Posted: 3/17/2008 8:17:58 PM EDT
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Hello, I know this topic isn't quite about anyone being deployed, but I figured it fit better here than anywhere else, sorry if its in the wrong place. Does anyone here have experience with the USMC PLC program? More specifically what does the summer training at Quantico consist of? Is it like Boot Camp with more leadership stuff involved? Thank you |
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You can find all kinds of info if you Google it. I went thru boot camp. My youngest kid went to PI also. My oldest kid did PLC and has an Air Contract. He finished OCS and is waiting to class up in TBS then off to Pensacola. IMHO boot camp is all about learning to be a basic Marine and to obey orders without question. It's hard mentally and maybe medium hard physically. Most people in reasonable shape can get thru it. I found the Fleet Marine Corps in my MOS to be much harder than boot camp from a physical standpoint. OCS is very different. It's just a tryout to see if you can hack being a Marine officer. It tests your ability or potential ability to lead men under adverse conditions. It is brutal physically. Much harder than boot camp. They advise you to be over 260 on the PFT before you go. Last I heard there was a log jam at Quantico a couple of months ago. They were deciding who to class up by PFT scores. They were rolling back candidates who were below a certain score on the initial PFT (260 I think) You are taught very little about "how" to do things. You are given a difficult, maybe impossible leadership task to complete and then evaluated. Everything you do is designed to see how you perform when you are under fed and exhausted physically and mentally. Everything is scored. My kid wrestled in college and is a pretty damn tough guy and by the end of 10 weeks his body was failing him. He had terrible shin splints for most of OCS but knew if he went to the corpsman he might NPQ so he just powered thru it. There were loads of candidates doing exactly the same thing at the end. TBS continues to be physical but is more about teaching you the job skills required to be a basic USMC officer. Then you go to MOS training to learn about your "secondary job". Again there is tons of info, forums etc out there on OCS. Here are just a few. (A word to the wise however. Lurk a bit on the forums and learn to use the search function before you ask a question that's been asked a million times)  Go talk to an OSO after you do a lot of reading. Marine OCS Forum Official Marine OCS Web Site Class 186 - The Making of a Marine Corps Officer Air Warriors - Scroll Down for Marine Section |