Marine OCS Question

[theblakeness]

I attended Juniors under Col. Chase and Seniors under Col. Mancini. I did notice some differences between the two but nothing to warrant that OCS has gone soft. In some ways Col. Chase was harder because he focused on A LOT of running and was very stern with the senior companys. Col. Mancini replaced the running with much more "combat style" fitness and a much stronger emphasis on leadership and the operations order. It also seemed like he was much more evaluative on the juniors than Chase was. Pickup was moved from the parade deck to the squad bays which sucked!

Our PTI told us one day that when Col. Chase was CO he was only focused on Candidate training and because of that, a lot of things slipped through the cracks. As soon as Mancini took over, everything became much more well rounded.

The essay limitation and sleep came under Col. Chase after the kid had the record breaking temperature and proceeded to tell the CO at the boards the he hadnt slept in 48 hours because of essays. I was there when those rules were emplaced.

 

[Birdog8585]

The essay limitation and sleep came under Col. Chase after the kid had the record breaking temperature and proceeded to tell the CO at the boards the he hadnt slept in 48 hours because of essays. I was there when those rules were emplaced.

That kid is a good friend of mine - his temp was 109. He went back the next summer and completed and is now in flight school.

 

[theblakeness]

That kid is a good friend of mine - his temp was 109. He went back the next summer and completed and is now in flight school.

Im glad he made it through. They talked like he was a damn statistic.

Another thing I forgot to mention about the differenced between '06 and '08. The temperature in '08 was extremely mild. I cant count how many black flag days there were in '06, but '08 had only 3 or 4. That can effect performance as well as perception greatly. I felt pretty blessed to go through seniors in the weather we had, because the heat/humidity during juniors was brutal!

 

[Slammer2]

Hey it sucks for everyone. Some people get nasty heat, some get nasty cold, some get ran into the ground, some dont sleep....

If you made it through good on you. If you're about to go, it will suck in one way or another for you.

 

[Zbone8762]

Hey it sucks for everyone. Some people get nasty heat, some get nasty cold, some get ran into the ground, some dont sleep....

If you made it through good on you. If you're about to go, it will suck in one way or another for you.

True Statement

 

[whitesoxnation]

The coolest part was when we all got called pussies for getting medevac'd(?) and then the 12-mile hike got cut short because the route was too difficult and the pace was too fast...

Some of that terrain in the far corners of OCS was pretty crazy to be humping (running) over at night. Don't know how no one busted a leg.

 

[Vegas]

Preface: I don't have much room to talk as I've only gone to Jr's.

Our platoon never got 8 hours of sleep. The lights go out at 2100 and come on at 0500 but you have so much shit to do during that time; marking gear, writing essays, fulfilling billets, etc. I found that the most successful candidate staff members were ones that met after lights in the head to discuss their game plan for the next day. The SI's usually come out of the duty hut around 0400 and start screaming at the firewatch so that everyone can hear. This goes on sporadically until lights. On average, I would say I slept from about 2230 to 0430.

What's been said about the dumbing down of PT is definitely true. We had morning PT about three times a week and it wasn't anything that tough. Usually a 3 or 4 mile (not sure) fartlek run and some push/pull abs.

Essays still happen at OCS. Our platoon staff was far more brutal than the other platoons in issuing the essays. I wrote two or three and every third word had to be in red ink.

I believe this is Col. Mancini's last year and I won't be going back until summer 2010, so it will be 'interesting' to see how much different Seniors is under a new CO.

What platoon were you in man i was in first and im going back summer 2010 also

 

[Vegas]

Definitely NOT hyponutremia. I usually drank 14 a day and balanced over a period of time with chow AND all the packets in the MRE accessory kit. I drank 3 more canteens of water afterword and I was fine. If it was Hyponutremia, I would have gone comatose after the extra H2O.

It was because of that summer that I brought two extra sets of cammies the next summer. A clean dry set on your body is a breath of fresh air. Of course there were only 4 black flags the following summer.

I did hear that the 5 mile individual timed run got nixed. I also heard the Juniors last summer ACTUALLY got to ride in a helo before the 9mi. It wasn't cancelled at the last minute like my two summers.

true story i was one of them however after geting droped off we hiked almost the entire way back to within prety close to half a mile of where we had been picked up

 

[HueyCobra8151]

That kid is a good friend of mine - his temp was 109. He went back the next summer and completed and is now in flight school.

I'm confused, I am pretty sure SSgt (now GySgt) Gutierrez had the 110+ temp and went to a civilian hospital (I think Potomac in Stafford) before coming back. He was in your platoon right?

 

[Pops]

"War is an ugly thing..."

Sounds pretty accurate.

I mean no disrespect sir, but your quote in your signature block does not originate from Col Smith. It is from John Stuart Mill.