Which OCS Program is right for me?

[DAVIDB1220]

Over the past couple of years, I've conducted research on the Marine Corps and What it takes to be a Marine Corps officer. One of my relatives(my uncle) attended OCS in the Marine Corps a while back(around 2005-06 or so). He told me a lot of useful information that i added to my research.

Currently I'm in my second year of community college doing extremely well with straight As in all 4 classes this semester. I'm giving it one last go at the Naval Academy as this is my 4th and last time applying. While speaking with my Uncle, he gave me a good insight and a choice to make( which i did make my decision.), the question was whether to attend 6-6 week OCS program or get all 10 weeks done in one go at it. I've decided to go with doing all 10 weeks in one shot. Why?

During my uncle's conversation with me, he pointed out something very reasonable for me in this decision. going the 6-6 week program, i'd go for 6 weeks (probably for PLC JRs program) and come back for a whole year. A lot my uncle's buddies who went through this program said they lost a lot of motivation to go back, and didn't feel like going back. That's why my uncle was suggesting to just get all 10 weeks out of the way and not worry about having to go back after a whole year.

Next year, I do indeed plan on transferring to a 4-year university, should i not get into the naval academy. It's now starting to hit that time where i need to pick the road i'm going to take to my commission. I've looked at the PLC program heavily, and I did look into NROTC. I also know that i can in fact, attend OCS after graduating from college as well. I'm always looking for advice or at least some form of guidance so i can assure myself success on this path to commissioning. So my question to y'all is, What program do you recommend i consider heavily on?

EDIT: i was checking out the Marine Corps website and happened to have found this information. Under the PLC Junior year, it shows one 10 week session, exactly how does this work? the link is provided below.

http://www.marines.com/becoming-a-ma...-leaders-class

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[USMC 2571]

I'm trying to think if there are more than 2 officers here, I think just two. PM 03Mike and djj34, I believe the username is. Let me double check.

[USMC 2571]

Yes, those two usernames are correct, PM them and ask them to take a look at your thread. As for which program is right for YOU, I don't think anyone can answer that. It's by its very nature subjective. But let's see what others say.

[USMC 2571]

You mention "flying planes" as an interest on your profile. It so happens that djj34 is in flight school as we speak.

[DAVIDB1220]

Thank You sir, i will definitely get in contact with these gentlemen. And that's is correct sir, i would like to enter the Aviation field upon commissioning and become a Pilot in the corps.

[djj34]

Give me some credit! I'm not in flight school anymore! Haha.

OP if you KNOW you want to be a Marine then you won't lose the faith between juniors and seniors. That's the way I did. The year off was perfect. I went to juniors and crushed it. Finished on the BnCO's list. Knew what I needed to work on. Knew what the PT was like. Went home and worked on it and trained. Came back to seniors and crushed it again. You don't have the opportunity to regroup and reattack if you go to combined for 10 weeks. However, I did feel like knocking out another 4 weeks when I was done at juniors. Your body will also break down quite a bit, so I was fine going home after 6. That's my opinion.

[USMC 2571]

Oh, I didn't know you had finished flight school. Congratulations!!!!

[irpat54]

Give me some credit! I'm not in flight school anymore! Haha.

from this ground pounder who really appreciated the close air support,, I salute you Sir,, in all sincerity..

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[USMC 2571]

At one time I had a long post by djj34 outlining flight training, and his permission to post it whenever needed, but I accidentally deleted it, so djj if you could possibly post that again, I will copy and paste and post when we're asked about aviation here. Thanks, sir.

[djj34]

Thanks gents, I really appreciate it. I can't wait to give rides to Marines out of 1st MARDIV.


Here's my aviation post. After mine is UMDStudent24's post about strike training.

You're going to love this post.

Short answer - no.

