OCS Candidate seeking very important advice regarding contract situation!!!!(LONG) - Page 2
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  1. #16
    No medical platoon. If you get hurt enough to fall out of training, you go home. Re-attempts are at the discretion of the BnCO; some are invited to come back to the next class, some have to reapply from the beginning, and some are NPQd for life.


  2. #17
    From what I've heard from family who have undergone OCS, the most common running injury and injury in general is shin splints. I'm being extremely careful with my preparation and I've started to stretch my shins at least once or twice a day for about 15 minutes.

    Interestingly enough, while at MEPS doing my medical (apparently my DODMERB had expired past its 2 year period) I was speaking with the chief medical examiner and he was telling me that most of the candidates who come back from Marine OCS with injuries are typically shin splint injuries. He was telling me however that these shin splint injuries are mostly caused by overstriding when running at a fast pace for time. That's when he gave me some tips on how to avoid them and simply I've been implementing those techniques into my running.

    I'm trying to increase my distance running as well, and through that, my run time has significantly dropped. It's dropped in a way that I'm even impressed myself that it dropped that much within the good 2 months of serious training.


  3. #18
    Yeah that's one of the scarier parts of OCS, surviving the injuries, and trying your best to avoid them

    If anyone has any tips on that, I'll definitely take them into account.


  4. #19
    Get in the pool, learn to swim correctly.

    Do some finning, all of this will lead to a better cardio for endurance and lessen the chance of shin splints.

    Swimming is often the most overlooked aspect in the Marines....



  5. #20
    Oh yes indeed, The pool is an excellent training tool, I can't wait to get back into it once spring rolls around and it starts to get warmer. I've been told many times that swimming is the best cardio exercise for preparation for OCS and overall a career in the Marines.

    Any specific kinds of swimming drills/techniques/tips?


  6. #21
    Primarily the travel and crawl strokes, build up to a minimum of 500 meters and strive for at least 1000 meters.

    Learn to fin with dive fins correctly and go for a least 500 meters, this will build up the muscles tendons around the shins better than anything else..

    All of this will build endurance for your lungs as well as your core, and you will see a definite improvement in your run times & distance...

    Find a lifeguard or Instructor to show you the correct strokes and your on your way, they usually will be more then helpful..

    Go for it...!!!



  7. #22
    Good afternoon y'all

    Just giving y'all a little update as to what's exactly going on currently.

    Spoke with the Region Captain for OCS/OSO Contracts about my situation here.

    This is what he has told me, again, these are recruiters, so I am a little bit careful with what to believe.

    He says that this is not his first time doing these program switches from Ground to Air or other changes. According to him, New contracts will not roll out until July, not March. He suggests that I should go with the Ground Contract to OCS, and then when I come back, I will be able to switch my contract to Air, prior to commissioning.

    He also said that nothing is official until the swearing in ceremony and the commission. He told me that he's had candidates wait out their commission for the contracts they wanted. He says he has had a guy wait out 6 months for his commissioning to get an Air Contract after he got back from OCS. So I can assume that there is a way to wait out the commission under the Ground contract until I receive an Air Contract.

    The process he explained to me of how the switch works are as follows.

    Once I come back to OCS, he stated that I am no longer competing for any slots, and that simply all he has to do is send the paperwork to HQ and they will switch the contract. I don't know if this is true or not, If anyone can verify for me this, I'd greatly appreciate it.

    Now those are his words, these are actual words from the contract itself. Part of me doesn't understand if his words match up with mine.

    SERVICE AGREEMENT (1100) OFFICER CANDIDATE CLASS GROUND NAVMC 10462 (Rev 10-16) (EF)

    1. d. "Upon satisfactory completion of all commissioning requirements, I understand that I must choose to either accept or decline a commission if one is tendered to me, and that deferred acceptance is not authorized. If I decline my commission, I will be disenrolled from the OCC GROUND program and may request re enrollment to CMC, provided I remain otherwise qualified."

    What I'm confused about is exactly how this part of the contract is stated. Does this mean that once I sign this contract, I cannot wait out my commission for an Air Contract? If not, what is this section of the contract really saying?

    I know this is a lot for y'all and I know this is a very difficult situation and decision, but this is a decision that will affect my life and I'm taking it extremely seriously. I thank y'all consistently for your efforts to help me with these situations.


  8. #23
    NOTE: I'm going through PLC Combined, not OCC. I do not know if the contracts for both programs state the same thing, but if they don't, please let me know so I can get a better understanding of what the PLC contract states.


  9. #24
    Also if anyone can give me any insights or tips on exactly how to go about this process, I'll definitely take them into thoughts. For the past couple days, it's been a mix of "yes take the deal, you can get the Air when you come back from OCS and you're not bound to them because the contract is void until you swear in" and on the other side, "Dont take the contract, wait it out until July and see if you can get an Air Contract if theyre any available when the new ones roll out in July and wait out until next summer to go to OCS".

