PLC question

[theblakeness]

So I have been wanting to apply to the Navy for pilot for a long time, but lately i have been having more and more fascination with The Marines side of the service for air.

So today I spoke with the local Marine recruiter about what my options are. He informed me that the only way I could go PLC is if I joined up enlisted under the reserves and then applied for PLC. Is this true? If so then I was way off with my assumptions that PLC was open to non-priors as well.


BTW..Im in college currently at Cal Poly, majoring in engineering.


Thanks,
Blake

 

[Taxman2A]

No... that's not true in the least. I went PLC and had no prior enlisted experience. As a matter of fact most PLCers have no prior enlisted experience. You clearly spoke with an enlisted recruiter who wanted to get some credit for you as well.
Same thing happened to me when I was 18... I was told by an enlisted recruiter that I could go to OCS through PLC as a college student, but that I almost certainly wouldn't make it through. They actually went as far as to claim that they never had an enlisted reservist not make it through OCS, but that the non-prior enlisted candidates almost always failed out.. Not the case.

Actually, in my platoon at OCS, we had literally the exact percentage attrition rate between the priors and non priors. Don't get me wrong, the priors have some a good amount of advantages at OCS, but in my particular platoon alot of the priors we had were turds (we had 2 fake injuries to go home, etc).

Also, I don't want to give you the impression that enlisting in the reserves isn't a good option... I'm just saying it's not the only option. I would recommend talking to an OSO to get a better scoop. OSOs generally aren't hurting for candidates, so they are more likely to give you an honest answer.
My OSO used to sometimes tell wannabe candidates to enlist in the reserves if he thought they needed the motivation or the training to make it through OCS. I had a good friend who my OSO told to enlist in the reserves, so he did. My OSO never told me to enlist in the reserves, so I didn't. We both went to TBS in the same company last year. Just two different ways to get to the same place, don't believe anyone that tells you otherwise.

 

[theblakeness]

Yeah he was an enlisted recruiter and very new to the recruiting role. He said he was going to send my info to the OSO because I told him I wasnt sure if I wanted to go OCC or his supposed "enlist then apply for PLC" option. He straight up told me that PLC wasnt even available to college students with no enlisted time.

But I definately want to try and apply for PLC air while in College.

Thanks so much for the reply.

 

[sgtdube]

wow

I cannot believe that story. I have become so upset with the recruiting system in the last few years in the Corps. Do you know how many new guys we get in the Infantry units that have outlandish stories that their recruiters promised? If I were you, I would write to his CO and let him/her know that Marines like him tarnish the code of Honor the Marine Corps has strived for, for so many years. It is Marines like that which give us a bad name.
I am prior, but most of the men I am going to OCS this summer with are not. Go straight to the OSO, letting no one else liason for you. You should be able to speak with him directly with no other people involved. Stay hard and go Marine...
S/F Sgt Dube

 

[Crowbar]

I cannot believe that story. I have become so upset with the recruiting system in the last few years in the Corps. Do you know how many new guys we get in the Infantry units that have outlandish stories that their recruiters promised? If I were you, I would write to his CO and let him/her know that Marines like him tarnish the code of Honor the Marine Corps has strived for, for so many years. It is Marines like that which give us a bad name.
I am prior, but most of the men I am going to OCS this summer with are not. Go straight to the OSO, letting no one else liason for you. You should be able to speak with him directly with no other people involved. Stay hard and go Marine...
S/F Sgt Dube

Easy there, professor. Enlisted recruiters serve a different purpose than OSOs, obviously. Most of the recruiters I've talked to didn't know anything about officer programs. Nothing against them, but since finding new officers isn't necessarily their job, they often don't know as much about the programs. While I was in MECEP I talked to our local recuiters, who spent almost an hour asking me questions about officer programs. This recruiter may have just had someone enlist then get accepted to PLC so he thought that was how it worked. Is it a case of dishonesty or just ignorance? I don't know.

Also, how do you know how many priors will be in your class at OCS? Unless you have access to the service records of every applicant, you probably don't. Don't go to OCS wrapped up in the fact that you are a prior. Just some friendly advice. Good luck.

 

[theblakeness]

I guess part of the issue is ignorance on my part. Im used to the Navy recruiting office which actually has an Officer recruiter posted there. I assumed that the Marine Corp would be the same way, so I called and left a message saying I had some questions about their Officer programs.

The recruiter admitted to being the rookie in the Office, and there were questions I had about things like TBS that he simply couldnt answer. Apparently, however, he has a few guys from my school setup to enlist in the reserves then apply for PLC.

Basically what he described to me was that you enlist in the reserves, spend your entire summer going to boot camp, return to school for the year, go to MOS school the following summer, then return and start your PLC package all while working on school and playing the weekend warrior.


Thanks for the responses and emails though guys. I knew as soon as I got done talking to him that I needed to post here to get the whole story.

 

[sgtdube]

Crowbar,
I intended in no way to sound egotistical in the sense that I was a prior, but just to make a point that it did not matter. I guess what upsets me the most, is that I was also a victim of a lie from an enlisted recruiter. It is there job to know, wether a rookie or not. Would an Lt. get a break if he crashes or gets men killed just cause he's a rookie?? My point is that the recruiter should know before running his mouth. I love the Corps and am dedicating myself to life long service. I do intend to make make a mark, no matter how mediocre it may be.
And blakeness, ask your recruiter about your chances of getting deployed in the Reserves. That may also affect your OCS chances.
Fact is, you need to go straight to your OSO, not anyone else....
Semper Fi
Sgt Dube

 

[esday1]

This all sounds vaguely familiar. As someone who went through PLC without any prior experience, I can say for sure that, yes, you can make it through PLC without prior experience. Having prior experience is a big boost at OCS (in my PLT the priors had a lower attrition rate and on average a higher class rank), mainly because you have a lot more experience with the environment from boot camp, you know a lot of stuff already, and you're more familiar with the things they're looking for in terms of leadership. However, it's not necessary by any means. Besides the large number of candidates with no prior experience at all that make it through the first time, even a few candidates that get dropped (other than DORs and total turds) can still come back to OCS if they're motivated enough to re-apply. OCS is a pass/fail process, so once you've met the standard, your class rank, etc won't count later in your career (unlike TBS). TBS can be a pretty strong equalizer as well.

As far as the advice from your recruiter, I highly doubt that your recruiter is being either dishonest or uninformed about officer programs. Recruiters and OSO's are generally held to a very high standard. The problem, IMHO, is the way they set up the incentives for individual recruiting stations and OSS's, giving recruiters and OSO's very little if any incentive to cooperate. That's where you get situations like yours. My guess is that the problem works in the other way as well to a lesser extent, since there are a few candidates who might be better served by enlisting (the education gap between enlisted and officers is shrinking, and a lot of enlisted personnel now have college degrees or some college), even if they're "qualified" to go to OCS. Just my personal $.02.