NROTC (MO) – When are you "a Marine"?

I have some more information on the "are OCS graduates Marines" question I posted several months ago. My grandson was at Quantico from 22 May - 10 July as part of a company comprising PLC-seniors (college students back for their second summer) and NROTC midshipmen. According to both the O-6 commanding the Marine OCS program and the Marine O-7 who addressed the graduates, completion of this facet of their training earned them the title of "Marine." If anyone is interested, here is a link to the graduation ceremony.
 
Good that we are sharing different perspectives on Are midshipmen Marines? Quick thanks to @OldDog for sharing info and good food for thought.

we should all be proud of our ROTC midshipmen and other branch ROTC participants for the training they are going through and their commitment to commission and serve.

However I offer no validation that a midshipman MO in training has earned the right to say he is an officer or Marine, I’d say no, not yet. As others noted. They are training, not yet serving with a rank, not yet on active duty, are not yet defending our country or standing in harm’s way. They are not yet leading and responsible for the lives of other Marines, not yet in need to enter the theater of combat, nor are they under any pressure they’ll immediately need to. They have no active duty responsibilities nor have they accomplished a single act of service other than volunteering. Yet.

Allow those who check those boxes to call themselves a marine as the few, the proud earn the right to do ( and soon your grandson will join them).

what’s the harm in having some self awareness and humility for now? Let those who provided service and commissioned take the recognition. His time will come and then he can stand tall for what he is doing In an elite brotherhood.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
Good that we are sharing different perspectives on Are midshipmen Marines? Quick thanks to @OldDog for sharing info and good food for thought.

we should all be proud of our ROTC midshipmen and other branch ROTC participants for the training they are going through and their commitment to commission and serve.

However I offer no validation that a midshipman MO in training has earned the right to say he is an officer or Marine, I’d say no, not yet. As others noted. They are training, not yet serving with a rank, not yet on active duty, are not yet defending our country or standing in harm’s way. They are not yet leading and responsible for the lives of other Marines, not yet in need to enter the theater of combat, nor are they under any pressure they’ll immediately need to. They have no active duty responsibilities nor have they accomplished a single act of service other than volunteering. Yet.

Allow those who check those boxes to call themselves a marine as the few, the proud earn the right to do ( and soon your grandson will join them).

what’s the harm in having some self awareness and humility for now? Let those who provided service and commissioned take the recognition. His time will come and then he can stand tall for what he is doing In an elite brotherhood.
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I was searching for OCS dates when this thread popped up on google.

I will leave it up to the USMC Commanding General of Quantico to determine when the honorific title of Marine (it is not a rank) is awarded. In your monologue you forgot to mention the requirement to kill a VC in hand-to-hand combat and drink his blood. Your post... needs workshopping.

So, anyway contact LtGen Watson and share your truths.
 
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Just my 2 cents, but I'm not sure why being a marine officer and being a marine is getting conflated. In my unit at least, although they don't brag about it or anything, 1/C who pass OCS and earn their USMC tape are considered marines. I was under the impression that it is a title earned by doing boot camp or an equivalent, and OCS is that. That's why they make it a whole deal to give you the tape at graduation I'm pretty sure. Again, I could be wrong.
 
Zaphod Beeblebrox said:
I was searching for OCS dates when this thread popped up on google.

I will leave it up to the USMC Commanding General of Quantico to determine when the honorific title of Marine (it is not a rank) is awarded. In your monologue you forgot to mention the requirement to kill a VC in hand-to-hand combat and drink his blood. Your post... needs workshopping.

So, anyway contact LtGen Watson and share your truths.
Click to expand...
No thanks.

There’s a moment when MO midshipmen are bestowed an honor, “You can now call yourselves Marines,” after completing a training phase and before commissioning. I gotta say I respect those who take that with humility and quiet pride. In comparison, stunts like midshipmen trying to claim active-duty perks like taking a free cruise just because they have a CAC card. Don't be afraid to encourage humility. there is a respect that those who've actually served command that those who are only yet in training can attempt to demand as they wish. a lot of NSi families all came decked out with "proud parent of. Marine" shirts recently. You do you y'all. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
 
If you have completed boot camp or OCS and a drill instructor has placed an EGA in your hand, you are a Marine. That is official HQMC policy.

Now, you will not be an Officer of Marines until you commission, whether that is 2 days away or next year once you graduate college, but if you completed initial training, you have earned the title.
 
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