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Getting dropped

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PanzerBjorn

Registered User
Hello everyone,

I am prior enlisted and putting in a package for summer PLC 2nd incr. I have already gotten some advice from my OSO but I wanted to know from some of you how easy it is to get dropped if you want to stay in. That is, if you have a good PFT and don't get hurt during training. Also, do the instructors tend to make 'special projects' out of priors? Thanks.
 
Taxman2A

Taxman2A

War were declared.
For us, the ones who were dropped were usually PT problems. If you show up to OCS with a 300 PFT, it would be very unlikely that you would be dropped. You always lose 1 or 2 to integrity violations, but for the most part it's kids who can't cut it on PT or who just fall behind on all the other things you can expect to do at OCS (You know, that kid who just can't make his rack fast enough and who can't get their boots bloused in the time the sergeant instructors give you). Closer to 300 the better, anything with less than a 22 minute run time is big trouble.
 
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SLU_fly_girl

USMC PLC Srs 2004
all of the priors in my platoon were good to go. you will definitely have a leg up on the other candidates because you have a better idea of what it's all about. we sent a few priors to boards for various reasons and none of them were sent home. we even had a prior who wanted to DOR the day she was supposed to meet with Col Rachal. my staff convinced her to stay and the Col kept her. also, there was a candidate from my OSS who is a prior e. he isn't a fast runner at all (because he's a big guy). he constantly struggled with any running he did while he was there. he never gave up and the staff saw that he was giving each run his all. sure, they could've dropped him for lack of pt, but they saw his moto level. they knew he always ran his heart out and they kept him. also, my staff never made "special projects" of priors, but they did expect more from you. expect people in your platoon to look to you for guidance, whether it be drill, academics, motivation, etc. make sure you are patient and willing to help them. whether you think so or not, the staff will see this.
 
Taxman2A

Taxman2A

War were declared.
PanzerBjorn said:
Also, do the instructors tend to make 'special projects' out of priors? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I forgot to address this. The priors will have a slightly different experience at OCS than non-priors. In our platoon, the non-priors were never taught how to roll sleeves or how to blouse boots, the priors were expected to teach them. Also, the first billet holders were all priors. More will be expected of you if you are a prior, both by the staff and the other candidates (i.e. a prior who messes something up will often hear "AREN'T YOU A PRIOR?!?!"). This really evens out after a couple weeks though.
 
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PanzerBjorn

Registered User
OK, I can handle just having more expected of me. So long as the instructors won't be trying extra hard to drum me out. Will my age be as big of a hindrance as I have heard some people say? I am going to be 25 by the time I get to jrs.
Also, does anyone know how heavy the packs are in PLC? Are they comparable to the fleet? I was an 0331 while I was in so it shouldn't be a problem but just curious. Thanks for your help.
 
Clux4

Clux4

Banned
PanzerBjorn said:
OK, I can handle just having more expected of me. So long as the instructors won't be trying extra hard to drum me out. Will my age be as big of a hindrance as I have heard some people say? I am going to be 25 by the time I get to jrs.
Also, does anyone know how heavy the packs are in PLC? Are they comparable to the fleet? I was an 0331 while I was in so it shouldn't be a problem but just curious. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

The packs are not that heavy since we don't carry radios, but you will feel it because they still use the old style Alice packs and not the Molle. The pace is faster than a normal pace for a weapons platoon. The one thing that will aggravate you will be individuals that cannot just hump, making the whole damn formation run - remember boot camp days.

Other than that you will adjust to things with time. The first hump will be pratically a run !
 
Taxman2A

Taxman2A

War were declared.
PanzerBjorn said:
OK, I can handle just having more expected of me. So long as the instructors won't be trying extra hard to drum me out. Will my age be as big of a hindrance as I have heard some people say? I am going to be 25 by the time I get to jrs.
Click to expand...

I have seen, and you will see the instructors "gunning" for the next person they want to get kicked out. They will do it to priors and non-priors alike, but only the ****bags. I was surprised to see couple priors in my platoon flake out and end up on the Sgt. Instructors ****list. Here's a few tips to not "be that guy": 1) Don't slack off as a follower then completely change the way you do business when you get a billet. 2) Don't walk around like you are Chesty ****ing Puller just because you are a prior grunt (not that you would, but you WILL see people do this, I'd bet my paycheck).3) Don't be a ****bag in general who doesn't do what he is told. You should be fine.

