Which OCS Program is right for me?

[USMC 2571]

Lots of stories about him, not just from my former unit but from all over, everywhere he went.

[DAVIDB1220]

Thanks Rocky, and yeah he sure sounds like an awesome guy. I'm sure he mentored many of his junior officers as well the same way.

[Rocky C]

[Matt225808]

A good friend of mine who was a Lance Corporal right with me and got his honorable discharge a year after I did is in school now planning to go back as an officer. I'll give you some advice although the choice is ultimately yours to do with. If you're fairly young, why not do 4 years enlisted? You can either put in a MECEP package to become an officer or get out, attend college, and then go to OCS. It takes a longer time but trust me, it will help you ten fold. Former enlisted officers are held in high regards by their men. I was blessed with some good platoon commanders but I have seen some bad ones. Just food for thought, and remember, you might outrank all men in your platoon but seek your squad leaders/plt sgt's guidance, they've probably done whatever your planning with them a million times. Good luck.

[josephd]

A good friend of mine who was a Lance Corporal right with me and got his honorable discharge a year after I did is in school now planning to go back as an officer. I'll give you some advice although the choice is ultimately yours to do with. If you're fairly young, why not do 4 years enlisted? You can either put in a MECEP package to become an officer or get out, attend college, and then go to OCS. It takes a longer time but trust me, it will help you ten fold. Former enlisted officers are held in high regards by their men. I was blessed with some good platoon commanders but I have seen some bad ones. Just food for thought, and remember, you might outrank all men in your platoon but seek your squad leaders/plt sgt's guidance, they've probably done whatever your planning with them a million times. Good luck.

I don't really disagree with anything you said here but one thing I stress and the rest of us on the forum here push to these wannabes is if becoming an officer is their ultimate goal then forgo enlisting because it DOESN'T make you a better officer and going through the enlisted route(MECEP or ECP) is MUCH longer and much more difficult.as you have to be a $hit hot NCO or SNCO in order to be selected. MECEP/ECP is not intended to be a pipeline for potential officers, rather it is for enlisted Marines that feel the need to continue their career in a higher authority capacity and have been vetted to do so already.

[USMC 2571]

True, Joe, as much as I respect Matt. I think it's a common thing with poolees and wannabes to think they should go the enlisted route, because, well, they never LED Marines before. Well, that is exactly what Officer Candidate School and The Basic School are for. Those people were never officers before, either.----and I can imagine it would be harder to try to go officer after having been enlisted, rather than just go to OCS/TBS in the first place.-----this comes up a lot on this forum, whether a person feels he or she is capable of leading Marines---not to mention the very high number of people who enlist after graduating college rather than go the officer route.----a lot of misconceptions out there, and it isn't that cut and dried by any means. Lots of things to weigh, enlisted or officer routes, and pros and cons abound.

[USMC 2571]

That last part of what Matt said is so true, seek the guidance and advice of platoon sergeants and others, even though you outrank them. As a brand new 2d Lt you will not know as much as they do about the unit, how it runs, etc and a host of other things. Very true.

[Matt225808]

Very good points, Im just biased towards mustangs haha. But they are right OP, the way I told you can take 10 years to do. If you're 100% committed and sure you'd like to be an officer than OCS would be the fastest way to achieve that

[USMC 2571]

I know what you mean, Matt, have seen a lot of good enlisted guys become officers, and knew what they were doing....a couple of SSgts I knew became Warrant Officers, not that common then, not that common now.

[DAVIDB1220]

Well thanks to all who've replied in this thread. Matt, i almost went that way when i was in High school. I had a good Marine who went through the MECEP sit down and talk to me and told me "What do you want to do in the Corps?" and i said "pilot. I want to become a fighter pilot." and he asked me "are you going to enlist" and i told him yeah. Then he laughed. He asked why i was enlisting first and then becoming an officer. I told him i wanted the respect from my enlisted Marines because i would've been in their roots. That's when i got one of the best advice I've ever been given regarding being a Marine and respect.

"Marines will always respect a good leader, regardless of rank. No one gives a **** how you came to be an officer. There are Mustangs who are the best leaders out there, there are some who should've never became officers. You want to earn the respect of your men, regardless of what you do or how you earn your bars? Be the best leader you can be. Men will respect the best butter bar leader who is fresh off the books. He holds himself as the best leader he can be, by respecting his enlisted and taking care of them. The same way a Mustang has earned his respect for having been in the enlisted shoes. Either way, the only one you need to earn respect from is yourself. You're a Marine Dammit, Respect yourself for that. You and your enlisted brother Marines, You've earned that special bond. Respect that bond."

I know ive posted it before in the back of this thread. But my one priority when i become an officer is my brother Marines. I want to learn from my enlisted and have them teach me their expertise. Some officers will go in thinking they know everything. They may know everything textbook wise, but the enlisted are the ones who know the dirty work and how to perform it. That's why i feel some officers grow big respect for their enlisted, and the enlisted feel the same way.

Currently i don't see myself enlisting, since i'm leaving for the first portion of OCS this summer. But i believe once i earn that Eagle globe and anchor during the second portion, i would've earned the respect of all Marines, past, present, and future.

[Matt225808]

Your buddy has good advice and you have the right mindset.

[USMC 2571]

He sure does, Matt---

[DAVIDB1220]

Thanks a lot guys, means a lot to me

[LCPL1341]

Yeah....don't waste time enlisting; especially if you want to be a pilot (age cutoff is 27 or 28 and non waiverable for civilians). Prior enlisted don't always make good officers and non priors don't always make bad officers (and vica versa). If you're in the airwing and you're a fighter pilot, that's another layer there. Your enlisted guys are the mechs, ordnance guys, etc working on your jet. They have a job to do (keep your bird airworthy) and you have a job to do (fly said bird); you'll have collateral duties, sure, but it's a bit of a different dynamic than being a ground officer. You know how they say an Infantry officer's tool is his rifle platoon? Well, your tool is that jet you fly. If I'm wrong please correct me (anyone who may know better), but from what I've heard from aviator buddies is that much of the contact the fighter pilot has with his Marines during times where the OPTEMPO is high and they're flying alot is when he walks out on the flightline to his jet, talks to his lead mechanic about any issues with the jet then does his walk around. You're a leader, but the leadership dynamic is a bit different than say, patrolling with your Marines.

[USMC 2571]

Good post as usual. This is one of the more interesting threads, to me at least. Let's keep this one going.