Marine Officer Programs

[jdfairman]

Hello All.
My name is Lieutenant Fairman, and I invite any of you who are interested in becoming a Marine Officer to post your question. I will do my best to answer it myself, and should I not have the knowledge, I will do my best to find out and get back with you.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in '98 and worked as an FDC man for HQ Btry, 14th Marines throughout college. I was commissioned a second lieutenant through the PLC program on 01AUG02. I am currently in flight training pursuing those coveted wings of gold. I'm not trying to blow my own horn here, just wanted to give an idea of my background. SO... any questions concerning officer programs, fire away.

[HepCat]

What are the requirements, exactly for becoming an officer? Is it a certain degree? Some kind of officer training? A combo of the two? Just all the details you can spare, really would be cool. Thanks in advance.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Lt. Fairman,
I want to thank you for coming to this site to help the young wannabes out. There are scores of well educated enlisted men and women here, ready to do all we can for those wanting to enlist in the Marine Corps. But, there seems to be a lack of officers on the site. I for one am greatful. At one point, I was considering persuing a commission in the Marine Corps, and would have been most thankful to have someone like you to assist.

[Super Dave]

Semper Fi Lt.

Welcome aboard..

What are you going to be driving?

[kentmitchell]

Wondered what that hashmark was doing alongside the brown bar. Not quite a mustang but closer than most.
My hat's off to anyone who completes TBS. Best officers in the world come from there and I served under a few of them. Really looked up to them even when I was a salty E-4 with my own hashmark.

[jdfairman]

Well... I'm just now putting the finishing touches on API (aviation preflight indoctrination), the first phase of flight training. From here I;ll be going to Corpus Christi, TX for Primary, and it is there that the aircraft I'll be flying in the fleet will be determined.
As far as Hepcat's question goes, there are a myriad of ways to obtain a commission. The basic requirements are citizenship, a bachelor's degree and elgibility for a Secret clearance. Commissions may be obtained through PLC, OCC, one of the academies, NROTC, or MECEP. There are also a few senior SNCO's that are commissioned as Limited Duty Officers.
OCC (the Officer Candidates Course) is one of the more popular routes taken. If you already have a bachelor's degree, this is the way to go. College graduates will be sent to Officer Candidates School in Quantico, VA for a ten week course. Think of OCS as a ten-week, extremely intense job interview. You are graded on leadership, academics and physical fitness. (mostly on leadership). The method is that you will be put in various leadership billets that are about two weeks in duration throughout the course. (Candidate Platoon Commander, Candidate Company First Sergeant, Candidate Company Gunny, Candidate Platoon Sgt, etc.). Academics consists of alot of what is taught at boot camp (basic first aid, history) plus leadership, a little warfighting, basic tactics etc. Physical Fitness is extremely intense. Expect to run about five miles about six times a week plus upper body development, combat and endurance courses, circuit courses and more. Upon graduation, the OCS candidate is commissioned a second lieutenant and immediately transferred to TBS (The Basic School) which is a six month course where you learn how to function as a basic company grade officer.
PLC is similar. Of note for the PLC program is that you can apply for a guaranteed air, law, or ground contract. You can apply for the Platoon Leaders Course as soon as you are enrolled in college. If you are a freshmen or sophomore, you will be sent to two separate six week courses at Officer Candidates School during two of your college summers. Same as OCC only it is split into two sessions. PLC Combined (what I did) is for college juniors who apply. Its the same as OCC, only you complete the ten week session the summer of your junior year. In both programs, you will be commissioned a second lieutenant upon verification of graduation with a Bachelor's degree, and you will await further orders to TBS.

LAW STUDENTS!!! LISTEN UP!!! Your little career path is going to be a little different for PLC and OCC. If you are in the JAG program, you will be attending law school and completing the bar exam before being sent to TBS. You don't get paid while you are doing this, but you do accumulate Time in Service and Time in Grade. Pretty Cool huh? My roommate at TBS was a JAG officer, and he was already a Captain while he was at TBS.
NROTC... Well, of course you have to find a college that offers and NROTC program. You will complete their program of instruction as you are going through college, and at some point you will select Marine Option. At this point, you will be sent to the six week bulldog course at Officer Candidates School.
Academy guys (West Point, Anapolis, etc) are commissioned as Second Lieutenants upon graduation from the academy. No OCS. Sent directly to TBS.
MECEP students. MECEP commissions Marines from the enlisted ranks. You put in a package through your chain of command, and if selected will be sent to college on the Marine Corps' dime (oorah) and paid while you are there. Upon graduation with a Bachelor's, you head off to the afore mentioned six-week bulldog course at OCS, commission upon graduation from there and head to TBS.
As far as LDO's (Limited Duty Officers) are concerned, I am going to have to look that one up because I have met very few of them, and the ones I have met were Navy guys on the General Aviation (Ground Support) side. I know we have them in the Corps; I just don't know much about them. Give me a couple days and I'll find out.
Anyways, Hepcat, hope that clears things up a little bit for you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.
Some good websites are www.Marines.com, www.ocs.usmc.mil, www.marineofficercandidate.com, and of course to be put in touch with your local OSO (Officer Selection Officer) call 1-800-MARINES.
On a side note, since I started the post, I recieved alot of questions in my PM box. I don't mind answering them, but it is more beneficial to post your questions on the forum where everybody can read them, since many of you have the same question. However, if it is something you truly don't feel comfortable asking on an open forum, I will be more than happy to answer you with a PM.
Semper Fi,
LT Fairman

