Thanks to Emmalyn O’Connor for contributing this article on the USMC Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy. O’Connor is a senior in high school, Commanding Officer of her NJROTC unit, an NROTC Marine Option Scholarship recipient, and a class of 2017 graduate of the USMC Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy.

What is the summer leadership and character development academy?

The Marine Corps Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy is a week-long camp held at Camp Upshur, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. The program is highly competitive; this year, 196 students will be selected to attend. There is no cost to the program; plane tickets will be covered as well. The application deadline is April 1st. We had the unique opportunity to meet Marine Corps leaders and Holocaust survivors this year. The platoon commanders and platoon sergeants of the Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy are all Marines from reserve units around the country. Their civilian jobs range from FBI agents and Secret Service agents to police officers and financial advisors.

Program Requirements

• Applicants must be between 16-18 years of age and have completed their sophomore or junior year of high school.
• Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
• Participation in sports, leadership or community service.

In addition to these program requirements, applicants are required to submit a full body photo (professional attire or a JROTC dress uniform if applicable), one reference letter, a high school transcript and a completed Initial Strength Test (IST) form. The IST consists of 2-minute crunches, pull-ups (males), flexed arm hang (females) and a 1 ½ mile run. When I submitted my application, I did 100 crunches (max), a 50 second flexed arm hang, and around a 12:30 1 ½ mile.

First Impressions

Students arrive for check-in at the National Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, VA. Those who arrive early in the morning are given the opportunity to explore the museum while waiting for the rest of the student’s arrival. Afterward, you are bussed to Camp Upshur where you will be “greeted” by the academy’s staff. You will also be issued uniforms and bedding for the week.

There is no guarantee that the program’s schedule will include the same events as last year’s, but I imagine it will be very similar. On the first day, we went to Officer Candidates School and did a modified version of the Confidence Course. As someone who had never done anything remotely like this, I was a bit nervous. My platoon was tasked with the monkey bars first. When it came to my turn, I only made it halfway through on my first attempt because I didn’t have enough momentum. This was extremely embarrassing to me, but I tried it again and finished with quarter-sized rips on my hands. Fortunately, the corpsman was able to sufficiently wrap my hands and I was able to tackle the rest of the course along with my platoon. The course truly does instill confidence; my platoon and I felt on top of the world afterward.

That same day, we visited the Marine Corps helicopter squadron responsible for the transportation of the President, Vice President, and other DOD officials: HMX-1. After learning a brief history of the squadron, we visited the hangar bay and climbed atop a V-22 Osprey.

MCMAP

Leaders from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) paid the academy a visit. After a brief demonstration of a few advanced moves, the students were able to try some basic moves out for themselves. Personally, I drew many similarities from the martial art I have experience practicing, Combat Hapkido. My favorite part about MCMAP was the leadership “tie-in” (essentially a leadership lesson) after we trained.

Leadership Evaluations

Some events of the summer leadership and character development academy are modeled after Officer Candidates School. We students participated in a Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). I was the student platoon sergeant at the time; my job was to essentially delegate each task to a student in my platoon based off of what I knew about their knowledge and skill set. These tasks required prompt decision-making skills and most were timed events. Your Marine platoon commander and platoon sergeant will pay close attention to how you react to each event; so it is important to remember that the wrong decision is better than no decision.

Following a class on leadership ethics, we participated in a PRAC APP (practical application) called the Field Leadership Ethics Exercise (FLEE).

In short, our scenario consisted of aiding starving civilians‒some of which were hostile‒we had to make decisions, such as who to trust, based on what we learned in our ethics class. During the first rotation (which lasted about 15 minutes), the whole platoon argued back and forth. It was chaos. By the third rotation, everything flowed smoothly, we were able to communicate properly, and there were no “fatalities.”

PT

The physical fitness aspect of the summer leadership and character development academy was moderately challenging, in my opinion. We only had PT in the morning twice, one being an introductory PT, and the second being another IST. The day before graduation, every platoon participated in the “platoon challenge,” which was a timed event.

Obstacles were scattered throughout the camp; student platoon sergeants were responsible for navigating their platoons to the next event. Some events included completing the O Course as a platoon for time, while some required the entire platoon to complete a total of 100 pull-ups. Afterward, the summer leadership and character development academy staff exemplified servant leadership by serving the students breakfast. This was a fun and memorable way to end the week.

The Holocaust Museum, Washington D.C., and the Sunset Parade

We traveled off base and spent a day in D.C. First, all platoons went on a guided tour of the Holocaust Museum. It was truly an unforgettable experience. I will never forget the tears in my Marine Platoon Sergeant’s eyes when we walked through the room that contained all of the shoes.

Many of those shoes were small: they were the shoes of a child. This affected him personally because he had two kids back at home. After the tours, we entered an auditorium and listened to a Holocaust survivor’s story. This was one of the most humbling things I’ve ever had the chance to experience.

After visiting the Holocaust Museum, we split into groups and toured D.C. My group decided to see the Declaration of Independence, the White House, the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War memorials. Finally, we were treated to the Sunset Parade, which took place at the Marine Corps War Memorial. At the end of the parade, I was asked to march the platoon from the memorial to the busses nearby. Knowing that there was a Brigadier General and other high-ranking Marines nearby, I said “Yes, sir!” smiling on the inside.

Motivational speakers

My favorite speaker was Navy Cross Recipient Chief Warrant Officer 3 Anthony Viggiani. I remember him walking down the aisle in the classroom, and instantly feeling motivated. This man rescued his men from a cave of snipers, took a bullet to the leg, and still continued to fight, “I made a promise to my men, and I’ll be damned if I don’t keep it” he said. I also recall him saying that while receiving the Navy Cross was an honor, it was “Just a ribbon and medal.”

Sometime during the week, we traveled to the main part of the base and listened to a speech from former Deputy Commandant Lieutenant General Bailey two weeks before he retired. He was extremely personable and tried to answer all of our questions.

Lastly, a member of the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) visited us and spoke about First Lieutenant Travis Manion, a US Naval Academy graduate. During Travis’s first stay at home, he and his brother-in-law attended an Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field. As they were leaving the stadium, Travis’ brother-in-law joked with Travis that if he tripped him and broke his leg, Travis would not have to return to Iraq and could stay home in Doylestown. Travis turned to him and said, “Hey Dave, if not me, then who?” Travis Manion was later killed in action on April 29th, 2007.

I highly recommend summer leadership and character development academy to any current high school sophomore/junior who is looking for a challenging leadership experience. This academy is comparable to the Service Academies’ Summer Seminars. It’s also a great resume builder; my platoon from 2017 has several successful graduates. We have two appointed to the Naval Academy, one appointed to West Point, one enlisted in the Army, one enlisted in the Air Force, one enlisted in the Marine Corps, and I have received the NROTC Marine Option Scholarship. During my officer interview, I drew a lot of my leadership experience answers from summer leadership and character development academy.

