Marine plc tips

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Anguswarrior112

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Jun 9, 2017
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Hey all, I will be headed out to Marine plc soon this summer, I will be attending the juniors course.
From what I have heard, these six weeks will be the absolute hell of my life regardless of whether or not you have a high pft, mines is 295. Does anyone have any tips to survive these six weeks besides telling me to embrace the suck?
 
Remember they can’t make time stop or hit you. You will fail and succeed. Learn from the failure and embrace the victories. Help your platoon mates out. They will grade your PFT harder than any one you have ever done. It will be miserably hot and humid. You will learn how to break the weeks down. Make it it the next meal, then to the next big event and then to the weekend break. Use the weekend break to recharge, eat, unwind and then gear back up. Remember this is a learning process, so listen and follow orders. You will be fine. Best of luck.
 
+1 to NavyHoops, as usual. No one can stop you from succeeding but you. A quote from a Sgt Instructor regarding OCS/PLC that I always liked is this: "The best back home may be just good enough to barely make it here.... You will fail. You will succeed. How you handle success and how you handle failure is a demonstration of character as to whether you have what it takes to be a Marine officer".

When you're "knocked down", always get back up. Always press on and forge ahead. If you do, and learn from the failures, you will undoubtedly succeed. Do your best. And have fun!

Oh yeah.... if/when you get into town try the bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef) at "My Deli". I always try to stop there when driving I-95. Give the folks a phone call on the Saturdays you're allowed to use your phone. They'll definitely appreciate it.
 
I live a couple miles outside the main gate. If things get too rough, land nav over to my house. Just kidding.

What might be informative though is a series of Washington Post articles from not too long ago. Keyboard into you favorite search engine "Learning to Lead-Washington Post." The author is Christian Davenport. The series follows three candidates from different places on the east coast as they go through what you are about to. It is a story of triumph and struggle. The series is in three parts with photos and videos. A pic of my dog Buster is even included. Two of the candidates didn't do so good and one is currently a company commander in the 1st Marine Division. The advice to take it an evolution at a time is good. My son was and is still a 300 PFTer and they still broke him. But, they didn't eat him. You'll be fine if you want to be a Marine officer. Despite the advertisements of other schools in the different branches, the Marine Corps owns the severest of schools. You'll be proud to tell others of your achievements as my son and I are. I would say have fun but that would be cruel.
 
^^^ Thought it would be a good read but damned if I can find it. Or maybe, since I don't have a subscription, I'm not allowed to use it. o_O :(
 
@Anguswarrior112 On the bright side your high PFT will help you, in the sense that your body should be able to handle the strain better. When DS went to Bulldog (think PLC seniors) his unit would not allow anyone to attend without a 285+ PFT score. The chance of injury increases as your PFT score goes down. (I think the math phrase is inversely proportional). Congratulations on having the discipline to achieve that PFT score on your own.
 
Devil Doc said:
I live a couple miles outside the main gate. If things get too rough, land nav over to my house. Just kidding.

What might be informative though is a series of Washington Post articles from not too long ago. Keyboard into you favorite search engine "Learning to Lead-Washington Post." The author is Christian Davenport. The series follows three candidates from different places on the east coast as they go through what you are about to. It is a story of triumph and struggle. The series is in three parts with photos and videos. A pic of my dog Buster is even included. Two of the candidates didn't do so good and one is currently a company commander in the 1st Marine Division. The advice to take it an evolution at a time is good. My son was and is still a 300 PFTer and they still broke him. But, they didn't eat him. You'll be fine if you want to be a Marine officer. Despite the advertisements of other schools in the different branches, the Marine Corps owns the severest of schools. You'll be proud to tell others of your achievements as my son and I are. I would say have fun but that would be cruel.
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If you are that close I am sure you ended up with some TBS students! I was always confused when they would give a training area surrounded by asphalt roads and that was the indicator to go back and they still got lost!
 
NavyHoops said:
Devil Doc said:
I live a couple miles outside the main gate. If things get too rough, land nav over to my house. Just kidding.

What might be informative though is a series of Washington Post articles from not too long ago. Keyboard into you favorite search engine "Learning to Lead-Washington Post." The author is Christian Davenport. The series follows three candidates from different places on the east coast as they go through what you are about to. It is a story of triumph and struggle. The series is in three parts with photos and videos. A pic of my dog Buster is even included. Two of the candidates didn't do so good and one is currently a company commander in the 1st Marine Division. The advice to take it an evolution at a time is good. My son was and is still a 300 PFTer and they still broke him. But, they didn't eat him. You'll be fine if you want to be a Marine officer. Despite the advertisements of other schools in the different branches, the Marine Corps owns the severest of schools. You'll be proud to tell others of your achievements as my son and I are. I would say have fun but that would be cruel.
Click to expand...

If you are that close I am sure you ended up with some TBS students! I was always confused when they would give a training area surrounded by asphalt roads and that was the indicator to go back and they still got lost!
Click to expand...
I live through the woods from TBS. Never had students show up but workout on weekends at Ramer gym and see students walking down that long road from the firehouse back to Camp Barrett. My son tutored a foreign officer a couple weekends when he was there. I as a Corpsman had to learn land nav, call for fire, etc. I wasn't exactly Lewis and Clark but was stunned a few years ago when that handful of Lts got caught cheating on it.
 
kinnem said:
^^^ Thought it would be a good read but damned if I can find it. Or maybe, since I don't have a subscription, I'm not allowed to use it. o_O :(
Click to expand...
I just typed it into Bing and it came up. It is a good read and not just because DS is in it. Try Marine ocs Washington Post Davenport
 
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kinnem said:
@Anguswarrior112 On the bright side your high PFT will help you, in the sense that your body should be able to handle the strain better. When DS went to Bulldog (think PLC seniors) his unit would not allow anyone to attend without a 285+ PFT score. The chance of injury increases as your PFT score goes down. (I think the math phrase is inversely proportional). Congratulations on having the discipline to achieve that PFT score on your own.
Click to expand...
Very true. I didn't mean to make it sound otherwise but it did come out that way. Being a PT stud is one less thing to worry about.
 
kinnem said:
^^^ I didn't read your post that way at all. I did find to of the articles. Interesting.
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The series comes in three or more parts with a follow up with my son Tyler since he was local. That's where my furry son Buster makes an appearance.
 
All, thanks for your tips. They all help very much but in the end I feel like I have answered my own question, I need to embrace the suck and keep my head high.
 
You'll be fine. I'll probably see you some weekend at the PX. You'll be there in the polo and khaki crowd shopping for socks and geedunk.
 
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