PeterAndrewM
Registered User
Dear all,
A short background first: my name is Peter Majeed, a college senior who's very much interested in joining the Marines through OCS in June 2005. I am 5' 9", 170 lbs., have lost over 70 pounds in two years, and while I'm still not where I'd like to be physically, I'm training now to achieve the Marine PFT standard (20 pullups, 100 crunches, 18:00 3 miler). Based on the prayers and encouragements of my family and friends and reading and hearing success stories of similar achievements in the Marine Corps, I've little doubt that with discipline, I'll be able to reach the exacting physcial standards of the Corps.
However, I'm well aware that the standards of the Marines go well beyond physical training; the l'esprit de corps, traditions, values, toughness, and ethic of the Marine Corps are, from all I've encountered so far, all things that I can identify with. I look forward to the challenges, disciplines, and service that the Marine Corps has to offer.
More than that, though, the reason I'm posting here is that I'm focusing on preparing for a possible MOS assignment to aviation, but I have little first-hand experience with the process of first entering OCS, going through TBS, then (hopefully) getting assigned to flight school, and have a few questions that I hope you guys can answer:
1) How quickly should I begin the application process to OCS? I've contacted my local recruiter a few times, but have never arranged an interview or taken any of the pre-entry tests so far. Should I speak to him as soon as possible, or wait for next year to begin any correspondence?
2) My vision is less than 20/20 (closer to 20/50 than anything else). Will I have to get PRK surgery before I can think seriously about an aviation MOS? If so, how soon before I enter OCS should the surgery be performed? In addition, are there any ways that new officer candidates can go through the Naval laser surgery study program?
3) I've heard that, once in flight school, the only guaranteed way to get your assignment of choice is to graduate first in your class. What exactly would that entail, and how can potential officer candidates prepare for the school? I've seen things like "minimum of 4/6/6" and "officer scores of 45+" and things like that, but I don't have much idea of what they mean and how I can go about trying to score as high as I can. If there are any websites that explain any of this, I'd be interested in reading up on them.
That's all I can think of for now. I've done a bit of searching already in this forum already, and I'm very much encouraged by the part of the community so far. Thanks in advance for any support.
Peter Majeed
A short background first: my name is Peter Majeed, a college senior who's very much interested in joining the Marines through OCS in June 2005. I am 5' 9", 170 lbs., have lost over 70 pounds in two years, and while I'm still not where I'd like to be physically, I'm training now to achieve the Marine PFT standard (20 pullups, 100 crunches, 18:00 3 miler). Based on the prayers and encouragements of my family and friends and reading and hearing success stories of similar achievements in the Marine Corps, I've little doubt that with discipline, I'll be able to reach the exacting physcial standards of the Corps.
However, I'm well aware that the standards of the Marines go well beyond physical training; the l'esprit de corps, traditions, values, toughness, and ethic of the Marine Corps are, from all I've encountered so far, all things that I can identify with. I look forward to the challenges, disciplines, and service that the Marine Corps has to offer.
More than that, though, the reason I'm posting here is that I'm focusing on preparing for a possible MOS assignment to aviation, but I have little first-hand experience with the process of first entering OCS, going through TBS, then (hopefully) getting assigned to flight school, and have a few questions that I hope you guys can answer:
1) How quickly should I begin the application process to OCS? I've contacted my local recruiter a few times, but have never arranged an interview or taken any of the pre-entry tests so far. Should I speak to him as soon as possible, or wait for next year to begin any correspondence?
2) My vision is less than 20/20 (closer to 20/50 than anything else). Will I have to get PRK surgery before I can think seriously about an aviation MOS? If so, how soon before I enter OCS should the surgery be performed? In addition, are there any ways that new officer candidates can go through the Naval laser surgery study program?
3) I've heard that, once in flight school, the only guaranteed way to get your assignment of choice is to graduate first in your class. What exactly would that entail, and how can potential officer candidates prepare for the school? I've seen things like "minimum of 4/6/6" and "officer scores of 45+" and things like that, but I don't have much idea of what they mean and how I can go about trying to score as high as I can. If there are any websites that explain any of this, I'd be interested in reading up on them.
That's all I can think of for now. I've done a bit of searching already in this forum already, and I'm very much encouraged by the part of the community so far. Thanks in advance for any support.
Peter Majeed