Guess what? Not all Marines go to OCS! What?????? That's right, if a congressperson thought you were a future leader of America and recommended you for any of the service academies, congratulations, you'll never get to relive the Quigley memories with your fellow Lts. I'll be telling my grandchildren that I went through in the WINTER. But guess what? ALL MARINE OFFICERS, yes all Marine officers, have to graduate The Basic School. Isn't that amazing? Before you wonder why, if you wonder why you have to go through six months of rudimentary infantry school if you're going to fly planes or sit behind a desk, just know that this sets us apart from the other branches.
During TBS, some people in my platoon, maybe even myself, were griping about having to carry sandbags filled with dirt a half mile to the 7 tons. Our platoon sergeant told us all to cut the crap, and that one day we would have to make our enlisted Marines do this and they would still love us. Hmm. I don't think they would love us, but I understood that he wanted us to know about the difficult things we may have to ask our Marines one day.
Where am I going with this? I'm trying to explain that all Marine officers will have to go through The Basic School. You will either check into The Basic School immediately after OCS, after graduating a service academy, after coming back from PTAD, or after finishing your undergraduate, for those doing MECEP. If you come here directly after OCS, there is a chance you will not "pick up" right away. You may be sent to "Mike Company," the holding company, for various reasons. Reasons you may be sent to Mike Company include: not enough room in the company, a company just not picking up right when OCS finishes, failing the PFT, not getting a high enough PFT score, coming from OCS broken, or you have personal issues, like moving your family, that you need to get resolved before picking up. You can also request to not pick up right away, but I would only do this if you have a good reason. This is also up to the staff. Some people know they have an injury from OCS, and others disclose symptoms to medical staff that make medical staff place you in a later company. Be honest! You'll only hurt yourself later if you hide things. Check out the Mike Company tab for more information about the holding company.
There are seven TBS training companies, for 2ndLts. The companies are:
Alpha (October-April) PLC heavy, not many OCC. Known as a winter company, super cold.
Bravo (December-June) OCS Fall goes right into this one
Charlie (March-September) This was mine, it's the best! Winter OCS goes right into this one. Known as a summer (hot!) company
Delta (May-November) A lot of MECEP-ers go to this one. This is also a hot company.
Echo (June-December) Lots of service academy people
Fox (July-January) Lots of service academy people
Golf (September-March). I believe summer OCS feeds into this one. This is a winter company, super cold.
Other training companies on Camp Barrett are:
India Company (Warrant Officer)
Kilo Company (Infantry Officer Course)
When you check into TBS, there will be 2ndLts in billet positions checking you in. These Lts have just come from Mike Company and were there because of either an injury or getting dropped from a prior company. These Lts can be a good source of information!
You'll be assigned to one of six platoons, numbered 1-6. DUH. Each company has:
Company Commander (Major)
Company Executive Officer (Captain)
Company First Sergeant (1st Sgt or someone acting above rank)
Company Gunnery Sergeant (gySgt or someone acting above rank)
Two corpsmen
Each platoon has:
Staff Platoon Commander "SPC" (Captain)
Staff Platoon Instructor "SPI" (Corporal or Sergeant)
People sometimes say "SPI" as "spy," but I always thought that was funky. An SPC once said, "I hate calling my instructor a 'spy.' You know why? Because it makes him sound like a fucking narc!" Hahahaha.
A variety of MOSs will be represented among the staff. At OCS, platoon staff MOSs were a secret. I don't know if this is a rule, but usually companies will have a few infantry officers on the staff. Every company I've known about has had a female SPC.
At OCS, you didn't know your staff on a personal level. At TBS, I recommend that you DO! In a good way. Not like if they like long walks on the beach, but like, how they came to be a Marine or anything else you may have in common. Each SPC holds a collateral billet, including Ordinance, Informal Funds, Academic, Physical Fitness, Land Navigation.
During TBS, you will hold billets that mirror the staff positions. I'll get more into this in the Leadership tab. During check-in week, your platoon will be issued a list of around 20 collateral billets, two per platoon and one per company. Some of these are more involved than others. These include Land Navigation, Academic, Physical Fitness (very involved!!!!), Informal Funds, Ordinance (very involved), Family Readiness, Pictures/Media, and a bunch others. Choose wisely! (I'll try to find a complete list).
Check-in week is BLEH. You're get your IFF gear. You'll see medical. You'll have to register for the academic portal, where you'll see your assignments and all that. You'll have to get your own wifi. YUCK. You'll sign a lot of documents. The most important thing you'll ever sign is the academic integrity document. TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY. Don't cheat. Seriously. If I could ask one thing of you guys, DON'T CHEAT. You will get kicked out of the Marine Corps no questions asked. And you'll have to explain this to your loved ones, or anyone. if I can get through TBS, you will too.
Also, cheating is wrong. There's a great quote by a doctor, "do not study to pass the test. Study because one day, you will be the only thing standing between a person and their grave."
Some of you will be in positions where your decisions may mean life or death for one of your Marines. Be the officer who makes the right decisions.