Mission Statement

Since we last spoke, the infamous zero week has ended and we officially kicked off our first day/week of training, called the period of instruction (POI). The last few days of zero week went very smoothly. I did a lot better on my physical fitness test than expected, the review test went well for me, and the pick up was actually very well organized and planned out. Pick up is when the company has officially weeded out extra Lt’s and organized the ones to be kept into their respective platoons (I was in fifth platoon and got moved to first) If you get picked up, you’re good to go and you start training the following Monday. If you’re not, then you go into a Mike company and wait until the next company (Bravo) comes along and jump in with them. Anyway, after looking of the last post I decided that some pertinent information was missing. This post will address what the first one should have, what I am doing, how and why. This is TBS in short…

What am I doing?

After graduation from OCS and your respective university, other branches of service send their officers directly to MOS school (military occupational specialty, or job school) to learn their job and enter the active component of that branch. The Marines are different. After completion OCS and earning your degree, all officers, regardless of desired job are sent to The Basic School for 26 weeks of training. It is here that all officers are indoctrinated into the operational/organizational functions of the Corps. That’s a fancy way of saying we are all learning how to be Officers, what is expected of us, and how to basically lead a rifle platoon. Proven time and time again, this type of training upholds the Marine Corps mantra of “every Marine a rifleman” and fosters a more educated and professional officer corps.

How does the Corps do this?

TBS is broken down in the three phases. The first phase focuses on individual skills (shooting, martial arts, etc.), the second on the squad (tactics, Intel, etc.) and the third on platoon size operations (convoy, large weapons, etc.). All emphasize leadership, tactics and execution. We are constantly being evaluated by instructors and assistant instructors. The primary instructor is the Staff Platoon Commander, or SPC. Mine is Capt. Mahan. He is an infantry officer by trade and I am looking forward to working with him. The Marine have a method to their madness, and TBS is no different. We have three stages of learning within those three phases:

1. formal instruction (classes)
2. informal instruction (small discussion groups, tactical decision games, SPC mentoring)
3. Application (field exercises like land navigation and rifle qualifications).

The class material is not very difficult, but there is a lot of it. I only have one four inch binder full of notes right now, but by the time I leave here I should have three. The courses cover everything from formal military correspondence to counter terrorism/force protection to map reading. Basically any question you would have about XYZ can be found in my notes. Some things are more important than others, but the academic cycle is cumulative so you’re going to “master” sooner or later. The funny thing is that I’ll learn three times as much in the first month I have my own platoon than I will in the six at TBS. I am not taking away from the instruction here, just understand it’s merely the tip of the iceberg. In addition to this, we have to maintain physical fitness. The workouts here are different from what I’m used to, as they focus on working our bodies as they will be tested in combat- moving with weight, running short and long distances, lifting our own body weight, etc. Here, we run through the woods with weapons, wearing boots/utilities, backpacks and Kevlar (helmet) and navigate over, under and through obstacles along the way. We also have an emphasis on plyometric workouts (weight complimented with movement) and some MCMAP training (martial arts). All of this makes up our Combat Conditioning.

Why am I doing this?

The Marine Corps prides itself on being a force in readiness, and without a well trained, technically and tactically proficient officer corps, the mission will fail. Since we probably won’t have to run through the mountains of Afghanistan in running shoes and with water bottles, why do it here? These evolutions build on each other to create a thorough understanding of the subject matter and how to apply it- the old saying goes, you have to practice like you play. Ask anyone who’s been in combat (especially instructors here) and they will tell you that it’s OJT, but there are things you can do to mitigate the learning curve. Needless to say, every little bit will help.

I know you're all busy so thanks for the "comments" and support! I really appreciate it.

