Quick PLC Questions

[Jozif]

Ok, well here goes

I am a Junior in High School and have ALWAYS wanted to be a pilot. I get straight A's (and 1 B) and I am very athletic, have no health issues, 20-15 vision. I was looking around on here and saw some posts about PLC and thought it sounded like a pretty good thing to do, but I saw a post that said that most people who do PLC end up flying Helos. The problem is I don't want to fly Helicopters. And I was just wondering what you have to do to increase the chances of getting a slot for a Fighter Jet. Or if there are any better routes to take that have better chances of getting me into a Jet.

Thanks

 

[jfulginiti]

There is absolutely no link between attending Platoon Leaders Course (PLC) and what you wind up flying. NONE!! PLC is just one of the ways you go through Officer Candidate School (OCS). The best thing you can do to get what you want is finish first in your class when you get to flight school.

 

[jamnww]

There is nothing about the PLC program that will increase your chances of getting Helos, the selection of jets/prop/helo is done at the end of Primary and is dependant on two things...1) Needs of the Marine Corps 2) your grades in Primary.

If you are dead set on jets then maybe you should look at the Air Force, most of Marine Aviation are Helos, and once you start the pipeline you have fairly little control other than to study and hope.

There are some selection classes out of Primary that have ZERO jet slots...

 

[Harrier Dude]

Right now what you need to do is:

1) Get good grades
2) Stay out of trouble
3) Do well on the SAT/ACT
4) Apply to colleges/NROTC/USNA (all of them)
5) Consider enlisting in the reserves

As you move closer to graduation you can make an informed decision and choose from the available options that accepted you. There are many paths to a commisson. Don't rule any out just yet. Keep your options open.

None of the above has anything to do at all with getting jets. If you are absolutley dead set against helos (why? have you ever flown one?), maybe the Marine Corps is not for you. Plenty of guys get jets, so I'm not trying to scare you off, but be prepared for anything. By "anything" I include not flying at all.

The Marine Corps is a little different in mentality in that you need to want to be a Marine first, then decide what you want to do in the Corps. It's perfectly OK to want to be a pilot, fly jets, or whatever in the Corps, but you need to be prepared to fill any of the other possibilities.

Good luck, and keep working!

 

[goosegagnon2]

6)Take things on at a time, do not get distracted on flight school, your still atleast 5 or 6 years away at this point.

 

[usmcecho4]

Good advantage to PLC is that your pay entry base date will start when you report to juniors (after feshman year) so when you get commissioned you will already have 3 years of service. Makes your monthly basic pay go from $2416.20 to $3039.60. Not bad beer money there.

Semper Fi,
umscecho4

 

[Zilch]

If you want a 100% chance of jets, you could always go Marine NFO...

 

[Jozif]

Well it looks like I dont exactly get the whole concept of PLC and OCS so I'll read up on that.. thanks for the help everybody

None of the above has anything to do at all with getting jets. If you are absolutley dead set against helos (why? have you ever flown one?), maybe the Marine Corps is not for you. Plenty of guys get jets, so I'm not trying to scare you off, but be prepared for anything. By "anything" I include not flying at all.

I Am definitely not dead set against helos, but if I had a choice, I would choose Jets, but I'll give it time and see how I feel about it later..

Good advantage to PLC is that your pay entry base date will start when you report to juniors (after feshman year) so when you get commissioned you will already have 3 years of service. Makes your monthly basic pay go from $2416.20 to $3039.60. Not bad beer money there.

Semper Fi,
umscecho4

Hah, nope, definitely not bad beer money at all

 

[pdx]

In my personal opinion, PLC is one of the greatest commissioning programs ever. There are plenty of posts that explain exactly what PLC is and how it works, so I won't rehash those. My advice would be to consider it, but ONLY if you want to be in the Marine Corps and accept all that being a Marine entails. You can get a guaranteed flight contract before you sign any paperwork (Navy/Marine Corps also offers this to OCS candidates). As other people mentioned, the way you come about your commission has zero effect on what type of aircraft you select.

As far as the Air Force comment, there is no way to guarantee you will fly fighter jets for ANY branch of the US military. In the AF, you will most likely fly a jet, but that includes cargo jets, tanker jets, etc. Right now, AF Tactical seats (F-15, F-16, A-10, B-1, et al) are as hard to earn as Navy tactical seats (F/A-18, EA-6B). It takes skill and luck.