Again, I highly recommend this program. High school sophomores and juniors: do it. Just apply! You won’t regret it.

Tips for Gaining Personal Leadership Experience

•  I coached sports after high school and returned each year to help the team prepare for the regional and national championships. I was an average athlete, but, being able to list accomplishments as a coach helped a lot.
• I also coached other levels from novices to masters-level athletes and volunteered with athletes with disabilities, which included many prior service members.

Much of this was pro-bono but paid off in experience. A huge benefit of coaching was learning to speak in public. It wasn’t unusual to deliver a brief to a race director, Olympian, or board members of the sports governing body.  That also helped my command evaluations and billet performance evaluations at OCS. High school in particular also gives you the chance to manage small groups and mentor.

• I volunteered at my church a lot and managed small content creation teams. I acted as an editor, but mainly I managed other content creators and published their work.
• I spent one spring break doing flood relief with the Red Cross.
• I volunteered as an English Conversational Partner for the ESL program at my college.
• Bottom line, don’t be afraid to volunteer. A lot.

Tips to gain “platoon-level” leadership experiences

• Many candidates volunteered with an organization that interested them.
• Camp counselors or similar roles are very common.
• Many candidates take leadership positions in a club or professional organization.
• Some candidates had trouble getting leadership positions in clubs. So they created their own club, where they were the president.

You could create a Semper Fi society or something of the like if there is not already one. It can be simple like starting a religious study or a tactics and strategy club.

• Being the captain of a team looks really good.
• School Alternative Service break.

Community Service

• Red Cross
• Boys and Girls Clubs (or mentor at-risk youth.)
• Habitat for Humanity
• Check with local high schools or sports teams for mentor or coaching opportunities.
• Volunteer in a prison.

Other Ideas

• The first thing you should ask yourself is, “What am I passionate about?” Then find something that will allow you to do that. If you care deeply, it usually works out in your favor and it’s easier to get leadership positions when you like it.

Check with the career center at your college. They have relationships in the community and can set you up with some amazing opportunities. They’ll also know what kind of leadership activities appeal to higher education boards and certain types of jobs. You won’t be the first one they’ve helped get into OCS or one of the service academies. They will also be able to look at any past leadership experience and find ways to balance it and make you more interesting via new opportunities.

• Reread your LinkedIn and resumes. Often, there is work history you have forgotten about that will stand out to a board.
• Volunteer as a docent or naturalist at a museum, aquarium, etc
• Seems obvious, but ask for a leadership position at work or in an existing group. Often leaders are willing to co-lead or create a new position.
• Check out Toastmasters, they are a well known public speaking and leadership organization.
• Check in with your local VFW and see where you can volunteer or lead in some capacity.

Good luck on your path to becoming a Marine Officer. Leadership by example starts long before OCS, the habits you develop at home will help or hurt you in Quantico.

To be clear, good and bad officers come from all of the commissioning routes. Don’t let someone tell you that good officers only come from one of the commissioning routes. One of the determinants of appropriate commissioning routes is age. I.e. there is no point in going to college at the Naval Academy or through NROTC if you have a degree. Likewise, you are unlikely to apply for the 10 week Officer Candidate Course if you are a freshman in college.

Common steps in each commissioning routes process

• Several waves of paperwork and applications.
• You will get medical clearance through MEPS/DODMERB
• Take a Physical Fitness assessment (the type of assessment is different depending on commissioning route.)
• Interviews with a commissioning representative.
• The application goes to a selection board.

Timeline: High School.

Naval Academy

The Naval Academy is the longest and most in-depth process for applicants. In addition to the normal college and military service applications, applicants must obtain a congressional nomination from their Congressman, Senator or the Vice president. This is a very similar route to the US Merchant Marine Academy

• Applicants file a preliminary application.
• Once an applicant passes the first application, they are assigned a Blue and Gold Officer. This is a volunteer liaison from the Naval Academy who will conduct the interviews and oversee the application. They are not a recruiter, however, they will assist in your paperwork and answer any questions about commissioning routes and life at the academy. Blue and Gold Officers are often alumni or the parents of alumni.
• Applicants must receive a nomination from their Congressman or Senator. This is done through selection via a separate application and interview with their selection board. To apply, check your congressman’s website for an application.  The top applicants will be interviewed. Obtaining a nomination does not guarantee admission to a service academy. I had three nominations and still didn’t make it. Congressman and Senators can nominate up to ten applicants from their districts per year. If you are the child of a career service member, you are also eligible to apply for a nomination from the President. Both the President and Vice President are able to give as many nominations as they want.
• Applicants who are not admitted to the Naval Academy may be offered a slot at the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS). After one year at NAPS, they will be directly admitted to the Naval Academy. If you are admitted to NAPS, take it. You won’t get into the academy next year if you don’t.
• You are not bound to military service until after your second year at the Academy. At this point, Midshipman will sign their “Two For Seven” committing themselves to at least 7 more years on active duty (2 at the academy and 5 after).

Leatherneck

Naval Academy Midshipman do not attend OCS to become Marines. Instead, they are evaluated through an exercise called Leatherneck. Leatherneck is a 4 week evaluation period in Quantico at OCS and TBS. The Naval Academy outlines the training and evaluation at Leatherneck here.

Pros:

• Free tuition,
• Exposure to the wider mission of the naval service.
• Four years to see leadership and develop your own leadership style.
• You can join the Navy if you don’t like the Marine Corps.
• Guaranteed job after college.

Cons:

• You will miss the traditional college experience and many personal liberties afforded to a normal college student.
• Opportunities for internships and visits home are limited as your life revolves around training at the Academy.
• You might complete four years at the Academy and not get a Marine Corps commission.

Timeline: High School/Early College

NROTC

• Submit an NROTC application.
• Apply for five colleges alongside the application.
• The Navy will decide whether you get a scholarship. And, which college you will attend.
• Notification via email.

NROTC is often the first option for college-bound seniors who know they want to serve. There are two options for NROTC Midshipman: Scholarship (tuition paid) and College Programmer (no tuition or financial assistance).

Scholarship

You are not bound to military service until the beginning of your sophomore year. On the first day of sophomore year, you are committing to the agreed upon contract. Or you have to pay back your scholarship money.

Scholarship students will attend CORTRAMID a four-week program to give them exposure to the many facets of the naval service. Midshipman spend one week in the surface, submarine, aviation and Marine ground communities.

College Program

A midshipman who does not receive a scholarship may participate in NROTC doing the same events and training as a scholarship student. However, they are excluded from training events like CORTRAMID or Mountain Warfare School. College Program students must attain advanced standing before the end of their sophomore year or they will automatically be dropped from the program. Each year the number of advanced standing slots changes, but it is extremely competitive.