Much love

Brad

Zero Week

With a lack of anything motivating, Zero Week really does live up to its name. This “week” is actually closer to 10 days of paperwork, sitting around and wasting time. What’s worse is that since we have 330 Lt’s here for a company with only 300 spots, 30 people will be weeded out. This means that at the end of zero week we’re going to redo the platoon/squad (three squads make up a platoon, three fire teams make up a squad) rosters and 30 Lt’s will have to do this all over again when they pick up with the next company. That sucks. Anyway, this weeding out will move everyone out of their original room and to a new one. Soooo everyone here is living out of suitcases and cars. I didn’t realize how demoralizing it actually is. At first it makes you miserable, but then you get used to it. At least I did. Regardless, I am excited to get to my permanent room, unpack and fully move in. the only down side to this move is leaving the roommates that I now have. My roommates and I get along great. They’re all good guys with a great sense of humor. Speaking of which, I have 6 of them and we all live in 2 Marycrest size rooms joined in the middle by a small bathroom. One side is designated the "sleep side" (packed w/ bunk beds and dressers) and the other is the "study side" equipped with 5 desks and two mini fridges. Our gear is dispersed throughout the rooms. It’s really tight.

We start off every day with a company formation (in this case, six platoons of 55ish) around 5:30 AM and then go into the classroom and fill out paper work or take classes…literally all day. On Wednesday we didn’t leave until 5:30 PM. That was arguably the most un-motivating thing I have ever done. But zero week did hold some motivating events. Thursday we had swim qualification. Combat Water Survival (CWS) is something the Corps has all marines qualified in, to some level. All officers have to be qualified at least CWS 2 (CWS 4 being the easiest to achieve; there are four levels below CWS 1 that few will ever attain). It’s a progressive program through out the morning that qualified us for each level one by one (so at 9am I was CWS 4, 10 AM CWS 3, etc.). For the CWS 4. we had to jump from 15 feet into the water in full uniform and tread water for 4 min. it’s not hard at all because they teach you how to use your uniform to keep you afloat. There are several different techniques, but I opted to take my pants off, tie the ankles together and blow into the waistband to inflate them. Once you have them inflated you put it around your neck like a life jacket. It was awesome, and so easy! Once I did that I just floated there for the whole time. In all honesty it was kind of hard to put my pants back on, but it was worth it. For CWS 2 we had to jump in the water with flak jacket (heavy vest w/ bullet resistant plates) pack (30lbs), weapon (M16A2), Kevlar helmet, and full uniform (boots/camies) from a ten foot platform. Once in the water we had to swim the length of the pool. Then you have to navigate a course through the pool using certain techniques they teach you, and lastly we have to drag a “casualty” across the pool without drowning either one of you (see the progression of difficulty from 4-2?). It’s not really that hard but it does wear you out. It’s a good workout I guess. And surprisingly all that gear does not weigh you down like you might think. The pack actually helps you float-all you have to do is pretend you’re sitting in one of those “sitting down bikes” peddling (literally peddling your feet) and pushing water away from you with your arms (arms together in front of you, then push out). Even though you’re “kicking” and you’d think you should go backwards, you move forward. It’s strange. I hope that’s clear. Swim qual was also good for morale. Being Marines, most everyone wants to be the alpha male or at least look like a bad ass (guilty as charged). That means walking around looking mean and not talking to people for a few days. Events like this generally open the door for conversation, meeting people and letting your guard down as most have proven that they are up to the XYZ task. Regardless, the dynamic has been different since. This week should prove to be the same only we start seeing more doctors. This Thursday will be critical for some people on the fence for Alpha Company. because the PFT is the event that has the most weight in deciding if you pick up on Friday or not. I am confident I’ll be fine, so I am planning for a long day as the training cycle (called the Period of Instruction-POI) officially begins. We will be moving rooms and getting our gear squared away to "hit the ground running" Monday morning. (Jim, where did that originate?!)

What you have just read is only a depiction of Zero Week…it’s not typical of my everyday for the next six months. As the time goes on and we get in to more classes / hands on training and ill have much more interesting things to be writing about. I am looking forward to sharing good stories from the “field” and perhaps some pictures. *My thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but as time goes on and we have a more definitive schedule of events my mind will be more focused and my writing will improve.

Until then, back to reality…