As far as age, we had a few guys that were 30+ in my platoon. They all did fine.
 
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Buster245

Registered User
As far as my OCS plt went (it was back in the days before digitial cammies)...the priors got no special treatment. You're expected to make fewer mistakes, so when you do make a mistake, especially early on, you can expect to pay for it more than a non-prior.

The academic material is stuff that a 7th grade kid could master. The PT is the asskicker. As long as your PT is **** hot you're good to go. Age has no bearing. There was a guy in my TBS company who went through OCS as a First Sergeant select--he was an grampa--37 by the time he got commissioned.

My company had lots of old Marines in it. By the time I was commissioned I was the 3rd youngest in my platoon, and I was 23.

Just be ready to PT your ass off.
 
K

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
Buster is right on the mark.

Here's the thing: OCS represents the antithesis of intelligent physical training. Unlike MCRD, where PT is designed to build you up, OCS PT is designed to break you down, then break you down some more, then, just when you are at your weakest, break you down on top of that. There is zero time for recovery (unless you spend your liberty weekends on your back, which I HIGHLY recommend.) Of course, this thrashing is a tool used to evaluate you.

Get yourself in shape enough so that you still have some fight left in you after six or ten weeks of abuse. Take care of your feet, STRETCH as often as possible, and be prepared for two months of "sucking it up."
 
freshy

freshy

Genius by birth. Slacker by choice.
pilot
I went to juniors in '01. They say the mission is "Educate and Motivate" so that you come back for seniors...where the true onslaught begins. At least that's what the experiment was back then. I don't know if they still do that. But we toured DC, and had a lot of moto movies every Sunday after libo.

But Hello... Seniors aint no joke. In seniors "Attrition is the Mission" One thing you might have going for you is a few pairs of BROKEN IN BOOTS!! If you have the new issued icb's and jungles and they are broken in...the gods will be favoring you.
 
DocT

DocT

Dean of Students
pilot
My experience at juniors last summer was they didn't drop people who wanted to be there. If a candidate finished the event, no matter how nasty, he was allowed to stay. They graduated guys who's jackets were stuffed with chits. I guess the staff figured if you had that hard of a time at juniors and showed up for seniors you'd be ready to go. I've heard that most of the seniors drop before pick-up for PT failure, after that, it's a slow trickle of broken candidates who go home.
 
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NosniboR80

Registered User
I got NPQed from 187, so I've got some fresh insights, at least on the first 3-4 weeks. My platoon had less than 10 priors out of 61. 4th platoon next door had 20, I believe. Some of our priors were f'ing locked on and were great leaders. Some of them, you might never know that they were priors, but were not too bad if you got to know them or when they were billet holders. None of them were projects, but they got extra reamings around inspection time for not squaring away their platoon.

We had one prior that actually freakin passed the first inspection - the one that no one is supposed to pass. The staff were hella pissed, but not because he ruined their fun. Rather, they gave him the hardest reaming, because our platoon was crazy jacked up and he hadn't spent any time squaring away even his rackmate (they actually yelled at him for his rackmate's failures instead of the joker who forgot to fill his canteens and such).

The PT really wasn't bad at all for the first 3-4 weeks. I'm no PT stud on the running (which is the most important by far), but I trained 6 days a week before going. My body was used to much worse than they were throwing at me. It is true that injuries are hard to heal, and a cough that you get in the first week will stay with you until you get home.

Oh, and one of our best candidates was 32 yr old prior grunt. Our platoon staff didn't do what everyone said they would - give the first billets to priors. They gave unofficial (meaning they didn't get evals for it) to priors at the VERY beginning, but our first candidate staff was one prior in pltn sgt billet, and 5 non-prior squirts (including myself as squad leader) in what I can only guess was an attempt to show the platoon what a god awful train wreck a weak candidate staff can create.

If you get an early billet, as a prior or not, it is your job to set up a system for future candidate staff and for your platoon to function properly. That means, you will have to figure out a way to get all the cleaning done as automatically as possible (i.e. without doing it by the numbers) before lights. Having a clean house and getting your counts right all day are the absolute most important things you can do in a billet position. Do not ignore these responsibilities in favor of any bright ideas that may come into your head.
 
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