Thoughts on these books

[jbright44]

Are these books I should get and read before going to OCS? If not, could you recomend some for getting ahead of the class for the general stuff you need to know.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cu...86107-1770343?_encoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0967512360/ref=pd_lpo_k2a_2_txt/104-3486107-1770343?_encoding=UTF8

 

[scotty008]

Those will help you more once you get to TBS and beyond. Prior to OCS, I reccomend One of US; Officers of Marines-Their training, traditions, and values. It gives a good idea of what you can expect upon reporting to Brown Field. Some of it is a few years outdated, but it gave me a pretty good feeling as to what I was getting into. Also, enter 'Marine OCS' in the search forum. Lots of great stuff there.

(the book is written by Jack Ruppert)

 

[esday1]

Those will both be helpful, although not necessary. I'd recommend downloading and printing out the candidate regs, since you'll have to stick your head in them as soon as you get to OCS and have to memorize them. They're available here:
http://www.ocs.usmc.mil/New_Web_Format/Candidate_Information/Preparation Documents.htm

 

[jbright44]

Those will help you more once you get to TBS and beyond. Prior to OCS, I reccomend One of US; Officers of Marines-Their training, traditions, and values. It gives a good idea of what you can expect upon reporting to Brown Field. Some of it is a few years outdated, but it gave me a pretty good feeling as to what I was getting into. Also, enter 'Marine OCS' in the search forum. Lots of great stuff there.

(the book is written by Jack Ruppert)

I picked up a similar book to that one called "One Bullet Away." It was recomended to by by another former marine. Is this about the same thing as the one you are recomending?

 

[tegtag]

"One Bullet Away" is a great book but doesn't go into much detail about OCS. The author, Capt. Fick, talks about his experiences in training and war that really had an impact on him.

Both books are great, but at the very least read the first 80 or so pages of "One of Us" about OCS.

 

[scotty008]

I picked up a similar book to that one called "One Bullet Away." It was recomended to by by another former marine. Is this about the same thing as the one you are recomending?

Awesome book, for Marines and non-Marines alike. Written by the LT leading the platoon of Generation Kill, it briefly talks about his OCS experiences, then goes into TBS, IOC and the fleet. Very enjoyable read. Other books not related to OCS that any aspiring Marine might like include-

Flags of Our Fathers (James Bradley)
Band of Brothers (stephen Ambrose) -yes, its about the Army
Marine Air (Robert Dorr)
To Be a Naval Aviator (mentioned on the forum-Jay Stout)

 

[RootinTootin]

Fly Boys by James Bradley is a great read, and very enlightening on the sacrafices made in the Pacific and the mistakes made that led to WWII.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

Read to succeed

For success at OCS, the best thing you can do is memorize stupid stuff like the General Orders and 5-par order format. The instructors don't really care if you can write a dissertation on the use of combined arms in the Korean War. As you'll find, you're always learning "the basics" until you hit "the fleet", where a SNCO will teach you what really matters.