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Thanks to 2ndLt Gleason for sharing her advice and personal story. After OCS, there is still a lot to learn. TBS is the first real step in your Marine Corps Officer career. After OCS TBS was incredibly different from OCS. I feel that the physical standards at OCS don’t really prepare you for the physical expectation at TBS. Hiking was much different; heavier, faster. There are … Continue reading After OCS: TBS, MOS School and The Fleet
Part I – First Contact: What to Expect When You Talking to an OSO for the First Time So you’ve decided you might be interested in becoming an officer in the Marine Corps. You’ve avoided the pull of the other branches, and you’ve done at least a little research into what Marine Officers do. What do you do next? If you’re not sure where your … Continue reading Getting to OCS, Part I: Application and OSO
Candidate Question I’m looking at switching from an Air Contract to a Ground Contract, but I really only want to if I can secure an 0203 Ground Intel Officer MOS (to possibly further go on to Recon). How hard is it to get a specific MOS at TBS? I am in pretty good shape, I can stick with most candidates and run a 285+ PFT … Continue reading Can I Drop an Air Contract for a Guaranteed MOS?
Thank you, Candidate, for sharing a detailed and instructive summary of your experience at “Mini OCS” at Parris Island. Most of you candidates have been to or at least heard of “Mini-OCS.” This article is mainly for those who haven’t been, have yet to go, or need a reason to finally call the OSO in their area (if they haven’t for whatever reason). Mini-OCS is … Continue reading Guest Post: My “Mini OCS” Experience
A 2011 study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government of young officers who had left the military found that their top reasons for doing so were not the high operating tempo or the chance of being maimed but rather two other factors: “limited ability to control their own careers” and “frustration with military bureaucracy.” –Thomas Ricks, The Generals You’re going to enter the Marine Corps … Continue reading Why You Will Leave the Marine Corps (After One Tour)
Candidate Question: I’m getting ready to have my initial interview in a couple of days and have been working on a list of questions to ask my OSO. I want to stand out as much as possible and come fully prepared, like everyone else I’m sure. Any advice on “must ask” questions or being prepared in general? A: Firstly, are you married or engaged? If … Continue reading Have You Prepared Your OSO Interview Questions?
I am simply revisiting a correspondence with a young OCS graduate, nearing his TBS ship date, with several questions and answers about TBS.
Gearing up to head to TBS here in October, and had a few questions I was hoping you could answer:
1-Should I bring my desktop or just a laptop? Read as… how much space is in the barracks?
2-What’s liberty look like? Am i looking at training virtually 27/7 OCS style or what? Are weekends free, are you left to your own devices in the evening, etc.
3-Civillian attire: What’s the dress code roughly look like. I saw the indoc powerpoints on what regulations are, but I was sorta wondering what you guys generally actually wore. And how many sets of civies are really necessary.
4-Anything I can do to ease inprocessing?
5-Any other random stuff you wish you’d known before you got there?
Thanks for any help! I’m not worried about the actual training regimen. Just kinda want to make my life as easy as possible, you know?
Continue reading “The Basic School (TBS) Questions and Answers”
