  With all that water comes "Piss Breaks" every few hours.  200 candidates trying to fit in a few heads in five minutes is hard.  Hope you will be comfortable with sharing a porta pisser with another dude.  Maybe three others.  

Lights went out for us at 2200.  Most of the night was spent preparing for the next day.  This gets better as you learn the ways of the Corps.  Prior enlisted guys always did better with sleep.  4-5 hours was normal for me.  

ETA: Once PT is over with, the rest of the day is mind games. Get through PT and it's downhill through there. ETA2: You have no idea what it's like until your there Anyone could talk to you until they're blue in the face, but you won't understand until you cross the railroad tracks and see where your life belongs for the next 6-10 weeks.

I agree 100% with these two ETA's.

Further elaboration on what RS0802 said...

Night time is indeed when you prepare for the next day. Use your time wisely and you'll get more sleep. Coordinate with your rackmate or fireteam to take turns doing laundry. Cut up your stencils and tape them into your last name, that saves time when remarking all your gear.

You'll get used to showering with about ~50 other guys twice a day. At first everyone is always trying to cover themselves coming in and out of the shower. After the first week, you don't even bother trying. And yes, sharing a stall or urinal with 2-3 other others is common practice. Believe it or not, it becomes "normal" to you.

I've only got one piece of advice...whatever the fuck you do, don't let anyone talk you into taking the two X six week classes. Take the 10 week one and get it over with.

Quoted: I've only got one piece of advice...whatever the fuck you do, don't let anyone talk you into taking the two X six week classes. Take the 10 week one and get it over with.

Any reason why you say this?

The two six weeks are more of "sprints" than a 10 week "marathon". Medical drops are much higher in the 10 week program due to your body breaking down. There's also good financial and career benefits for signing up earlier.

I'm assuming your only reason not to go down twice is because it sucks, but to me it's worth it.

Quoted: Quoted: I've only got one piece of advice...whatever the fuck you do, don't let anyone talk you into taking the two X six week classes. Take the 10 week one and get it over with. Any reason why you say this? The two six weeks are more of "sprints" than a 10 week "marathon". Medical drops are much higher in the 10 week program due to your body breaking down. There's also good financial and career benefits for signing up earlier. I'm assuming your only reason not to go down twice is because it sucks, but to me it's worth it.

  I was an enlisted Marine and had been through boot camp five years before. When I went to the first 6 weeks, they treat you like a piece of shit the whole 6 weeks, because you're only there for a short time. I remember standing in line at the armory waiting to turn my rifle in on graduation day from the first 6 weeks, and all I remember was the guys who had just finished the second six weeks laughing and saying "you think the first 6 was tough, wait 'til you get back here for the second six"...they were right. The second six was even worse because all the instructors looked at you like you had been in the slimey civilian world for the last 12 months turning into a soft lazy turd again. They wore us out every stinkin' day right up to graduation...on top of that, for the year between them, all I did was think about having to go back. No thanks.

How much harder is PLC than boot camp? I already have my degree and have considered trying to become an officer. I was wondering how it would compare to my bootcamp experience.

One thing I noticed is that all the enlisted Marines hated being treated like shit again. We had a reservist SSgt. who was schocked that he'd be treated in the same manner as us civilian pukes.

I suppose I don't find it that bad because I haven't been part of the Corps before going down.

Quoted: How much harder is PLC than boot camp? I already have my degree and have considered trying to become an officer. I was wondering how it would compare to my bootcamp experience.

I graduated from PLC Jr. during the summer of 1985.  I remember a Marine reservist who went to MCRD San Diego told me that PLC was physically harder but a little easier mentally.  Maybe because none of us were 18 year old kids?  

I can tell you that nothing was easy at PLC, the PT was killer and the sleep was minimal, we all slept on the plane on the way home out of sheer exhaustion.  

All I can say is if you graduate, you've definitely earned your commission!!!

Quoted: How much harder is PLC than boot camp? I already have my degree and have considered trying to become an officer. I was wondering how it would compare to my bootcamp experience.

From what the priors said while I was down there, OCS is physically harder than boot camp, while boot camp is mentally harder.

Here are pictures from a current OCS class.  This is a 10 week OCC course.  This course is designed for college graduates.  

OCS pics

 

    There are reasons for one appearing harder than the other, or for people having different perspectives on them. For one thing, when you enlist, you can't just waltz up to your DI and DOR. You're attitude can take on a whole different slant knowing that in the back of your mind at OCS. Also, having been enlisted and having relatives who'd been to both, I knew better than to expect anything but a rough time at OCS. In fact OCS was rougher because I had a visible USMC tattoo...from the first minute of the first day it was expected that I was to know everything, and teach everyone everything I knew. So what if I didn't have time for my own shit because I was so busy helping everyone else. When one of my charges screwed up, I paid doubly for it not keeping myself AND them unfucked. It just kind of went with the turf...I ate it all and graduated. If you're just a college boy with no prior experience, then your view of the whole thing is probably going to be much different than mine.

   Lastly, the biggest difference to me was that boot camp teaches you how to be a follower. At OCS, you begin to learn how to be a leader. If you think you're just going to sit back at OCS and cooperate to graduate, then you have a rude awakening on its way...they are evaluating your leadership abilities from the minute you show up there.

One old farts view...

Quoted:     There are reasons for one appearing harder than the other, or for people having different perspectives on them. For one thing, when you enlist, you can't just waltz up to your DI and DOR. You're attitude can take on a whole different slant knowing that in the back of your mind at OCS. Also, having been enlisted and having relatives who'd been to both, I knew better than to expect anything but a rough time at OCS. In fact OCS was rougher because I had a visible USMC tattoo...from the first minute of the first day it was expected that I was to know everything, and teach everyone everything I knew. So what if I didn't have time for my own shit because I was so busy helping everyone else. When one of my charges screwed up, I paid doubly for it not keeping myself AND them unfucked. It just kind of went with the turf...I ate it all and graduated. If you're just a college boy with no prior experience, then your view of the whole thing is probably going to be much different than mine.    Lastly, the biggest difference to me was that boot camp teaches you how to be a follower. At OCS, you begin to learn how to be a leader. If you think you're just going to sit back at OCS and cooperate to graduate, then you have a rude awakening on its way...they are evaluating your leadership abilities from the minute you show up there. One old farts view...

I'll agree with you there. I was the college boy with no experience: didn't know how to roll sleeves, make a rack, or any of the stuff Marines learn at boot camp. I could understand why the priors had a bit of disdain toward us, because we did in fact slow them down and make them potential targets for harrassment. Alot of things we weren't taught by the SI's, and the priors had to teach all of us civilians.

To the OP, try to watch the prior enlisted and learn from them, and only ask for help when you positively need it. If you follow a prior around and say, how do I do this, how do I do that, help help help, he's probably going to hate you. Not saying you would do that, just a tip.

Never quit, and conduct yourself with honor.

The rest will follow.

Good luck!

PLC-C 2005
OCC-193 (2006)
Currently at TBS