Semper Fi club

All Marine option Midshipman are required to attend Semper Fi club. This is a weekly meeting where students are taught OCS specific knowledge, tactics, and Marine specific PT including hikes, the endurance course, and the combat fitness test.

NROTC students have one major advantage over Midshipman at the academy or “civilian” candidates at OCS. Most NROTC students will have MECEPs, Marines in the unit attending school and participating in battalion functions alongside the Midshipman. These Marines can be a huge opportunity for mentorship and a resource as you prepare to lead Marines like them. Befriend a few of them and you will have an advantage when it comes to OCS. MECEPs must graduate OCS before reporting to the NROTC unit and starting school.

Pros

• You may get a scholarship and have the opportunity to attend good professional development training.
• You only attend OCS for six weeks.
• Guaranteed job after college.
• You will have an automatic friends group when you get to college.

Cons

• In my personal opinion, this is not the best of both worlds as often advertised. You are technically in the military, so the unit dictates even basic things like when you can leave for academic breaks or what days you need to wear a uniform.
• You may be voluntold (someone else volunteered you) for additional duties. For example, I was voluntold for color guard and the pistol team. This was in addition to the normal battalion events.
• You will take additional Naval science courses and labs. This can be a pro as well.
• Many NROTC units are underfunded. In my unit, we made up for this by cleaning the college stadium after football games. It was common to arrive at 2000 and not be done till 0600 the next morning. Many of your weekends are used up to pay for things you already expected to have (such as uniforms, packs, etc). So you might have a commitment to the unit every day of the week.
• College program students do not attend CORTRAMID or Mountain Warfare School.

Timeline: College/Post-College

I’ll keep the OCS portion of this post short. There is plenty of information on the blog already.

PLC Juniors/Seniors

You attend OCS twice for six weeks. The first segment is usually after your freshman or sophomore year.

PLC Combined/OCC

PLC Combined or the Officer Candidate Course is the last option and best fitted for candidates who are entering their senior year of college or already graduated.

Pros:

• You can live life as a complete civilian during college.
• You have the opportunity to do internships or travel on your own time without worrying how it will affect training.
• There are many opportunities you will not have post-college. This is the time to take advantage of these opportunities. For example, study abroad, do an internship in school, pursue a personal passion, become an RA, intern for a startup, play collegiate sports, etc.

Cons:

• No military scholarships (you are eligible for financial assistance after completing Juniors or PLC combined).
• Less time to develop your leadership style in a military setting prior to OCS.
• No training opportunities like those afforded to Midshipman.
• It could be several years before you get accepted to OCS.

For more information about commissioning routes check out becominganofficer.com

Thanks to MIDN 1/C C for sharing his leadership experience and advice for candidates heading to OCS. NROTC Midshipman, utilize the resources you have through NROTC to go prepared to OCS.

NROTC preparation

I came from Norwich University, a small military college in the middle of Vermont. We, just like every other NROTC unit, have Marine Officer Instructors’s and Assistant Marine Officer Instructors’s who are Platoon Commanders and Sergeant Instructors at OCS. They want to prepare you as best they can for your 6-12 weeks of summer fun time. They will teach you the basic skills in close order drill, how to handle your M16A4 service weapon and not look stupid, and drill the 5-paragraph order into your brain so much that you’ll wake up in the night reciting OSMEAC back in your dorms.

All of this preparation is extremely valuable, and I am sure that it will no doubt relieve some of the stressors of OCS once you’re down on Brown Field, but there are certain elements of OCS that just cannot be prepared for by studying a book or reciting knowledge. Your leadership skills and style at OCS will be different compared to back at your NROTC unit or OSO’s office. You as a person, the way you think and communicate with others will be different. Adaptability is key and it is something that many candidates struggled with from my perspective.

Leadership at OCS comes in many different forms, but the first forms of leadership you will experience in PLC/NROTC SR’s Combined (given that they don’t change the Period of instruction too much) will be in the form of your prior enlisted Marines. When you get to Brown Field on the bus, the first thing they will do is have you begin in-processing. Back in the squad bay and during platoon check-in, you will meet the rest of your platoon and someone will immediately take charge. This person will usually be a prior service Marine. Every cycle is different, but usually, you’ll have anywhere from 3-10 priors with at least one of those being an NCO. That NCO is going to be your best friend for the first few days because he (or she) will arrange scribe and scribbles, fire watch and everything else that gets the platoon up and running in the first few days. After pick-up, your staff will demonstrate for the next day (or two if you’re lucky) one way of how things should be done. I say one way because there are always multiple ways to complete a task. Certain things like enlisted to officer and enlisted to enlisted formations are a set routine, but other than that, there is a lot of freedom in command. Make sure you utilize it to get tasks done differently.

Bored candidates are dangerous candidates

Monotony at OCS breeds trouble, so always be looking for a new way to complete a task. As the POI goes on, everyone will get a chance at a billet in the platoon at least, whether it be Fireteam Leader or Platoon Commander. Some guys will try to mimic the Sergeant Instructors while others may use their own leadership style with less yelling and more convincing/positive encouragement. No matter what their leadership style may be, whether you like it (or them) or not, put out for them, because you want them to do the same thing for you when your number gets picked.

Think outside the box

A warning about leadership as well: don’t get sucked into it, and always think about what you’re doing and why. Remain aware of your current role in the platoon; if you’re a leader, lead. If you’re in GP, shut up, do what you’re told, and allow platoon leadership to succeed or fail, but never intervene on your own unless asked. Further, decisions made by billet holders can turn entire platoons on each other, so remain vigilant about what is happening. Just because someone did it back at their NROTC unit or in boot camp, doesn’t mean it has any place in the house at OCS.

Improvise, adapt, overcome

Adaptability is just as important as leadership at OCS, in my opinion, a little more so. The purpose of OCS is to train, screen and evaluate potential leaders of Marines. They aren’t trying to make the perfect Marine officers, that’s what TBS is for. They are looking for the basic characteristics of what a good Marine officer should have. Down at OCS you will learn the 5 tenants of leadership (commitment, character, physical/mental courage, teamwork/unselfishness and resilience). Aside from these, there are certain character traits you will need to have to be successful. The most important one for me was adaptability. You need to be able to think on your feet, look around you, assess a situation, and make a decision. This sounds like decisiveness, one of the 14 leadership traits, but it is different in one main way, which is the ability to break from a routine.

Complacency kills!

There are very few things that are ever routine in the Marine Corps, so don’t let yourself get into the habit of following one at OCS. Just because the previous company commander did things one way, doesn’t mean you are bound to that one method of leadership.

