Just as important as making our enlisted Marines, is making the officers that are in charge of them. A lot has been written about the initial process of making the toughest and most decorated fighting force in the history of the U.S. Military. U.S. Marine Corps boot camp is one of the most famous military trainings of them all. Enshrined for eternity in the movie Full Metal Jacket, boot camp is synonymous with hell broken loose for anyone entering the military, particularly for Marines recruits.
(Marine Corps Recruiting/YouTube)
However, after those civilians have been turned into fighting machines and completed their Military Occupational Schools, they are sent to the U.S. Marine Corps Fleet and assigned to platoons under the command of freshly graduated U.S. Marine Corps second lieutenants. The command at the unit level is one of the crucial concepts for the formula for success concatenated through blood and sweat left on the battlefield since 1775. This video shows the process of making those second lieutenants, a.k.a. officer butter bars, at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia, the crossroads of the Marine Corps.
Becoming an officer in the United States Marine Corps far surpasses a career.
The purpose of Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School is to train, screen and evaluate officer candidates for service in the USMC. There are many paths that lead to becoming a Marine Officer, including the platoon’s leaders’ class, officer candidate course, and the bulldog course.
Great Americans go to OCS, people that want to serve their nation. OCS seeks qualified applicants and helps them in applying for Marine Officer programs. It helps prepare candidate for the most thorough and demanding leadership training in the nation. The ones that make it to OCS are looking for leadership, challenge, professional development, and are looking above and beyond possibilities they never thought would be possible.
(Marine Corps Recruiting/YouTube)
Candidates arrive to OCS from colleges around the country. They may come from different backgrounds, but they all come for the challenge of leading other Marines. They want to be part of something that is bigger than they are. The training is a sharp contrast from life on campus. At OSC every event has a purpose. The applicants are trained to act quickly and decisively in a fast pace environment. If they can’t do it there, then they won’t be able to do it in combat.
The candidates are evaluated in three categories, physical fitness, academics, and leadership. Leadership potential is the biggest factor. Every candidate is given the chance to lead so the potential and desire can be measured among chaos and uncertainty.
