If any Marines are interested in going to OCS, I just want to give a little information.
There were a few prior enlisted guys in my platoon at OCS. We had 3 Lance Corporals (Infantry, Military Police, and I forget what the last was... he was a 92-day reservist and hadn't been to MOS school yet); a Corporal (Motor -T); A Sergeant (Artillery - 1 deployment); and a Staff Sergeant (Reconnaissance Marine, interestingly he was music before he made recon.)
It is important to remember, every comparison I make is not validated by my own experience. I have never been to Boot Camp. My sister has, and the priors have. My knowledge of the experience at Boot Camp is from their accounts and from information available online and elsewhere.
To begin:
OCS receiving is much less dramatic. Candidates all arrive via different sources of transportation. There is no bus and there are no yellow footprints. We are not recieved by Drill Instructors. We are moved in a herd from place to place by NCO handlers. We are assigned our Company and Platoon and are grouped accordingly. Our in-processing takes 5 days. We recieve all of our 782 gear, our utility uniforms, large bag issue, small bag issue, etc. Things are very lackadasical; there is no discipline. The process has not begun and it does not feel real. In this stage you are required to pass medical and earn a 1st class PFT (225+). Those who do not earn a 1st class PFT are given one more chance the next day to do so. If they fail to earn a 1st class PFT, they are sent home. There is no PCP. If you're not physically qualified, you are dropped.
After those 5 days, everyone who remains is administratively joined to OCS and will undergo pick-up. At OCS, pick up consists of a speech given by the Battalion Commander, the presentation of our staff, followed by a return to the squadbays. The Batalion Commander, for my OCS class, asked that we all put forth maximum effort for 4 weeks and evaluate if this is what we truly want to do. (You can quit OCS after 4 weeks. It makes for an entirely different feeling according to the priors.) Here is the first important distinction between OCS and Boot Camp. OCS is about finding out who among the candidates will be capable of leading Marines in stressful situations and sending home those who cannot. The attrition rate is very high; historically around 36%. Those who decide they do not want to are encouraged to get the hell out. Those who just can't cut it are sent home. Obviously, at Boot Camp, the fastest way out is to graduate. You're there to be turned into a Marine.
Upon the return to the squadbays, Candidates meet their instructors. Instructors at OCS are referred to as Sergeant Instructors, not Drill Instructors. They are all former Drill Instructors. We do not have a Senior, a kill hat, or a drill hat. We have a Platoon Sergeant, and two Sergeant Instructors. My Platoon's Instructors and Platoon Sergeant were all Gunnery Sergeants.
At pick up we learn that our new vocabulary will be this candidate, these candidates, those candidates, as well as yes (rank), no (rank), and aye aye (rank). This is another big distinction from Boot Camp. When an Instructor speaks to us, we respond with his rank; not with Sir. However, at Pick up, priors said things pretty much acted out exactly as they did at Boot Camp. Everything is done by the numbers and counted down. At 1, it would be DONE GUNNERY SERGEANT DONE! Commands would elicit, "TAKE THE SQUAD BAY AYE GUNNERY SERGEANT!, "READY", then the response, "READY", response, "MOVE", response and carry out the order.
Anyways, the first week mirrors Boot Camp except that we have no Indivual Incentive Training. We're told the philosphy behind this is that OCS is not about instilling discipline; those who do not follow orders will simply be sent home. So, this makes getting called out pretty anti-climatic once you adjust to the yelling. However our instructors still made plenty use of Platoon-wide Incentive Training. This was utilized for creating stress and forcing teamwork. The Platoon wide Incentive Training came more into play as the Instructors backed off.
After the first week or two (my memory is fuzzy,) Candidates run the show. We all know the daily schedule. Sergeant Instructors no longer march the platoon from location to location. Sergeant Instructors no longer tell us the gear we need, nor do they run our Daily Basic Routine, nor our morning routine (unless they felt they needed to do those things as a punishment, because of a lack of cohesion or lack of overall discipline.) Candidates are placed in billets from Fire Team leader all the way to Company Commander. The Candidate Platoon Sergeant bears most of the responsibility for running the Platoon, while the Candidate Platoon Commander gets most of the trouble if the Platoon Sergeant screws up. Candidate Squad Leaders and the Candidate Guide enforce the Candidate Platoon Sergeant's Commands and maintain Platoon discipline.
At the Company level, Candidate Company Staff ensures the entire Company gets from place to place on time; ensures the Company has the proper gear; ensures all Rifles are accounted for; ensures that the Candidate Platoon staff from each Platoon is doing their job. Formation, with the exception of the first two weeks, is done b Candidates.
This (and physical fitness), according to the priors, is the biggest difference between OCS and Boot Camp. At OCS, you're expected to be able to run everything and make sure everyone is prepared for training and evaluation while the Instructors berate you. Everyone gets a chance in a billet and it is very clear which Candidates are strong leaders and which ones are not. Being a poor leader will get you sent home in a heartbeat. I cannot count how many times I personally witnessed that happen.
The other major difference, again, according to the priors is physical fitness.
(Just for reference, I had a 270 as my initial PFT score heading into OCS with my worst run time in months.)
We do not have PT every morning. However, to put into perspective; the PFT and CFT were BY FAR the easiest physical days we had at OCS. Every PT session involving a run was more than 3 miles and typically run at better than **officially** a 7 minute pace. (I went into OCS able to run 3 miles in 21 minutes and change and left OCS able to run in the 19's and I was more than sucking wind with every run, so that 7 minute figure IMO is inaccurate.) There were many many times that we ran 4 or 5 miles at better than a 6 minute pace. We do not divide into rabbits, turtles, and medium. Every time you fall out of a run, you are given a physical fitness failure. (We have total scores based upon all of our evaluations at OCS. Average below an 80 in any category and you are sent to a board to be dropped.) The categories broke down as follows, Physical fitness (25% of the total), Academics (25% of the total), and Leadership (50% of the total.) Our physical fitness events included:
The Endurance Course (hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life.) 33 minutes for a 100 -- a perfect score, 43 minutes to obtain an 80 -- a passing score. (Failing the endurance course is an automatic board and likely, being dropped from OCS.) I scored a 41:24
The Obstacle Course. 2 minutes for an 80, 1 minute for a 100.
The 9 - mile hike. (Pass/Fail) If you failed, the 12 mile hike was your chance to pass OCS.
There is much more, but I found a site that covers PT extensively, so I'm gonna cut this section short and post the link. Here it is:
http://manlypat.wordpress.com/2009/0...raining-guide/
We also recieve liberty every weekend after the first 4 weeks. Liberty was probably the best and worst thing about OCS to me. Being allowed outside of the training environment for 26 hours or so allowed you to think about how much things suck and get you out of your routine. Being able to quit makes it that much harder to come back after you get to relax. It really changes the entire feeling of training. It also gives you time to rest your bodyand get things done; like laundry and uniform prep for inspections.
I hope this helps any Marine considering OCS.
To simplify; from the priors:
OCS is harder physically, easier mentally. There are more expectations of you at OCS than at Boot Camp but you're not punished nearly as harshly.
As far as calling one harder or easier overall or in any category; I cannot make that call because I have not been to both. Those comparisons were made by priors in my platoon not by me.
That is all.