Monster Marine OCS thread: stupid questions answered here!

[MasterBates]

No actually I'm contemplating what will happen on this first saturday that everyone seems so hush hush about, with the look on their face as if they just got a prostate exam.

First Saturday....

[MadScientist]Whuhahahaha[/MadScientist]

You will see.....

 

[MasterHaynes86]

I would hav taken people's firewatches BUT our platoon staff prohibited it... like, they threatened sending us to the Col if it happened for an integrity violation...

 

[Harrier Dude]

What was your story that you did both?

NAVCAD program. AOCS Class 20-89. Reduction in force (RIF, i.e "Black Tuesday") 1990.

Went to the USMC OSO the day after my discharge from the navy and eventually got picked up for PLC-Air. Bravo Company 1992.

It's a fairly long story, but that's the Readers Digest version.

 

[S.O.B.]

Navy OCS may have been, or is now a "joke" but it certainly seemed to me that a high percentage of candidates that started with a class didn't finish with the same class. I don't have any actual numbers or statistics but if I had to guess I would say it was close to 30% in the late 90s. Not sure how things are now but back then it was tense enough for me.

Short story: when I was Candidate Officer in OCS, a DI yelled at a prior first class submariner and he craped in his pants. The candidate then informed the drill instructor that he had sh1t himself and the DI just looked at him and said "AWSOME", no instructions on how to proceeded and correct the situation just one word "AWSOME". Not sure if that guy made it or not, but my initial impression was that this guy really wasn’t cut out to be a leader of men?

As for Marine Corps OCS I saw a discovery channel special on it and was curious about whether or not the instructors were DIs? They looked and acted like DIs but didn't wear the Smokey bear.

 

[JZAB]

Oh yes they are All DI's but the don't wear there Smokey’s except for the Platoon picture. Remember it's OCS and not Basic and thus they wear different covers. It is a whole different atmosphere, not training you in tasks but evaluating leadership ability.

 

[Thisguy]

Navy OCS may have been, or is now a "joke" but it certainly seemed to me that a high percentage of candidates that started with a class didn't finish with the same class.

I went through in '02, and out of our class of 54, 38 were originials. Not to mention people who rolled in, and then rolled back further. I think the "joke" part is now it's nearly impossible to attrite. You'll probably get thru, it just might take a bit longer.

I compare OCS to a really bad short deployment. Being cut off from the outside world and not being able to order pizza and watch TV and do things you're used to sucked the most.

 

[S.O.B.]

I went through in '02, and out of our class of 54, 38 were originials. Not to mention people who rolled in, and then rolled back further. I think the "joke" part is now it's nearly impossible to attrite. You'll probably get thru, it just might take a bit longer.

I compare OCS to a really bad short deployment. Being cut off from the outside world and not being able to order pizza and watch TV and do things you're used to sucked the most.

I agree, it's a pump not a filer but it still sucks.

 

[atflor]

\ "Marine OCS is harder but Navy OCS sucks more".

I think that makes more sense than any response I've gotten yet. Thanks.

 

[Harrier Dude]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that there is no "rolling back" at USMC OCS. You have to deal with injuries or go home. I found that to be very stressful. I was always worried that I'd get hurt too badly to continue and have to start the whole thing over the next summer from the beginning (if I was lucky). We had about a 75% attrition rate that summer, the majority was due to injuries. Leadership was a close second.

 

[scoober78]

We had about a 75% attrition rate that summer

Did you substitute baseball bats for pugil sticks??

Clearly have little experience, but from talking to friends that seems really, really high. PLC or Bulldog?

 

[Thisguy]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that there is no "rolling back" at USMC OCS. You have to deal with injuries or go home. I found that to be very stressful.

That's a good point. USMC OCS only has one class going at a time, unlike Navy OCS where a new class comes aboard every other week...and sometimes every week depending on the time of year.

 

[MasterHaynes86]

USMC OCS rocks... GREAT PT, you always have something to do, you learn how to verse the most retarded of subjects in 300 words, leadership activities followed by a review from your staff... USMC OCS is a great experience You wont love every moment, but you wont hate every moment either.

As for a difference, im sure its the PT, food, and some classes (IE: war for USMC will focus on USMC and prior bada$$es).

Heck, I dont know. All I know is USMC OCS has pushed me beyond any physical and mental limits I EVER set. I'm not sure the Navy would have done that for me, but I can't speak for how rough it would be for me since I've never gone.

we started with 60 men and left with 35. Attrition due to NPQ, one stubborn guy dind't want to be NPQed and he was REALLY hurt and he got dropped for run failure, some DOR, and a case or two of cellulitis. And I know of at least 3 more from my Jrs platoon that aren't returning to Srs. So we had near 50% attrition for PLC Jrs

 

[Harrier Dude]

Did you substitute baseball bats for pugil sticks??

Clearly have little experience, but from talking to friends that seems really, really high. PLC or Bulldog?

PLC-Combined. Keep in mind that the 10 week version has more medical attrites than the two 6 week version simply because there's no "break" or other chance to heal. Overall though, I'd rather do it all at once. I'd hate to have to come back for the second 6 weeks. Once you're there, it's more palatable to just get it all done at once, providing you don't get hurt.

As far as "pushing yourself to the limit" goes, I feel that I was pushed very hard at both places. It's apples and oranges to an extent due to different training objectives. AOCS tried to make an officer out of you. Marine OCS was a ten week long try-out. They "make" all the Marine officers at TBS out of the ones who made it through the "try-out".

By the way, I don't know how the merge from AOCS to OCS affected the standards of training, but I've heard it's eased up quite a bit. Anybody have any more recent experience (i.e didn't graduate in the 80's) want to shed some light on the new standards?

 

[BlkPny]

Agree with Harrier Dude about the MC "try out". I had one kid go through Navy OCS and one go through PLC at about the same time, about a year ago. Daughter, Navy, thought there was alot of mind-screwing games, losts of harrassment. She was shocked, however, at the poor physical preparation most of the candidates had, esp the females. In her class, only she and a male SEAL wannabe maxed the PT test, and she has never thought of herself as a jock. She was embarrassed by the lack of preparation and effort by most of the females. Several roll-backs from day one.
All in all, Navy OCS seems to be trying to make you into an officer, like it or not.

My son didn't think there were that many "games" at PLC, jr or sr. He is a really good athlete, and he found himself in the middle on the pack. Constant stress. Never failed an evolution, but never the top, either. He felt PLC was very intense, very challenging, esp srs. He felt that everyone who made it through the first few days was very well prepared physically, and from then on they just wanted to give you every opportunity to quit. Like Harrier Dude said, more of an initiation. They seem to use TBS to teach the survivors how to be officers.
All in all, USMC OCS is much more physical, and much more stress is put on leadership.

I went through AOCS years ago, and yes, Navy OCS has changed.

 

[plc67]

I'll take "Questions that would never be asked in 1967" for 200 dollars Alex.