One example that occurred over and over was moving to and from chow. There was a stretch of 2 days (a standard 48-hour evaluation period) where there was enough time in the schedule that Lima company could march to and from Bobo chow hall (a 20-minute round trip task) without disrupting the rest of the time table. That company commander, therefore, marched us (had the unit leader march us) to the chow hall, and then back to the classrooms without issue. The next company commander tried to do the same thing, however, the classes ran late, OCC took too long and our chow time was cut (about) in half. This company commander had the ability and authority to order a route-step through the Juniors PT field, between Skinner and Graham hall in order to cut down travel time and give his company more time to eat. He chose to march the company because that’s what the previous company commanders had done, and that was the routine. Because this commander either did not have the ability to think on his feet or whether he was too scared to make the call, the result was two platoons (one of them being mine) getting no afternoon chow and running back to the classrooms hungry. You can bet that he suffered for that decision.

Make A Decision

Make sure that you can adapt to situations and never be afraid to give a command. If you have to ask a staff member whether it is okay, then do so, but that ability to reassess a situation and make a decision, or change your original plan of attack is incredibly important and a mandatory skill at OCS, whether you’re in garrison or out on SULE II.

No matter what you do, OCS is going to hit you, and hard. Remain flexible and patient with your superiors and peers. The staff notices everything, so you should always strive to lead from example and put out 100% of your effort, whether it be in the woods on the trails or on the PT Field. Remember who you are and why you chose to be at OCS. Keep a positive attitude and remain calm and collected; tact is everything at OCS, and if you think that it is easy, then find a way to make it harder on yourself.

“Even if you only have 60% left, I want 100% of that.”

Thanks to Michael Quinn, Sergeant Major of the Army, for this insightful article. Even though it’s Army-speak, we hope it helps you junior officers understand how Sergeants Major contribute to the mission. This senior rank is very often misunderstood, and deserves significant respect from new Lieutenants.

As a Finalist for the White House Fellows program a couple years ago, I spent two days with 20 influential leaders from the DC area to include judges, journalists, and senior executives of major corporations. I was astounded that only one of these leaders, a Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy, understood the role of a Sergeant Major. Yes, 19 of our most influential leaders in the DC area (which is heavily populated by the military) asked me at different points to explain the role of a Sergeant Major.

My explanation was that a Sergeant Major is equivalent to a Chief Operating Officer of a corporation. As the Battalion Command Sergeant Major of an Intelligence Battalion in Japan, I was the Chief Operating Officer of a company with 264 employees conducting intelligence and security operations across Japan and much of the Pacific region. My role was to provide strategic direction and oversight of operations, talent management, human resources, and training management.

Much like the role of a Chief Operating Officer, it is difficult to come up with a description that fits every Sergeant Major. If you are going to read one article that clearly articulates the value and role of a Chief Operating Officer (or Sergeant Major), read this May 2006 article published in the Harvard Business Review. It clearly articulates the value of a COO to a company and the examples closely align with the role of a Sergeant Major in the Army.

The Army calls the relationship between a CEO and a COO a “Command Team;” with the unit Commander filling the role of CEO and the Sergeant Major serving as the COO. More than anything else, this partnership sets the climate, performance, agility and success of the organization.

To explain their impact on an organization is one thing, but how do we quantify the knowledge, experience, and leadership ability that a Sergeant Major brings to an organization?

The Top 1%

Sergeants Major make up less than 1% of the Army and generally consist of the most experienced leaders in the enlisted corps. There are nine enlisted ranks in the Army and you must be selected over your peers across the entire Army through comprehensive promotion panels to reach this prestigious rank. These panels review the entire career of eligible Soldiers and rank them based on their performance, potential, education, physical fitness, awards, and difficulty of assignments. The actual number of selections are based on projected vacancies, but generally run between 10-15% (approximately 8% were selected for Sergeant Major in 2016). These boards ensure only the best are entrusted with the responsibility of being a Sergeant Major.

Education

Both military and advanced civilian education play a crucial role in determining the success of today’s Sergeant Major. The speed at which information travels and decisions are made requires an adaptive, educated leader; and the education levels of Sergeants Major have reflected that change. I don’t know any Sergeants Major that don’t have a degree or advanced certification of some kind, and that is just counting civilian education.

The military education system is extensive, well-planned, and certified to produce results. In addition to an Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, and several certifications, I have spent over 38 months attending resident military education courses over a 24 year career.

Diverse Experience

How many leaders in your organization have extensive experience in Leader Development, Talent Management, Training Development, Human Resources, Project Management, and at least one other specialty field (such as military intelligence or supply chain logistics)? The diversity of assignments, education, and leader development processes in the Army require these advanced proficiencies to even be considered for promotion to Sergeant Major.

Leader Development

The Army (and the other military services) is fairly unique in that it must develop all of its military senior leaders from within. It cannot go outside the Army to bring in a General or Sergeant Major; they all start out as Lieutenants or Privates. To be effective, this requires a culture focused on leader development. That is why the Army makes promotion decisions based on potential, and it is also why Sergeants Major must be incredibly proficient in leader development. They are responsible for developing and implementing programs to provide challenging assignments, training, education, experience, and mentorship for the several hundred to several thousand Soldiers in their care. They play an integral part in the promotion process and, as a result, lead an organization’s talent management program.

They are responsible for developing and implementing programs to provide challenging assignments, training, education, experience, and mentorship for the several hundred to several thousand Soldiers in their care. They play an integral part in the promotion process and, as a result, lead an organization’s talent management program.

Talent Management

Since Soldiers enlist on contracts, a positive environment must exist that encourages them to continue serving. This is no small thing when you consider how many Soldiers must deploy overseas and put their life on the line, and talent management plays an incredible role in this.

Simply put, Sergeants Major select, train, mentor and provide direct oversight for the senior leaders responsible for building this positive environment at the directorate level.

They ensure programs are in place to identify top talent, usually through some combination of evaluations, competitions, performance metrics, and Soldier engagement. Once identified, they provide ample opportunities for the top talent to excel while at the same time implementing training programs to develop the rest of their workforce.

Training Development is a core responsibility of a Sergeant Major. Every unit has a mission-essential task list (METL) that articulates exactly what tasks the unit must be proficient in to accomplish their mission. Soldiers are trained and certified to accomplish their basic job functions during Initial Entry Training, but in truth learn how to perform their duties at their organization. The Sergeant Major provides strategic oversight of every aspect of a unit’s training mission, from physical fitness to advanced job-specific skills (this differs by type of unit).

Sergeants Major ensure that training is developed appropriately, reflects current methodology, is conducted professionally, and is in line with the unit’s strategic requirements. The constant training cycle they develop and the management controls Sergeants Major implement ensure all employees meet training requirements while managing risk to both the individual and the unit.

