A behind the scenes look at the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. The piece was produced in connection with a DVD release of "An Officer and A Gentleman"
It warms my heart to see that Marine NCO leadership is so valued by our naval counterparts. John Paul Jones and Commodore Barry would be proud of both of us
@@robertspencer703, officers everywhere are trained by enlisted, yes officers will outrank them but you’d be damned if you if a junior officer is fucking with a senior enlisted (E7 and above), a lot of senior enlisted work under direct guidance of O4-O6 officers.
@@micahgotracksplays340 Forget what you like for a second as it is not what you want but what you can do. It's not too difficult, you have to really be honest with yourself to determine if you're in great physical shape and combat oriented or you are geared more towards the academic and intellectual side of things. If you're in great physical shape, combat oriented AND willing to endure pain and stress to get there, USMC will be your heaven. If you are geared more towards the academic and intellectual side of things, like techy stuff more than guns or you are more concerned about money or long term career development go USAF. PD: For USAF or USN OCS you have to be REALLY GOOD at math.
@@Kingx90 No doubt both sucked. But in a away OCS was easier because of my military background. I already knew what to expect. There were many tasks I did not have to learn and could focus on the other "new tasks" I did not know. You could say I had a leg up on the other candidates who had no or little knowledge of the military. Again, both sucked. lol :):)
@@matthewadams9900 that makes sense. I’m sure being an officer was a better experience overall as well. Better pay, more respect etc would I be correct to assume that? Also I’ve heard you get more choice in your duty stations.
I went to Pensacola OCS in October 1966. My daughter was born ten days after I reported and didn’t see her until she was two months old. The video is surprisingly similar to my experience, including the same buildings and, probably, the same M1 Garand rifles we carried over 55 years ago.
MGySgt Foshee was my Series Gunny at PI in 1996. Ran into him a couple of years later in Okinawa. Heard his voice in the food court on Camp Courtney and instantly got chills with fear. It was awesome!
Those moments are EVERYTHING LOL I was in the chow hall on FUTENMA & heard "ZEEEEERO" from a DI from plt 1001, I was plt 1002 & HE scared me almost more than my OWN DI's
I was in AOCS 15-78, it was quite a bit more intense than what we see here. You were under constant pressure all the time. No slack, even in the classroom. It was the best time of my life.
@@nobody-hr1lo But that's not a dress uniform, at least not in the same sense as the Dress Blues, it's what's called a service dress uniform, which we (Marines) refer to as Alphas because their official name is Service Dress A. Alphas are more like a business suit worn when reporting to a new duty station, semi to formal occasions, ( if you don't own Dress Blues) and when told to do so by your unit or base CO.
Naval Aviation OCS Pensacola Class 01-73. Quite awhile ago but still a strong memory....of fellow AOCs, Marine DIs instilling military discipline, becoming a Naval Officer, going to advanced aviation training, Sailors and Naval Officers providing technical training and leadership. Putting all this together and achieving the goal of Navy Wings of Gold. In my case Naval Flight Officer Wings. It wasn’t easy but is something to be proud of. It takes your total focus and commitment.
my Army OCS TAC officer CPT 'G' always cheered us up with this phrase: "you farm animals aren't here for a good time, you're here for a long time". OCS 11-89
Takes more than a 4-year degree and getting a commission as a 2nd lieutenant to make an officer ! It takes courage,dedication, and not quitting on yourself and those under your command. I salute you all. I was a USAF Sergeant about 45 years ago! :-)
My uncle was a Marine and chief drill instructor. He was the toughest man on this planet and I grew up with him. He was great, especially with a teen (me). Contrary to the stereotype, I never heard him raise his voice. I knew a lot about what it really meant to be a leader long before I became an officer in the United States Army.
If you think this looks tough you should see what Marine OCS at Quantico is like...some very serious physical and mental demands there. In the old days before it became co-ed the final Go/No Go test was a timed 25 mile hump thru the hills around Quantico. I saw good candidates flunk out days before graduation by missing the required time by just seconds. Today with the girls participating the 25 mile hump has been dropped down to 12 miles and it is no longer a timed event.
The brass are the most PC woke crowd. They know what they are charged with. The politicians want females to pass so the generals jump to and assured them that females will complete the program. So thr message is passed down thst fe.akes will not be flunked and standards are adjusted to ensure the numbers are met. The Army Ranger course accepted and passed women recently. Then I read that women are not flunked out and can redo any portion they didn't pass just so they can graduate while males will be flunked or recycled. Then the commanders can say they didn't lower standards and what a wise concept to allow women in. When I was Airborne school in Fort Benning in 1981, women did not have to do th3 same PT standards as men, they didn't have to go into the gig pit, and they did their own running in formation.