[RoboRobinson17]

Lt. Fairman,

Thanks for the prompt response. It was very helpful and informative as to the many different ways to obtain a commision.

SF,

Joe

[WMjets]

Good idea, sir. I was always surprised that there weren't more officers on this post.

I am a midshipman in Marine option (MO) NROTC at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, so I can help with the more specific questions about NROTC and about the MECEP program, because they have a very similar program they go through with us. So if I don't know the answer to a MECEP question, I can talk to one of Marines here that are in that program.

Quick overview: With a (MO) NROTC scholarship, they will pay for tuition for four years (in special cases five years), give you a book allowance of $300 per term, and a living allowance of $250 per month, which increases each year. You go on cruises each summer, and the summer before your senior year you go to Bulldog, which is the six week version of OCS. Upon graduation you're commissioned as a second lieutenant.
FYI: It's a common misconception that you can go in with a navy option scholarship and easily transfer to Marine option. This is NOT true, transfering is a long, difficult process, and it's actually easier to just apply for a Marine option scholarship in the first place!

Like the Lt., I prefer to answer your questions on the forum.

Jo

[jdfairman]

Thanks for the quick response WM. Looks like you saved the bacon as far as the NROTC info. I was always under the impression you enrolled in NROTC and selected the Marine option after the fact. Thanks for weighing in and steering us in the right direction. I'll go ahead and edit my former post as well.

[Caesar Augustus]

hey JD your links have comma's at the end so they do not work. Just letting you know.

[RoboRobinson17]

How about "Lt. Fairman", or "sir"? I don't know about you, but those sure as h3ll sound like a proper form of respect to show a Leader of Marines. Use your head. A lack of attention to detail will get you or a member of your squad killed. You've posted alot; don't start becoming part of the "10%" of the poolees that we have on the boards that are turds now. Step up to the plate and lead.

Semper Fi,

Joe

[jdfairman]

I tried to edit the post earlier to clear up the links as well as correct some bum scoop I gave on NROTC (see above posts from WMJets). Unfortunately, posts are only correctable for six hours after they are posted. It looks like you're just going to have to type or copy/paste them into the address bar.

[Caesar Augustus]

Sorry about the lack of respect earlier.
Thank you for bringing that to my attention RoboRobinson

[WMjets]

Sir, as far as how to apply, possible candidates fill out a form with about a million pages (like most paperwork ), which is the same for Navy and MO (Marine option). The differences are that in the form there is a question that simply asks whether you want to be a Navy or Marine option, MOs take a PFT (your score is factored into your application), and the overall process for MOs is harder even though they use the same form.

Also, if you apply and don't get accepted into the program, you can go "College Program". In this case, you do everything with the NROTC battalion like the scholarship students do, but you don't go on the cruises or get your tuition paid for. You do get a living allowance (which is basically your paycheck) like they do. More people go college program than start with scholarships, but those on this program can pick up a scholarship if they are found to be worthy. You can talk to your local recruiter about this. He may not know very much about the program, since they typically work with enlisted, but he'll be able to point you to the right people, or you can also check out the Lieutenant's earlier post. He had some good websites and other ways to get in touch with the right people.

As far as the recruiters, we've all heard the horror stories, but the recruiters I talked to (in Saginaw, MI) were very honest with me. Just remember that even though they are typically good, honest people, they are still trying to sell you something. If something sounds suspicious, it never hurts to double check, and right here is a good place to do it.

Jo

[jdfairman]

Hey everybody... Today was interesting. Just got done with the infamous Helo-dunker. For the uninitiated, this contraption is a mock-up of a CH-46 that is suspended over a tank. You strap in, and it is lowered into the pool where it submerges and flips upside down (ditched helicopters tend to do that because they are so top heavy); then you and all your little buddies get unhook and swim out the specified exits. Not exciting enough?!! Thats OK, because after a couple rides you get to do it blind-folded.
It was a blast, and yeah... I know it has nothing to do with this thread, but hey... its my thread and rank hath its privileges right?
Keep the questions coming. Semper Fi.