Human Resources

Through their responsibility for talent management, training management, leader development and creating a positive work climate, it should be perfectly clear that Sergeants Major have significant Human Resource (HR) experience. Along with their responsibility to manage evaluations and administrative actions, Sergeants Major are intricately involved in diversity programs, staffing, organizational design, and ensuring all laws or regulations are followed. The average Sergeant Major has upwards of 10 years of experience in these roles for organizations with at least hundreds (if not thousands) of military and civilian employees.

Project Management

The Army knows Project Management as the Military Decision Making Process. Leaders follow this process for every project to plan appropriately and minimize risk, we just call it a different name. A mission is a project, a campaign is a program, and mission analysis is scope development. Since significant planning goes into any training event, mission, or campaign, the typical Sergeant Major has well over 10,000 hours of Project Management experience.

Subject Matter Expert

To reach the rank of Sergeant Major, Soldiers must demonstrate advanced expertise in their assigned field. This advanced expertise and demonstrated leadership potential is what allows a Soldier to progress through all the enlisted ranks. Whether the field is logistics, operations, signals, medical, or military intelligence, a Sergeant Major is a subject matter expert with over 20 years of experience in their discipline.

Even though I have been a Sergeant Major for more than four years, my family still doesn’t quite understand what I do or the role that I play in the success of an organization with over 17,000 people in 45 countries. Unfortunately, this becomes an even greater challenge when we attempt to translate the knowledge, skills and attributes of a Sergeant Major to the business world.

What I can say is this: If you are looking for an adaptive, driven, educated, experienced and tremendously loyal team player, hire a former Sergeant Major. You will be amazed at how this one person can positively impact your entire team.

The original article can be found Here

Thanks to 2ndLt Y for passing along his knowledge and wisdom as a successful Marine Officer candidate at OCS.

Life of a Marine Officer Candidate

OCS is different from college in every way. As a candidate just be comfortable being uncomfortable. Go in with the attitude that nothing is going to surprise you, that way you don’t have to worry about being surprised.  Some things are absolutely ridiculous; you still have to do them. That being said, the only thing that really surprised me was how much sitting around we did. There’s a lot of time waiting for a training site or classroom to become available.

Going to OCS is a culture shock and I had to break a few habits from civilian life. Before OCS, I was a really chilled-out, laid-back (almost passive) kind of person. I like to take my time when I do things so I can make sure that I get them right the first time I do them. As a Marine officer candidate, you’re expected to do everything quickly and correctly the first time, which was by far the most difficult adjustment I had to make. I, of course, made several mistakes but adapted to the pace and intensity of the training over time.

The staff are hard, for a reason

Instructors are intimidating- It’s their job to be that way. Any time an instructor addresses you, or you address an instructor, it will be loud, but it’s still a conversational exchange. Don’t let the instructor or the exchange intimidate you. As our Platoon Sergeant put it: “You’re just a grown-ass man talking to another grown-ass man.”

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. OCS is a training environment, therefore mistakes are expected and are much more acceptable than if you make them when you’re actually an officer.  The staff is looking for you to learn from your mistakes and adjust your behavior based on their corrections. If you fail to do this, they’ll send you home because you’ve failed to adapt.

Preparing for OCS

• Run a lot. The more physically-prepared you are, the less you’ll have to worry about the physical challenges, which will give you the ability to focus more of your energy on the mental challenges.
• Memorize the general orders before you go 100%. Know them backward, forwards and out of order.
• If you can, study the OCS academic knowledge before you go.  It will make your life that much easier while you’re there (FYI, I did not have access to the knowledge before I went and I did fine).

Dealing with stress at OCS

Faith and religion play a big role in my life. They helped keep me grounded and focused during my time there. That being said, religious services were probably one of the best things at OCS. You were able to talk with other Marine officer candidates, smile, laugh, and generally feel like a human being for an hour before going back to the squad bay. Letters and pictures from people at home and elsewhere helped remind me that someone actually cared about how I was doing and were definitely a highlight.

Having straight-up conversations with fellow candidates where we talked about anything but OCS was a great way of distracting ourselves and de-stressing. In short, find something that helps to ground you and keep you focused; hold onto that. This will take you a long way as a Marine officer candidate. Find humor in the dumb things you and your fellow candidates have to do (but don’t let the instructors see you smiling) – you’ll laugh about them later.

Leadership advice

I am an introvert- there were many days during OCS when I wanted nothing to do with other people, let alone lead them (this attitude is the whole “going internal” thing where you’re only concerned with yourself, which is no good). When you’re at OCS, the staff wants to know that you are capable of a certain type of violently aggressive leadership which you may or may not ever have to exhibit once you actually become an officer. This style of leadership was difficult for me to learn, but I was able to do it because of the chaotic environment at OCS.

For people who are like me: Don’t complain about it and tell yourself that “It’s just not your leadership style” (like I did). Play the game; you can lead the way they want you to lead, it will just be harder for some. Be assertive and don’t be afraid to step on people’s toes.

Life lessons

Being a Marine officer candidate made me “grow up” more than anything else in my life previously had. I realized at one point that despite the challenge, the training was changing me for the better, and that realization gave me an appreciation for what I was going through.

It’s really easy to complain about your situation or be angry at someone when you’re having a bad day. Choosing to be positive and patient with your peers is always more worthwhile than losing your cool for whatever reason.

Hard times don’t give you more character; they reveal the character you have already built. If you work constantly to be a person of outstanding character (patience, loyalty, integrity) now, before you go, that will stick on your worst days there.

A last word of advice

Just make it to your first liberty; from there you can live from weekend to weekend and you have something really good to look forward to.

Realize that while OCS is not a fun place, it is a good place. You can become a better person while you’re there if you let yourself, and if you let your instructors do their job, they will turn you into Marines.

At some points, it’s all you can do to just go with the flow- (don’t let yourself do this for too long or you’ll lose your mind and get sent home) be aware of what’s going on around you and be the one that is always willing to help a brother (or sister) out.

Realize that some things are beyond your control: Identify the things that are within your control and make those things as good as they can be. Be conscious of, but don’t worry too much about the rest.

Barring medical issues, if you’re not a scumbag, you put in the preparation, you learn from your mistakes and you put out 100% effort every day, you will make it through OCS.

Best of luck to those of you headed to OCS. Tons of other people have made it through what you’ll go through- if they can do it, you can do it too.

Thanks to 2ndLt A for sharing her insight into OCS as a female Marine Candidate and the challenges you will face there. Regardless of gender, OCS is about mindset. Female Marine candidates, your mentality will be the reason you succeed or fail at OCS.

You better be prepared to be a servant.

As a female Marine candidate or any candidate, if you aren’t there for the enlisted Marines you may be leading someday, get out. You don’t need to be there if joining is about you. Be forward, but tactful. Keep your personal life, your personal life, and your work life your work life; be able to keep them separated. Whatever you do, make a decision. Not making a decision is the same as making a decision and it is the wrong one. Always be confident in what you decide and if someone doesn’t like it, be able to shift it. No plan survives first contact. If you remember that, you will be good.