    The captain tells me to take the opprotunity and to go to OCS because who knows of what could happen in a year. The only thing stopping me is the process of this switch and the contracts.


  10. #25
    FWIW I had a friend who completed the one summer OCC while we were in undergrad and then he didn't graduate on time. He ended up not getting a commission, but was given the opportunity to re-attend if he wanted to, he ended up never going back. That said, I don't know if you reject your commission that they will be likely to re-admit you. As you know, officer slots are competitive in the USMC.

    It sounds like what he is saying could be possible. I suppose if you really want to fly, and it ends up not working out, you can always not take the commission and get an Army WOFT contract, or go Army WOFT after you complete your ground time in the USMC.

    Mike


  11. #26
    Good Morning to all

    Today is the day. At precisely 12:30PM CST, I will potentially be signing a Ground contract that will go before the reviewing board to attend OCS. It's been a very long and difficult process to get to this stage, but i believe it will be worth it. I don't know for sure if I will sign today or another day. My father is coming with me to help review the contract before anything is done and he will give me his own input on it as well.

    If anyone has any last minute advice or tips or anything at all really, please feel free to share it with me.

    Thank you all for everything that has led me to this opprotunity, I look forward to telling y'all about what goes on today. I'm confident in my decision to become an Officer in the Marine Corps and attend OCS for 10 weeks.


  12. #27
    Best wishes David. Been following your postings and you sound like a very responsible, intelligent and thoughtful person. As I see it, you will do well as a Marine Corps officer. Every once in a while a bright star lights the evening sky. You are the one. Good luck.

    Semper fi,
    A Vietnam Marine, 1/9, 3/4


  13. #28
    Well y'all it's official!

    I have signed my contract for PLC Ground, which will change after I come back from OCS to a PLC Air Contract!

    The one thing I've learned through this process of the application phase that I have been undergoing for two solid years is the fact that there is always a back door open somewhere, and if not, there's sure to be a window. I have been extremely tenacious throughout this entire period and now it is time to take the next step and await the selection from the board to attend OCS this summer.

    I have great confidence in myself that I will do well at OCS, and according to some of the guys who I have spoken with who have recently returned from OCS, I should do perfectly fine as long as I keep a strong mental game. But even with the ease of being told that I will do well, I still will continue to strive to improve myself and become stronger both physically and mentally.

    Yesterday I took my first CFT with many other candidates and applicants at a Candidate Function. I felt different that day, a feeling I've never felt before. I enjoyed every minute of it, and realized that I'm now joining a big family and once I make it through OCS, I join an even bigger family. The camaraderie shown yesterday, motivated me even more to perform my best, and overall for the first test ever, and doing many of events for the first time ever, I must say I didn't do too bad.

    Of course, there is work to be done. I plan on taking my ASTB for my Air Contract right after Spring Break, using the break to continue studying. Upon passing the ASTB, I will continue to work on the Air Contract and attend an Air physical provided by the Marines at NAS Pensacola. After that, the ball is pretty much in my court and I take on grueling yet rewarding OCS experience.

    From the way I see it, I'm on a good path and this is only the beginning.


    CFT Results ( first time ever taking the test, so improvement is a must)
    Move to Contact (800m sprint)= 03:05 ( PR, Last 800m sprint fastest before this one was last monday, 3:24)

    Ammo Can lifts= 73

    Maneuver Under Fire: 2:58

    Overall score: 262.


  14. #29
    Learn to love the CFT... Not too bummed I'll never have to do one of those again. Other than that, congrats man, sounds good. I've never gone through OCS, but the advice I got for the mental game of boot camp, that I have in turn given to others is this: No matter how ****ty it gets, and it will be ****ty at times, it will come to an end. Don't look at "the whole 10 weeks," look at time until your next meal, and until you can go to bed. Boot Camp, and I imagine OCS, are the easiest parts of your military career. OCS will require you being a bit more proactive than one in enlisted Boot Camp would, but you sound smart and driven, so I'm sure you'll do fine. You'll likely feel your highest and lowest there, but you won't be the only one. Just one day at a time, and the whopping couple months will fly by. Don't quit on yourself, it's always just one foot in front of the other, and one more thing to do. Then it ends.

    Good luck on the ASTB, I'm studying for the SIFT currently and I'm supposed to take it in a couple weeks. Still working on setting up my flight physical. I don't see why I wouldn't pass, but that has me nervous as it's completely out of my control if there is a disqualifier. So good luck on that as well.

    Keep us posted.

    Mike


  15. #30
    Yes sir, definitely, and good luck with all your testing and whatnot. Seems like we're both on the boat there. Speaking to that guy who just came back and him telling me I'll do fine and to just keep up with the physical fitness, that really helped me understand, that this is more of a mental game than a physical game for sure.

    I believe I'll make it, and there's absolutely no way I can allow myself to quit. I've worked way too hard for 6 long and hard years, and I just don't know how I would be able to let it all go in a split second.


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