Long answer - a Marine is a Marine, no one really cares what you do before you earn any credibility. With respect to getting into flight school, your commissioning source doesn't really matter. The criteria you mention definitely helps getting that commission, whether it be from OCS, USNA or NROTC. By the time you've commissioned (with few exceptions) you will already have that "guarantee" to go to Pensacola. First, you will receive orders to The Basic School which is almost analogous to MCT for enlisted guys/gals. You'll go through six months of working on strengthening your leadership skills. You will qualify on the M16 and M9, read and write more orders than essays you wrote in college. You'll go over doctrine ad-nauseum, as well as tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) ranging from the fireteam up to leading a company sized element. That's really it in a nutshell. I'm sure this is that "other assigned position" you mentioned.

Flash forward six months and you're checking in to MATSG-21 at NAS Pensacola. If you do not already possess an FAA private pilot certificate, you'll get a class date for a screener called IFS - Introductory Flight Screening. You'll get civilian ground school shoved down your throat in a matter of 2-3 weeks, and then you'll fly 12 flights in a small single engine airplane with a civilian certified flight instructor. You'll take a checkride and complete a pattern solo in as little as 11 days. It's a good time.

The next step is to begin Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, or API. This is the beginning of your professional aviation training. It has changed since I went through in May 2013, but its mostly the same firehose course of aerodynamics, meteorology, turbine engines, basic aircraft systems, navigation, flight rules & regulations, as well as completing a mile swim for time, and doing various land and water survival requirements. Fail two tests and you can kiss aviation goodbye. It does happen, I have plenty of friends in logistics, finance, admin, comms, and maintenance... Stay in the books and give a damn, and you'll be OK.

After API you will receive orders for primary. Here there are two options. You could go up I-10 to scenic Milton, FL and fly the T-6B Texan II with VT-2, 3 or 6 out of NAS Whiting Field. Or... you can take a 750 mile drive and burn dead dinosaurs around South Texas with VT-27 or 28 at NAS Corpus Christi. You'll go through a ground school syllabus with 5 exams in 3 weeks as well as preparatory simulation rides before going to the real plane. Everything comes hot and heavy, very quickly, and you are expected to be an adult officer and know your sh*t from day one. You'll learn to fly the plane during the day. You'll learn to manhandle it up to 5g's, as well as fine tune it, through some aerobatics. You'll spend quite a bit of time doing this awesome thing called radio instrument navigation, and you'll do a few formation flights with another student 10 feet off your wing at 270mph. All in all, you'll fly about 75 hours, solo 3 times, and learn more than you thought you could. Your confidence as a professional should skyrocket. It's a good time.

At the end of primary you will put our four advanced pipelines in an order of preference. I requested Multiengine, Tiltrotor, Rotary, Strike, in that order. I got Tiltrotor. I won't go into super detail on the advanced phases because that's so far away, and some things are changing soon.

Tiltrotor - you'll go to South Whiting and get some helicopter action. Once again, quick, hot and heavy. Then you'll go to Corpus Christi and learn how to fly a bigger plane with two engines and more complicated systems. You'll learn to fly it, land it, and be safe with an engine out. You'll get really good at using a co pilot. Then you'll move on to the MV-22B Osprey with duty locations at MCAS Miramar, Camp Pendleton, MCAS New River and MCAS Futenma.

Maritime - you'll pack your bags (or stay) and head to Corpus Christi and do the exact same stuff I said above, just without the sexy helicopter stuff, and a smaller, less-powered aircraft. Mission is the same. You'll move on to the KC-130J Hercules with duty locations at MCAS Miramar, MCAS Cherry Point and MCAS Iwakuni. These are very rare and very coveted.

Rotary - helicopter action at South Whiting! Lots of it. Lots of emergencies. Lots of navigation. Lots of studying. Flying a very fun aircraft for 6-8 months and moving on to the AH-1W/Z, UH-1Y, or CH-53E is a hardly a bad deal. Locations include MCAS Kaneohe, MCAS Miramar, Camp Pendleton, MCAS New River and MCAS Cherry Point.

