Tips from a Marine infantry officer for surviving winter OCS

Big thanks to Zach B., Marine Corps infantry vet, for sharing some thoughts about how to survive and thrive at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School…in the dead of winter.


I recently realized that I departed for OCC (Officer Candidate Course) almost 6 years ago to the day – meaning that somewhere out there some very lucky souls are about to spend the next 10 weeks in Quantico, Virginia.

tips for surviving quantico ocs in winter

So, I thought I’d drop the guys at Sandboxx a line and maybe give you all some last-minute pointers on how to survive OCS from January to March.

Here’s how I started out and some of the principles that kept me out of trouble long after OCC 206.

1. Be First:

There are few things worse than being cold wet and, if you make it through OCS, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to be cold and wet as a Marine.

If you’re first in the chute for the water obstacles (like the Quigley) or some sort of challenge, you don’t have time to Continue reading “Tips from a Marine infantry officer for surviving winter OCS”