Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

Hi Tom,
I was playing a little with "Nathan Branden" in ASA this evening and a
question occured to me and I'm sorry to say I don't know the answer.
My understanding is that Marine Corps Officers don't go to boot camp
(Mustangs excepted). I know they must do some kind of training but I
have no idea what the requirements are.
I should be ashamed to admit it but I guess I'm too old to let my
crappy memory bother me.
Thanks for any help in enlightening the vast empty spaces in my mind.

Mark E. Williams

PS...I know there are other Marines in the Group but you were the
first one that poped into my mind. :o)
Sometimes it doesn't pay to stand out. LOL

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
...
Hi Tom,
I was playing a little with "Nathan Branden" in ASA this evening and a
question occured to me and I'm sorry to say I don't know the answer.
My understanding is that Marine Corps Officers don't go to boot camp
(Mustangs excepted). I know they must do some kind of training but I
have no idea what the requirements are.
I should be ashamed to admit it but I guess I'm too old to let my
crappy memory bother me.
Thanks for any help in enlightening the vast empty spaces in my mind.

Mark E. Williams

PS...I know there are other Marines in the Group but you were the
first one that poped into my mind. :o)
Sometimes it doesn't pay to stand out. LOL


I'm not Tom and not an ex-jarhead .... (Navy) ..... but if the Marines are
like the Navy, the officers do indeed do a "boot camp" although it is much
shorter in duration than the boot camp the enlisted attend. Of course,
Navy training was a bit tougher, so maybe the Marines don't have to.
(Remember .... the Marines are a branch of the Navy)

Eisboch

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:34:32 -0500, Maynard G. Krebbs
wrote:

Sometimes it doesn't pay to stand out. LOL

Heh...

It's a little different that it was in my day, but basically you enter
through several programs - PLC (Platoon Leaders School), NROTC -
Marine concentration, OCS or through USNA.

After that, it's to what they now call The Basic School where they
have basically 6 months of Basic Training but with concentrations on
officer responsibilities.

The basic military training is provided by the base courses in college
or at USNA, then TBS, then operational speciality if that's an option.

Pretty cool actually.

http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/TBS/default.htm

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

On Sun, 1 Jul 2007 20:37:36 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Tom,
I was playing a little with "Nathan Branden" in ASA this evening and a
question occured to me and I'm sorry to say I don't know the answer.
My understanding is that Marine Corps Officers don't go to boot camp
(Mustangs excepted). I know they must do some kind of training but I
have no idea what the requirements are.
I should be ashamed to admit it but I guess I'm too old to let my
crappy memory bother me.
Thanks for any help in enlightening the vast empty spaces in my mind.

Mark E. Williams

PS...I know there are other Marines in the Group but you were the
first one that poped into my mind. :o)
Sometimes it doesn't pay to stand out. LOL


I'm not Tom and not an ex-jarhead .... (Navy) ..... but if the Marines are
like the Navy, the officers do indeed do a "boot camp" although it is much
shorter in duration than the boot camp the enlisted attend. Of course,
Navy training was a bit tougher, so maybe the Marines don't have to.
(Remember .... the Marines are a branch of the Navy)

Squiids - can't live with 'em, can't get there without 'em. :)

And it's former Jarhead thank you very much. :)

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:34:32 -0500, Maynard G. Krebbs
wrote:

I was playing a little with "Nathan Branden" in ASA this evening

What's ASA?

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:34:32 -0500, Maynard G. Krebbs
wrote:

I was playing a little with "Nathan Branden" in ASA this evening

What's ASA?

alt.sailing.asa

The nautical nut house of usenet.

Eisboch

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:34:32 -0500, Maynard G. Krebbs
wrote:

Sometimes it doesn't pay to stand out. LOL

Heh...

It's a little different that it was in my day, but basically you enter
through several programs - PLC (Platoon Leaders School), NROTC -
Marine concentration, OCS or through USNA.

After that, it's to what they now call The Basic School where they
have basically 6 months of Basic Training but with concentrations on
officer responsibilities.

The basic military training is provided by the base courses in college
or at USNA, then TBS, then operational speciality if that's an option.

Pretty cool actually.

http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/TBS/default.htm


The Navy teaches their NROTC guys how to speak Portuguese and find whore
houses in Rio. That's an important skill.

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

I was actually in this program a few years back. I had a medical
disqualification. It turns out I am deathly allergic to petroleum
based products, who knew, and you can't get a waver for that. I got
pretty far along in the course before I had these issues so I do know
what I am talking about.

I was in the PLC program. Basically what happens is that instead of
boot camp you do Officer Candidate school, which many enlisted friends
of mine that were at OCS said is much harder that boot.The various
programs are in place because you have to be a college graduate to be
an officer and they want to get you through in a timely manner. The
PLC program did 6 weeks of OCS one summer then 6 weeks the next.
During the year while you are in school there is an office you train
out of and are expected to keep up your physical and mental
performance. There are other programs like ROTC and the OCC. They
are just variations on the same thing. After you graduate from OCS
and college you go to the basic school. 6 months of training that
they say is both the best and worst times you will have in the Corps.
Then you go to your specialty school. The Marine Corps is the only
military force in the world with anything like TBS. The Navy guys
will all talk about how much harder they had it but I hate to tell
them they are wrong but hey, any time we need to go fight they give us
a ride so please don't pick on them too much.

The thing about OCS in the Corp is that they don't help you through.
In boot if you want to be there and try hard they will make you into a
Marine. They have a very low drop-out rate comparatively. OCS has a
60% attrition rate. When I went it was much higher. We had 60% drop
in the first summer session. Not all of those go back and then
probably another 60% that did dropped in the seniors session. The
whole idea is to see if they can get you to quit and if you will break
under the pressure. You learn everything you need at TBS so here they
just try to see if you will quit. It's loads of fun.

Bill

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:36:38 -0700, Bill
wrote:

I was actually in this program a few years back. I had a medical
disqualification. It turns out I am deathly allergic to petroleum
based products, who knew, and you can't get a waver for that. I got
pretty far along in the course before I had these issues so I do know
what I am talking about.

That's gotta suck. Sorry about that.

Ping...Shortwave Tom - Corps question
 

That's gotta suck. Sorry about that.

Thanks.

The thing that really is strange to me is how other people react. I
started the program in 99 when I was just starting college and along
the way 9/11 happened. Not long after I had my medical issues and I
couldn't get cleared by a doctor. A lot of people that new that I was
doing this told me afterwards "I bet your glad you aren't there now
huh?" That really ****es me off because I would like to be there with
the other Marines. If I could go and let one other Marine come home a
little earlier I would. I just tell them that I wanted this since I
was a kid and I not because we weren't at war at the time. Dreams are
hard to live, Marines are warriors, all of them. If you need them to
fight they go. It's that simple. I don't get why everyone thinks
that I would want to be here while my friends are fighting on the
other side of the planet. Now I'm older, graduated from college and
lot more cynical. I have a good job and a bright future but I would
go tomorrow if they said I could. I never officially earned my
commission but I still feel like every Marine is my brother. Most
people can't understand that I guess.