Strike - not really sure what these guys do much of other than look pretty. Joking aside, they go through a very long, very intense syllabus which has you landing on an aircraft carrier as its pinnacle. Over 100 flights and many of them are solo. My two best friends are in this track and they're working their butts off. They describe it as having an instructor in the plane only to make sure the plane doesn't dig nose first into the dirt. Very single pilot minded, jet pilots have to be self reliant. They can select the F/A-18A/C/D, the AV-8B and beginning this summer, the F-35B. Locations include MCAS Iwakuni, MCAS Miramar, MCAS Yuma, MCAS Cherry Point and MCAS Beaufort.

I know that was WAY more than you asked for, but I figure I could put the info down on here since pilot training info is severely lacking on here, and what is on here, is pretty outdated. Maybe now it can be a reference.

I will give some info about the strike pipeline and the F/A-18 specifically, since that was my route.

Strike is very much built to be single piloted. You have, I think about 125 syllabus flights in the T-45C and about 40 of them are solo. That doesn't seem like a lot of solos, but in the aviation community at that point, it is a ton. You have 3 solos in Primary in around 50 flights.

In the Hornet FRS you have about 86 syllabus flights and 62 of them are solo (and only about 4 of the dual flights actually require another pilot in the jet. The rest can be a WSO configured jet with a WSO in the back. I.e., only the front seat can actually fly.) Once you get to the Hornet, the assumption is that after your first 4 or 5 flights, you will forever and ever afterward be the only pilot on board, so you better be able to fly the damn thing. Additionally, flying the Hornet is easier than the T-45C and pretty easy in general. It is doing everything else in the Hornet that is difficult.

Strike seems tough when you go through it, but looking back, it was incredibly easy in scope. You get introduced to a lot of difficult concepts and difficult things to do in formation, but it is all watered down. The entire syllabus really is just exposure. You will have a blast if you go through it. Landing on a carrier makes you feel awesome, orange and white jet or not. You'll have done something that very few others have done. The first time you do section engaged maneuvering you'll think that you're as cool as the dudes on Top Gun. (Even though the entire flight is scripted, and the bandit follows scripted moves, haha.)

It is a lot of work and takes a very long time to get through. You also owe the Marine Corps a very very very long portion of your life so keep that in mind. The contract for fixed wing pilots is 8 years from the date of your winging. I was in the Marine Corps for 3 years and 11 months when I winged. So, essentially, the Marine Corps will own me for at least 12 years before I get the opportunity to make a choice for myself again.

[djj34]

Just be ready to give a large chunk of your life to the Marines, potentially neglecting family. No bueno, but it is reality. I checked in to flight school on February 1st 2013, and I got my wings of gold on August 14th 2015 if that's an indication of how long that MOS school is.

[USMC 2571]

Thanks for re-posting that, Sir, I will keep it handy and post it for other inquirers down the road.

[LCPL1341]

I'd say do the PLC Jrs/Srs split. If you're truly motivated about becoming a Marine officer, you'd be eager to go back for seniors and get OCS done. The folks who didn't go back basically just gave it a test drive and weren't really dedicated to it in the first place (in my opinion). It's 6 weeks, then you're done. Seniors is 6 more, then you're done and have to finish school. Also, the selection rates for the PLC Jrs/Srs split is traditionally higher. If you wait for the OCC program (after you graduate) you'll face much steeper selection rates and it'll possible delay your path to becoming a 2ndLt. Do the PLC split, get it over with.

The 10 week program you saw under PLC is the PLC/Combined program; it's for juniors in college who want to attend OCS while still in school but don't have two years to do the PLC split. SO they attend at the end of their junior year, go back and complete their degree, then commission right after graduating.

No matter what you decide, the end result is the same; you're a 2ndLt in the Marine Corps and you attend TBS. Might as well choose the path of least resistance (selection rate wise) and do the PLC split. Good luck!

[DAVIDB1220]

So if i was to do the split between PLC Jrs/Srs, should i begin the application now since that would mean that i'd be leaving this upcoming summer?

[djj34]

Absolutely! Do it now. I began my application in early September 2009, got my contract and swore in on the 25th (happy 6-year anniversary to me?) of September. Got selected around Thanksgiving and went to first increment 2010. The sooner you apply, the better off you are. You'll be exposed to more boards if you don't get picked up the first time around.