Prepare for the hikes

As a female Marine candidate, in particular, you better be able to hike. Be physically fit and don’t let your head get in the way. Know how the boots should fit for extended periods of time and how to prevent blisters. You can do more than you think you can. The Obstacle Course is nothing. It just looks tall. That is it.

Make sure to stretch every single night, even if you are exhausted. A lot of candidates got hurt because they didn’t stretch adequately enough. When I say stretch, I mean stretch everything, even if you don’t think you used that muscle group.

Don’t let another female Marine candidate get to you with the “spear-evals” (peer evaluations). It is just one of those things you have to deal with. Develop the mental fortitude to compartmentalize what is said, and still continue strong. Don’t hold a grudge with any one because they are under the same amount of stress as you are. Everyone handles stress differently.

You will know the ones that shouldn’t be there because it will be all about them.

Know that OCS is a team effort, even if doesn’t seem that way. Some of your best friends will come from OCS once you all get through. So make sure to keep good camaraderie with them.

Sergeant Instructors (SIs) will find the one thing that gets under your skin and will poke, prod, and try to mess with you so you break. Just don’t let anything get under your skin. For example, I was horrible at keeping my bearing. The SIs knew it. There probably wasn’t a week that went by where I didn’t get at least three bearing chits. They know how to make you pissed off because that is their job. Know that, remember it, and don’t let them get under your skin once they have found that spot. If you are at OCS, the board selected you because they think you can make it. It’s all mental.

Be ready for mind games

In the squad bay, you will have a combination lock on your wall locker and footlocker. One of my Sergeant Instructors’s favorite ways to shake things up was to find locks that weren’t locked whilst we were sleeping and then lock them together and leave those locks by the duty hutch (where the staff sleeps) for us to find in the morning. Never a good day if your lock was one of those. They will also play games with you in regard to addressing them and the other staff. Even if you get every single word correct in the phrasing, just know you could have said it better and louder. So just go with it. Being a female Marine candidate means the mind games and petty critiques from the Sergeant Instructors are even harsher than what the males received.

Hygiene for female Marine candidate

Regarding female specific hygiene. I used coconut oil in my hair. I slathered my hair in coconut oil after I washed my hair and then put as much gel in it as possible to reduce the number of flyaways (which will get you a chit). I didn’t do the sock bun because it took too much time. I usually did the “rose” or the twist bun. I was able to keep my hair in the bun for two to three days, depending on what we did, by using one of my shirts as a sort of pillow. I would twist my shirt into a whip, like when you flick someone with a towel, and then wrapped that around my bun. It allowed me to sleep on my back and not mess up my hair/bun. I never had a period at OCS but those who did usually just used tampons. They were the easiest and quickest way to deal with that whole thing. Just know that it is going to be gross no matter what happens. Deal with the fact that you are going to smell bad and you are going to be super gross. Don’t worry about it because everyone else is in the same boat. Embrace it.

Dealing with challenges

I struggled with the tests. I was able to always be “awake” during the classes, but studying later was difficult for me. Make sure to do well academically because that can send you home. If you have a good academic grade from the beginning it’s one less thing to worry about through the rest of the cycle.

Nothing was super difficult but dealing with an injury whilst trying to complete the Obstacle Course and Endurance Course is difficult. My advice, don’t get injured and don’t give up even if you are. If I had to choose a most challenging phase, it would be the middle of the ten weeks because that is when you can start to see everyone’s weaknesses and strengths. This is when you have to learn how to use people’s strengths and learn how to handle your weaknesses.

Medical is the equivalent of candidate death! So if you want to make it through, don’t go unless you are made to. Don’t leave until they force you to leave and even then, do everything you can to stay. If you are sent home for whatever reason, come back. You wanted to do it for a reason and that reason is good enough to keep trying. There were girls in my platoon that were there for their third time. If you want it badly enough, you are going to make it. Plus, if you do come back again, you will be held in great esteem because you “know the ways.” Share your knowledge no matter if it is your first, second, or third time being there. You aren’t fighting for an MOS yet. You are literally fighting against yourself and the limitations you put on yourself. Once you get past that, you can do whatever you set your mind to.

OCS is nothing like college. Expect to be blasted from all directions and you will be fine.

I honestly dealt with my stress by praying. I also had a great fire team and we all were good at keeping each other accountable.

Lessons learned

My biggest takeaways were that I can do more than I ever thought I could physically, emotionally, and mentally. I can handle more than I thought and there are more limits I am willing to push. Have a reason to be there and remember what it is. I was there because I feel God calling me to be in the military and that He will use me here somehow. Others were there because they have always dreamed of serving their country and serving as a leader. Never let yourself be the reason you are there. It is not about you. The second you make it through OCS and head to TBS, your purpose is to serve. Get used to it.

Whatever challenge they throw at you, hit it head on. Don’t hold yourself back.

Thank you to Norfolk Virginia’s Officer Selection Officer, Captain Calderon, for sharing her background and advice for future candidates. If you’re around the southern Virginia area, feel free to reach out to her recruiting unit with any questions about joining: 4th Marine Corps Recruiting District.

What’s your background?

I played Division I soccer all four years of college and graduated from the Naval Academy in 2011. I was first assigned as a landing support platoon commander in charge of 74 Marines in CLR-27, Landing Support Battalion. I later deployed to Afghanistan as a Motor Transport Platoon Commander and Transportation Officer under Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Combat Logistics Battalion 6. When I came from deployment, I was assigned as the Executive Officer of Landing Support Company under Transportation Support Battalion (TSB), Combat Logistics Regiment before becoming a Marine OSO.

Captain Calderon’s Basic Logistics Officer Course class in 2012

Why did you join the Marines?

I joined the Marine Corps for a couple of different reason. First, I am an extremely competitive person as I was a DI athlete in college and enjoy the challenge that comes with being a Marine.

There is never a dull moment in your career and you are always being presented with both mental and physical challenges that you have to overcome.

Second, my father was also a Marine and instilled in me a great sense of discipline and structure into my life. I knew the Marine Corps would carry this further and help me create good habits that would last a lifetime.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

My deployment to Afghanistan was definitely an amazing experience! Since there is not much to do except work, workout, and get to know your Marines, you get really good at these things. You build a sense of camaraderie with those that you deploy with that would be hard to replicate anywhere else.

How can a Marine OSO and candidate work well together throughout the recruiting process?

Have a strong desire to succeed and we will help you to meet your goal.

Those that do not have a desire to become a Marine Officer do not do well in our program and get weeded out very quickly.

What advice do you have for female applicants and candidates?