Kicked MY ASS in 1981! You NEVER laid in your rack until lights out! Hot and humid, it was the best/worst summer ever! It was tough until you quit fighting and just embraced the suck. SSgt. Bonn and Sgt. Moore were my platoon sergeant and sgt. Instructors! Bravo Company, 4th platoon. Oorah!
Retired after 22 years many years ago but still recall my first day reporting in as a candidate in Artillery OCS. This video brought back many fond memories. us
Having served as an enlisted Marine and having been commissioned A Warrant Officer, I salute all Senior Ranking Officers and Candidates. Long Live the Marine Corps Drill Instructor!
Such a great film you made. The precise movements are so great to see. It was really something to learn the different measurements regarding Everything on your uniform. Thank you and Semper Fidelis
OCS is no joke. Only the strong survive and you need to want it to make it through. You need to be better than average to become a Naval Officer. Good luck and dont give up.
I remember that in the ancient times that since both the corps and sailors both trained at Pensacola, it made sense to have marine DIs do the training and choose the Corps to fly instead of the Navy.
MGySgt Foshee was one of my Drill Instructors aboard Parris Island SC with Platoon 3004, 3rd Battalion India Company. October 1989-January 1990. Then Drill Instructor Sergeant Foshee was an outstanding Drill Instructor and an excellent US Marine. I learned a great deal about how to be a squared away Recruit and a Marine. Semper Fidelis MGySgt Foshee!
It's hard to believe but fewer people fail out of enlisted bootcamp and OCS than say back in the 80s due to better screening of candidates. Also there is less harassment in bootcamp. Another thing that helps is pre-preparation that many recruits go thru before shipping out.
Brian C very good point. Youngsters at large these days are weak of mind and body, but enlistees have figured out what some old-timers struggle to grasp. No one can expect to go to boot to get in shape and there's little room for dummies. There are few MOSs that aren't technically or professionally demanding and a great many are brutally demanding physically. Teenagers in uniform perform responsibilities far beyond what many civilians will experience in a lifetime.
No kidding. I was also a Mustang, and all the guys at my previous command said I was going to "knife and fork school" and teased me for it. The irony is that all we got for the first 6 weeks was a SPOON. We had to earn the right to look at our food, talk to our neighbors and use a knife and fork by performing well, as a class, on a series of inspections.
I Love the fact that US Military is about a teamwork. Its not about you. It is like in your family. You make sure your family is taken care of. You love them...and you hate them. This is so great. God Bless America!
To all of my fellow brothers and sisters out there whom served with Honor, Courage and commitment I salute you! Please be reminded that there are those whom have not willingly served and therefore have no concept of the value of freedom and sacrifices that have been made to keep that freedom. These people are educated but lack the courage and fortitude to follow through to serving this country. Therefore give them no credence of respect on our level. They have not earned it.
"In every class, there's always one joker who thinks that he's smarter than me. In this class, that happens to be you. Isn't it, Mayonnaise?" This presentation reminds me of that classic movie. :)
OCS no longer has a lot of team work elements. The only team work events at OCS now is drill comp, battle stations (includes the fire and wet trainer), and working together in Candio phase. However, people start to get senior-itis really bad by that point and usually start hating each other. It’s still a tough program, but I personally believe they should work in more team building exercises in the curriculum.
Pretty accurate depiction of Navy OCS--at least at Pensacola--a LOT was skipped I'm sure due to time but it does gives a quick overview of the phases of Indoctrination Candidate, Officer Candidate then to Candidate Officer and finally Commissioning as an Ensign...I'm a graduate of Class 24-99...June-Sep 1999. Gunnery Sergeant Burlison, USMC was our Drill Instructor...one of the finest individuals I've ever met and that's saying a lot after nearly 23 years....and for those who know and remember, you never wanted to have red tape around your nametag...or to fall out in a run and need to catch the van back.
OCS graduate here. Gunnery Sergeant Burlinson dropped me on a peaceful Saturday's morning. I was inside the First Lieutenant's locker looking for some cleaning gears. I came out and saw him and immediately froze. He was like "well, what you gonna say? Drop!" 😂 After 23 of service and being very senior in rank, I'm still loving it. Cherish my time at OCS.
Isn't it weird how the music behind the first 20 seconds or so is a British WWII Military song called "The last post". It was used to assure everyone in the camp that the last post of a camp had been checked by an officer.
This video is from eleven years ago and it looks like the '60s compared to the videos you see of military training now. Has it changed that much in such a short amount of time? I wouldn't know as a civilian.
@cyberstriker140 Probably the best way to describe the USN/USMC relationship is that the USN and the USMC are each separate parts of the Dept of the Navy. Because Amphibious Operations are a joint responsibility, the USN & the USMC must operate together as if they were one service, even though each is actually a separate service. This is why USN instructors often train Marines, and vice-versa.