 

[DocT]

Jozif, PLC is a commissioning program, OCS is a place. Try this thread:

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11707&highlight=Platoon+Leaders

S/F Doc

 

[MasterHaynes86]

Hey man, here is what I would advise you to do

1. Finish HS with outstanding grades
2. Apply to colleges and get accepted
sidenote: any with RoTC and such are good and u will be physically prepared for OCS GUARENTEED but those schools also have lots of competition and getting into PLC is super hard...
sidenote #2: If you dont go to a school with the RoTC offer and u can discipline YOURSELF to prep for OCS, you will be dandy...
3. EARLY first semester contact and OSO and bug the sh!t out of him to get you on the road to OCS with a guarenteed AIR contract. This is what I did... and i am glad i did cuz i had to retake the ASTB test (it qualifies you for AIR contract)
4. When you talk to the OSO, be motivated and tell him an estimated PFT (20/100/18 = go to OCS homepage to find more specifics on PFT scoring)
Run you first PFT for your OSO and attempt something around a 250, if u are lower, dont worry... its just an application, i got accepted with a 225, but i was at a 240 pre-ship OCS and a 270 leaving OCS... The Marines will make you what they want you to be
and LASTLY, never EVER EVER tell a Flight Instructor you want JETS only... alot of them are helio bubs and this will catch their attention... if they ask you what you want to fly, inform them you want to fly anything the marine corp wants them to fly. USMC Major gave me that advice just recently...

Most of all, be motivated beyond any and all conceivable bounds. Go to PRE-OCS weekend and talk to your OSO often... ask him what your status is and everything... Most OSO will do what it takes to get you there, no matter what, if you are motivated enough... you gotta want it...

also, reserves enlistment isn't a requirement, but I wish I had known I was gonna apply to OCS earlier cuz I woulda done it... i woulda gone to USMCRT summer before college... I've been told OCS is more physical than recruit training (by priors) and that the mental games at OCS aren't at bad as those at bootcamp BUT its more intense there because all stress is self induced and striving for perfection is more SELF motivated because you dont want to get dropped...

Also, some more good advice, is find and OSO now and ask him all kinds of questions... and be motivated

OORAH

 

[DocT]

2. Apply to colleges and get accepted
sidenote: any with RoTC and such are good and u will be physically prepared for OCS GUARENTEED but those schools also have lots of competition and getting into PLC is super hard...

Bad advice...NROTC Midshipmen don't put in PLC packages. PLC is the easiest commissioning program in which to get accepted.

find and OSO now and ask him all kinds of questions

Good advice.

 

[E5B]

Jozif,

Good on ya for researching this while in high school. You're already ahead of the game. Harrier dude put it best! Biggest thing, stay out of trouble, start that habit now. Once you settle on a college I also recommend looking into the reserves. I know I bag on reservists but it's actually a good gig. It exposes you to the military lifestyle, gets you a little experience, gives you a little more money for college and your PEBD starts that much earlier. With the pros are the cons. The cons to being a reservists in college is you could deploy. It's not the end of the world, or the end of your career, the absolute worst is you could miss a year of school, but more than likely you'll miss a semester. The school will more than likely work with you on that.

Once you settle on/get accepted to a college, find the nearest Officer Selection Officer (OSO) and start talking to him/her about commissioning sources. PLC is the most likely course of action.

Do a little research on all USMC aircraft and their mission. Fight the urge to focus on just jets. Focus on the cons in every airframe that way you'll be less disappointed come selection time. More than likely you won't be disappointed at all. Just about every airframe is represented on this forum. As you do your research through past threads, start thinking up questions to ask and ASK them.

I'll end it with this: the only stupid question is the one not asked.

Good luck.

 

[MasterHaynes86]

Bad advice...NROTC Midshipmen don't put in PLC packages. PLC is the easiest commissioning program in which to get accepted.

my bad... RoTC boys get to do 6 weeks at OCS but it isn't PLC... am i correct? A&M here in texas has RoTC... One of my fellow candidates trained with them... her preferred not to do RoTC because it IS LIFE during college... I DO suggest asking if you can train with the RoTC boys (well the pft and o course), maybe talk to their advisor...

I said the RoTC thing because my A&M friend had trouble gettin his packet submitted due to being at a college full of applicants with amazing stats...

but def ask questions and get ahold of an OSO now... Be Motivated!!! You will love OCS...

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but get yourself into some extra-curricular activities. Bonus if you're in some kind of leadership position. Not a requirement for OCS, but it should be.