PLATOON LEADERS CLASS

Becoming an officer in the Marine Corps requires that you complete two distinct and exacting tests.  The first is Officer Candidates School (OCS), at the end of which you will be commissioned as a second lieutenant.  Next comes The Basic School (TBS), where you'll spend six-months developing your leadership skills and choose your occupational specialty.  The opportunity exists for anyone - male or female - to take part in officer training, and the training is the same for everyone.

The Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) is the most popular route to completing OCS and becoming an officer.  For freshmen and sophomores, the program consists of two six-week training sessions between school years at Officer Candidates School in Quantico, VA.  For college juniors, it is one ten-week training session.  You are paid for your time, so it's like a summer job that will change you forever.  Additionally, travel costs to and from Quantico, all your meals, textbooks, materials and clothing are furnished free of charge by the government.  During the school year, you will not be called to active duty, and you are not required to wear a uniform.  Upon graduation, you'll be commissioned as a Marine Second Lieutenant and advance directly to The Basic School (TBS).

THE BASIC SCHOOL

At OCS, you will have learned that desire coupled with the right tools makes for a powerful leader.  At The Basic School, you'll become an expert in the use of those tools.  You will spend six intense months learning everything you need to know to be a combat leader of Marines.  From classroom setting to practical applications, the training will be thorough.  Only then can you be sure you'll make the right decisions when you only have a split second to do so.  Because in a real-life situation, you're not dealing with hypotheticals.  You're guarding people's lives.

• There are three directions your training path can take:

          > GROUND

          > AVIATION

          > LAW