Initial Officer Selection

[JMA]

I can speak at some length about USMC OCS, having graduated just over two years ago. It was pretty selective when I went through, and has gotten dramatically more so in the last two years. Potential candidates go through a selection board, where Physical Fitness Test (PFT), college grades, recommendations, interview with your recruiter, and a host of other factors weigh in. The Marine Corps takes recruiting very seriously BTW.

OCS itself is a ten week officer boot camp (vice 13 on the enlisted side), with a little less of the mind games but a much larger leadership screening component. The latter is based on many factors, but one of the biggest ones are billets in small unit blank fire tactical scenarios (fire team and squad sized) and some fire team leadership puzzles (get this barrel over this 20 meter water obstacle using only a rope, pipes, and each other, in five minutes, etc.). I think the latter idea was borrowed from the Reichswehr.

Attrition in my platoon was pretty low, around 25-30%. Should have been a little higher.

As a young officer IMHO it is important to analyse everything around him and constantly try to figure out how the aim can be achieved in a better, quicker, more effective manner. I still do this 40 years later and I still see things which we/I did wrong or could have done better or more effectively.

BTW the barrel, ropes, pipes and a box full of stones is one of the AOSB group exercises. Watching that exercise is very revealing (and often hilarious) if you are a DS (directing staff). Who says the military is not fun

[Ken White]

I still do this 40 years later and I still see things which we/I did wrong or could have done better or more effectively.

Me too on the first. On the latter, too many in my case...

Who says the military is not fun

Not I. My errors were fortunately mostly harmless and I certainly had a ball for 30 years (and almost as much fun for another 18 as a silly-villian employeeeek).