There is no difference between female and male Marines. You are simply a “Marine.” What you think becomes your reality. If you think that you cannot do pull-ups, then you will not be able to. If you have a goal and believe that you can do 20 pull-ups, you will achieve it. Everything starts with a vision, desire to succeed, and action to make those things happen. Never sell yourself short as a female! There is nothing that a male can do that you cannot also do!

What is the biggest reason behind failure at OCS?

Mental toughness. Those that do not have the correct mindset going into OCS, will not succeed. I highly suggest that people watch motivational videos or those on mindset prior to going to OCS because there will be times when you feel like quitting and remembering “why” you are there during those times is critical to making it through. Also having that determination and desire to succeed will carry you through OCS because those people have the mindset that no matter what obstacles are thrown their way, there is nothing that will keep them from succeeding.

What is the #1 thing you wish candidates knew before OCS?

You will be on your feet a LOT!! The average candidate has walked/run over 11 miles a day while at OCS! The more that you do now with weight on your back (running with weight), walking extremely fast with weight, etc, the more that will help you while at OCS.

How can potential applicants get in touch with you?

If you think you have what it takes to take the challenge of becoming a Marine, you can call our Marine OSO office at

(757) 423-0120

Stop by at

4211 Monarch Way, Suite 101,
Norfolk, VA 23508

or e-mail me at Christine.calderon@marines.usmc.mil

Check out our facebook pages at

Marine OSO Norfolk

Or my personal facebook:

Christine Alexis Facebook

Thanks to recent graduate Avery Soong for sharing his perspective on the differences and similarities between Marine Corps PLC Juniors and PLC Seniors. Check out his Youtube channel for more insight on OCS.

I often get questions addressing the differences between Marine Corps PLC Juniors and Seniors; thus, I will address the major differences and then share my personal experiences. OCS made a lot of adjustments and changes to the period of instruction and details such as performance nutrition packs (a snack pack) and physical training changes.

Both Include:

• Combat Course
• Muscular Endurance Course
• Fire and Movement Course
• Obstacle course (although I swear the Seniors one is higher)

Marine Corps PLC Juniors Main Events:

• SULE I
• Day Land Navigation
• Stamina Course
• Fireteam assault course
• Transition and Adaptation Phases
• OSMEAC Portion of 5-Paragraph Order
• Marine Corps History 1-3
• Juniors Fartlek/ Extension
• 4 and 6-mile hikes

What It’s Like

My personal experience with Marine Corps PLC Juniors was interesting because my enlisted staff was led by none other than the feared GySgt B I talk about in my videos. The day we met him he said, “You will be the best platoon and have discipline; God help you if you don’t.” So, for him, he would make no compromise and we would give him his volume, move with speed and intensity and be worthy of leading Marines or pay the price. So, my days at Marine Corps PLC Juniors involved a lot of running around and yelling as well as playing a lot of interesting “games.” My staff also had three Sergeant Instructors and one platoon sergeant.

It’s Their Game and Their Rules

My platoon commander was more of a behind-the-scenes leader as he let the enlisted staff take the lead on the training. One thing he said that really stuck with me was “We play a lot of games, right? Well when I went through, there was a war (Afghanistan Offensive) going on and the training and staff were extremely intense, so I don’t want to cheat you proper training and I want to make sure you’re ready to lead Marines.” When you’re holding things out in front of you or running and touching trees you may not think it helps at all but it builds discipline and makes you tough (Main Packs get heavy after a long time).

Motivation Killer

The one thing I noticed, during Marine Corps PLC Juniors, was for the first three training weeks I was really stressed out and just plain exhausted all the time, I remember I slept 11 hours on my first liberty. Getting your body destroyed and having instructor-induced stress really does wear you out in addition to the PT and Field time. Overall, I didn’t think the events or exams at Juniors were really that hard, it just plain sucked.

Marine Corps PLC Seniors Main Events:

• Night Land Navigation
• Endurance Course
• Transition phase, directly to the decision making and execution phase
• Marine Corps History 4-6
• BAMCIS Portion of 5-Paragraph Order
• PT on the PT field almost every day
• Seniors Fartlek/ Extension
• 6 and 9-mile hike

What It’s Like

Seniors was completely different, I’ll start with the moment I got to the D.C. airport. I went to the USO and got ready to embark the buses to Quantico, the Executive Officer of OCS a Lt Col said, “Ah how are you doing son! I really like your videos!” and the Master Sergeant with him said, “Well, you better graduate.” At that point, I was like “Uh-oh, better go over all those billet SOPs because I got some Candidate Company Commander incoming.” I spent all of in-processing with a target painted on my back and to be honest it stressed me out a little. Now fast forward to pick up day and the instructors march out on the stage and march us back to Graham Hall and do gear inventory with our main packs.

So, the first major difference was rather than the staff being led by a fearsome platoon sergeant, it was led by a 42-year-old prior enlisted man named Captain “D”. The man had reached the rank of GySgt before he was accepted into the MECEP program and commissioned. Did I also mention he did a stint at MCRD Parris Island as a drill instructor as well? So, I noticed the platoon commander everywhere always watching us and observing our little habits and idiosyncrasies. He would always tell us “Somebody is always watching and annotating everything that you do!”

Contrary to the Juniors period of instruction (POI), there was much less time to spend holding things out in front of us, thus the staff didn’t really play any games with us at all, which was quite shocking to me.

Developing Leaders

Once we picked up, the billets and POI started immediately and made time go fast. I remember the end of the week was the first time we went to the field and did night land navigation practical application (which I failed). Then, I had my billet as candidate platoon commander, and at the end of my three-day billet, back to the field again for the night land navigation test (on which I got a 100).

One piece of advice I have for PLC guys is to get with the ROTC guys if you have questions on the land navigation, tactics, and the operations order because some of them are really helpful and well trained (Shout out to my buddy Cole).

The Endurance Course is no joke! I run in the 18’s for my three mile and only ran a 38 minute on it.

SULE II is much harder as it takes all day and it rained after the 9-mile hike and soaked my feet and cammies which led to bad chaffing, but as long as you know how to land navigate and can rattle off a good operation order you’ll be fine. Honestly, I wasn’t really stressed out by the POI as I was pretty well prepared. But, towards the end I started getting really bored and frustrated as being in Quantico for 12 weeks was getting old.

PT

The one big difference is that they started giving performance nutrition packs, which are little snacks before PT and eating morning chow after PT, which was a major improvement. Also, there was less running and more “core strength and conditioning” which according to some priors was just a company-wide IT session. The final difference was that field chow was virtually non-existent and they fed us at Bobo almost every day, which really helped me retain weight. Oh and also, I got my Eagle, Globe and Anchor after the Medal of Honor run and I walked across that parade deck a United States Marine…

Semper Fidelis

Candidates, get in depth preparation for OCS by checking out Avery’s Youtube channel and Facebook. 

Being a short and skinny candidate at Marine OCS

So you have some concerns about being a short and skinny candidate at OCS?

