OCS good and bad points for 2LTs-to-be

[wutzu]

Get the third person thing down. SO many candidates screw up and say "I", "him", "them", etc. If it's a first person pronoun don't use it. When you talk to people between now and OCS, think of how you'd say it at OCS. It's one of those things that will keep you from becoming some SI's "project" from pickup onward.

For the essays, write about a paragraph at a time and then number/underline the words. You'll keep your flow much better. Reminds me of an essay I had to write in red black and blue ink. And after I turned it in, I had to rewrite it for making it look like a rainbow. Also, take the subject of your essay and apply it to something you already know about. DON'T mention your instructors at all in your essay. It seems like a pretty obvious thing to not do, but I went and did it anyway, and I got myself another ass-chewing and a re-write.

 

[Carno]

When I wrote essays, I just related them to the leadership traits and principles, and I never had to rewrite any of them. Get an essay about the correct sick call procedures? Write about how, as officers, you should set the example by following the proper procedures at all times. Then go into how the procedures are set up so as to maintain constant accountability. And then repeat yourself in different words until you get to 300 words. Worked for me.

Also, never do anything half-***ed. If they give you time to clean your gear after getting muddy, you better clean your gear for as hard and as long as possible. It will only bite you in the rear later if you don't. And be enthusiastic. Even if you feel like crap, fake enthusiasm. Be motivated. It will suck hardcore while you're in, but it's only for a few weeks, and as soon as you graduate you'll probably think back and say to yourself, "I could have done a better job." And watch your step. People got hurt left and right because they weren't watching where they stepped.

And try to ENJOY IT while you're there. You will never ever be there again. Take pride in what you do. Don't look like trash. When you're marching, march like a stallion, not like a mule. Just always do your best, not matter how bad your feet hurt, no matter how tired you are, no matter how much your war belt is digging into your side... Do your best. And DON'T complain, or you will be destroyed when it comes time for peer evals.

 

[nickell]

Also, never do anything half-***ed. ... be enthusiastic. Even if you feel like crap, fake enthusiasm. Be motivated.

Take pride in what you do. Don't look like trash. When you're marching, march like a stallion, not like a mule. Just always do your best, not matter how bad your feet hurt, no matter how tired you are,

I will second this... no matter how tired you are at pt or how much your shins and feet hurt while marching to chow... if you can't be motivated, fake that **** and sound off anyways, pick your feet up, keep your elbows tight, people will notice your drill....

nickell

 

[michaels601]

let me start of by saying i just typed "This candidate..." ...guess when i read about it or talk about it, it shows that i haven't totally shrugged it off yet.

but what I found to be one of the biggest and easiest ways to make your life better while at OCS was to not overlook the little stuff. it's already been mentioned, but the third person thing, it's a killer. can't tell you how many kids i saw walking around yelling "I, ME, MY, WE. I, ME, MY WE. I, ME, MY, WE..." until whoever happened to be giving him personal counseling at the moment was satisfied (which usually took a while, especially when it was followed up with "THIS CANDIDATE, THAT CANDIDATE, THESE CANDIDATES. THIS CANDIDATE, THAT CANDIDATE, THESE CANDIDATES...")

another one was LOCK YOUR LOCKERS. like a lot of the punishments i got, having my trash dumped all over the place was just irritating and time consuming. you don't want to leave for an inspection and come home to a hurricane. and trying to get YOUR combination lock out of a basketball sized group of interlocked, identical, unlabeled combination locks flat out sucks.

finish chewing and swallow before you stand up.

take a split second to mentally make sure you're about to say the correct rank when you adress someone.

if you've been told to move out of the way or shut up, just do it, then find out why. lots of times it's because there's an SI on your six, or about to be, and someone's just giving you a heads up.

and one that I had to learn, keep organized. if you know where your trash is, and you don't have to dig for it, you can get to it faster. that simple.

 

[rossaholman]

another one was LOCK YOUR LOCKERS.

You have no idea how valuable that advice can be. You will have all kinds of little things in your foot locker that would will need on a daily basis. If a footlocker or wall locker is found unlocked, you can almost bet that your trash will be everywhere on the squadbay floor ... which means you have to try to pick up all your trash while everyone else is just trying to get their own stuff done. It usually leads to you sneaking around at night, wispering to your platoon mates ... "hey, candidate, you seen a pair of fingernail clippers?" ... which usually results in a "shut up! Im sleeping" Its nothing personal, you will be just as annoyed when someone comes up to you with those questions.

It really is the little things that make OCS survivable. Talking in third person, KNOWING RANKS, reacting on your feet, dont spaz out, dont complain, clip them IPs (you will learn all about them soon enough...) You will be fine, its all part of the Marine process, and you will learn to love it.