DevilDog556 what is false? That they all go through the same academy and they decide what route they go? Then after they pick were they go they stay with that specific job "mos" they chose to be for a couple of weeks before they get commissioned? Well more specifically title they want to assume and command eventually. I don't know what's false
DevilDog556 the difference between sailors and marines is that one thinks for themselves and the other one follows like puppy dogs. Care to take a guess who's who?
because a leader knows how to follow, an experienced NCO has followed many orders from many officers. there for he can mentor, teach, and mold the best kind of leaders.
I was class 01-98. Before graduation it was my job to get the silver dollars for everyone in my class to hand out to the class drill instructor and the class chief. The "tradition" was to get 1921 Morgan dollars from a coin dealer in Pensacola. They were about $15 a piece. We had 40 guys in our class. At any given time, a class drill instructor is running 2 or 3 classes. By the end of a 3-year tour, these guys have a trunk filled with $15 silver dollars.
Im certainly excited though just waiting to graduate then im off. They still havent given me a date for bootcamp but im sure they will after i clear MEPS.
It's rare. I have a friend in the Corps and he & I respect each other with out own services. The average private in the Corps is still 'brainwashed' to the point where all he says "Marine Corps! Marine Corps!", but that's not the brains of the bunch. It's the older ones who have been in a while who actually will show any respect to the other services. Also, as sanchezatilano14 put it, it'd really help if you're SF.
Did anyone notice Ensign Greenleaf's ENLISTED Surface Warfare metal and C/LCD Wilson's Air Warfare medal? So officers are allowed to wear enlisted metals on their uniform?
Yes, if they earned the device while they were enlisted. There are some officers that were enlisted sailors prior to becoming an officer. They are informally called "mustangs".
Most of the time, you can get a degree and commission either though ROTC, direct commission, or the academy (service specific). You don't need to be prior enlisted (although IMO they make much better commanders) and you do not need to be a warrant officer. A service specific recruiter would be your best source of information.
yeah, i mean i am enlisted in the Marines now, been in since dec 2011, still in mos school for another year tho (linguist)...so how know the suck that is boot camp and mct
@@todseaton6318 I found you in my boot camp annual....I'm Herron in 3033, I'll send you a friend request on FB....I am friends with Beggs from your platoon and I also reconnected with Sgt Kerr, and he is friends with Tracy
The commander at 3:48 explains it well. There had been talk about replacing the USMC drill instructors with naval instructors. I don't think that would ever happen. If it ain't broke (or if it's working well), why fix it? The USMC drill instructors have been doing a SUPERB job in shaping these future naval officers.
Chiefs always did help the Marines with the candidates. Their main job was when the newly minted officers got to their first posting that the Chiefs really got started.
@JiyuNokenshi No theyre de-milled rifles. Bolts have no firing pins. The service rifle is the M16 offcourse. We dont have 30-06 logistics wise lol I wish but no
I wonder how I made it. Class 29-69, SSG Timothy Rapes had a real job making officers out of a bunch of hippies. At the end, I loved it. The best part of my 32 years in the military (navy and army).
Navy enlisted bootcamp personnel now have a Navy PO1 or Chief along with a Marine drill instructor and also a female Navy drill instructor. Men and women now go thru bootcamp together just like OCS. Enlisted bootcamp nowadays features a lot more running and exercising. No fat boys allowed. There is also a final drill on a mock ship that all bootcamp personnel must pass. The Airforce has also made their bootcamp tougher.
Brian C it does seem evident than minimum standards have been raised. The ratio of active military to US population is lower than ever for my lifetime meaning fewer ppl to defend more ppl. Selection standards should definitely be higher. It's worth noting that 80% of US HS grads fail to meet minimum entry standards, mostly too weak or mentally stupid (so much for public schools right). So when officials claim that the military is America's best young ppl, it isn't just politics, it's the truth.
In the early 60's, unless you were in formation, you ran everywhere during bootcamp. As soon as you stepped off the train at Great Lakes, you were constantly harassed. If you weren't running, you were kissing the turf. Nothing easy back then.
@@bilcarter Well, there used to be a Marine Corps Recruit Depot in the Puget Sound until the time when San Diego became the only Recruit Depot in the West Coast.
so is really possible to commision thru another service as an enlisted Marine? the order on the subject says it is possible when permission from an O-6 in your command, but i think most would not sign off on that...i have thought about trying to make the jump to navy ocs...Marine OCS is something i would want too...i do love the Marine Corps. prolly should just step up and go for Marine OCS/
I was at the old OCS campus in Pensacola a few days ago and its dilapidated and overgrown. My wife said it looked like a set from The Walking Dead. I hope they find some way to repurpose it instead of tearing it down.