I was also a short and skinny candidate at OCS. Height: 5’ 6” and 120 lbs at my lightest point at OCS and the second shortest candidate in the platoon. Here is advice, tips, and straight talk to help you through OCS. There’s a lot of things you can’t control, being a short and skinny candidate is one. Focus on the things you can change and put the rest behind you. In a formation, the tallest candidates comprise the “Big end” and smallest the “Little end.” Many of these insights will apply to the majority of female candidates as well.

Percentages are debatable. But I think a solid 60% of OCS is in your head. That 60% has nothing to do with your physical fitness, intellect or leadership ability. And subsequently, nothing to do with being a short and skinny candidate. This is the part that burns a lot of candidates because they psych themselves out and go into what Colonel Nethercot (former Commanding Officer of OCS) called a “death spiral.” Essentially, they convince themselves they suck and start to retreat inside themselves. This, in turn, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just remember, if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you. Nothing grows in its comfort zone.

Who dares wins.
-British SAS motto

On Black Friday (pickup day) the Sergeant Instructors are going to look for anyone that stands out. Candidates who are slow or don’t sound off in particular. They also pick on those who don’t blend in. There is no place for individuals at OCS. Being a short and skinny candidate makes you stand out. For that matter, being anything other than an athletic build, average height, white male makes you stand out. Remember everyone is wearing the same thing with the same haircut, so anyway they can differentiate you is going to get you extra attention. In order to avoid extra attention, you’ll need to be louder, more intense and more adaptable than those around you.

It’s nothing personal, just war fighting.”-GySgt A

Make no mistake, there are things at OCS that will be harder for short and skinny candidates. But I don’t think it has much bearing on whether you graduate.

Confidence, confidence in everything you do. Dominate your environment and walk like you own this town. Just remember that someone else always has it worse than you. A candidate in my training company had a stress fracture in his foot for the full ten weeks. He made it, although I’m sure the runs and hikes were much harder for him. It’s pretty hard to feel bad for yourself when you know someone else is in a lot more pain than you.

Ultimately, taking the initiative, making a decision and communicating that decision is the most important thing at OCS. The staff doesn’t even particularly care if it’s the right decision, they call this, “Good initiative, bad judgment.” This has no bearing on your height or weight.

Every day at OCS, you have the opportunity to decide who you want to become. The little things are what will define who you are becoming. Be aware that you are developing habits throughout the cycle that will lead to your success or failure at OCS. Find an excuse to win. Every day you need to fight for the chance to have tomorrow. Find your center. Whether its religion, support from home, etc. Know what’s going to keep you grounded before you go. Personally, I was able to keep a level head through most of OCS. I attribute this to support from my community via letters and staying grounded in my religion. While at OCS I received enough letters to read more than one every day. That’s all thanks to the people back home supporting me. This also makes no difference if you are a short and skinny candidate.

Straight Talk

The honest truth is no one cares if you are a good leader on the best day of your life. Consider this, you don’t pick your best friends or evaluate an employee on the best days. You evaluate their merit when things get hard. Anyone can do well when life is going their way and everything is in their favor. Can you lead when the deck is stacked against you? OCS will back you into a corner and give you three choices: Lead, follow or get out of the way. You are there to prove you have the potential to lead Marines. Chaos reveals character and friction, fortitude.

Know exactly why you want to be a Marine officer before you go. Make no mistake, I wasn’t a stellar candidate. There were many times when I doubted myself. It’s often said, “Don’t make a decision (to quit) when you are going uphill.” And remember, someone is always watching. The motto of OCS is “Ductus Exemplo”, Lead by Example.

Take 50 mg of suck it up. Some of Y’all need 100 mg, its like extra strength Tylenol, you understand?
-GySgt V

Mental

-Everyone has different points of friction at OCS. Afterward, you’ll talk with your buddies and be surprised by the things they thought were hard. And they at yours.

Physical

–Hikes will be harder, partly because the pack will be a greater percentage of your body weight and partly because short guys are usually put in the back of the column. When the head of the column is over large hills, they will start to speed up and you will still be trying to get to the top.

-Certain things will be easier. Pullups or any exercise where you have to pull yourself over something, i.e. the Obstacle Course, is ideal for smaller guys. I think the PFT is easier for little candidates and the CFT, harder. The combat course and the Quigley, in particular, are easy for little guys because we can crawl under the barbed wire and through small spaces faster. Runs are debatably easier. You don’t see many big guys doing college cross country for example. This obviously has a lot to do with fitness though.

-One distinct advantage is short and skinny candidates need fewer calories to run at the same performance level. For the first half of OCS, you’ll have no more than 6 minutes to eat each meal. I think it starts somewhere around 3-4 minutes. Use a spoon and just shovel the contents into your mouth. Carbs, salt, and protein first. Utilize the fruit bar in the morning to get your vitamins. When everyone else is in pain from hunger, you’ll be sitting happily.

Leadership

-For reasons unknown, short and skinny candidates don’t do as well on peer evaluations. The best guess I heard was that it’s harder for the little guys to show command presence and dominate their environment. That said, I never saw someone gets dropped for reasons that could be attributed to being a short and skinny candidate.

Totem

One mental trick you can use it to develop a “totem”. Conceptually, this is similar to Leonardo Di Caprio’s spinning top in the movie Inception. In this case,  it’s an image or memory that each person holds to themselves and can replay like a GIF when they’re getting close to the edge. This is very useful for anxiety attacks and for keeping candidates from going internal. Make it a prized perception, a moment of comfort, something you don’t share with the world. And make it only a moment, not a full on day of your life you have to replay. After a day when you’ve been beaten into the ground, sit in your rack, stretch and replay that GIF in your head. This adjusts your mindset to put you in a better mood and keeps you from dwelling on how much you sucked that day.

Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable.

OCS made me realize I had lived life in my comfort zone. I don’t really think there is any true way to fully prepare for OCS. That’s the genius of it. The instructor’s job is to make you feel like the worst candidate OCS ever had. There was one instructor who was always picking on me. He would make me chase birds across the parade deck whenever we had free time and my blouse sleeves were never tight enough for him.  At the EGA ceremony, he gave me my EGA and told me, “I knew from the first day you were going to make it. But it would not have been fair to the Marines if you were not tested. You don’t like to quit and you’re really smart. You’re going to be somebody in this gun club one day.” Truth be told, I thought he absolutely hated me until that day. At graduation, another told my parents that I was the one he respected the most in the platoon. This was all a big shock to me. At no point in the ten weeks did I feel smart, accomplished or particularly tough.

When you doubt yourself, remember,  “I read about this. I knew this was coming and others like me have made it through.” Everyone feels like the worst candidate at some point.

Candidates, what questions or advice do you have about being a short or skinny candidate at OCS?