Stories

From the Congo to U.S. Citizen, Now Marine Officer

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Nkundimana Binene Claude, a rifleman with 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, commissioned as a 2nd Lt. after leading his squad through a kinetic live fire range at the Marine Air Ground Combat Training Center here. Covered in sweat and motivation, Claude, a native of Democratic Republic of Congo and naturalized U.S. citizen, recited his oath of office as he came off the range to attain his lifelong goal of becoming a U.S. Marine Corps officer...

Four OCS graduates swear in as Judge Advocates

After receiving their final command from the sergeant instructors at the end of graduation, the four women stood in formation to swear-in during an oath of office ceremony to become judge advocates and newly commissioned officers in the Marines.

OCS - Officer Candidates School

OCS - Officer Candidates School prepares aspiring Marine Corps officers with the mentally and physically for the rigors of being a Marine Corps Officer.

"Starting Anew"

The phrase to “start anew” is not foreign to most Marines. From changing duty stations to adjusting to a new rank or billet, Marines share this commonality through the multitude of transitions each one faces. With each transition, a Marine’s means to find a solution to potential obstacles becomes ever more paramount. Whether it requires receiving guidance as a mentee or conversely giving it as mentor, one such Marine has filled both roles...

Making the commitment to go to Officer Candidates School and ultimately commission in the U.S. Marine Corps is a rare feat. Making that commitment while married and as a couple? Nearly unheard of, but David and Brianna Whitehead did just that.

KENNESAW, Ga. – Making the commitment to go to Officer Candidates School and ultimately commission in the U.S. Marine Corps is a rare feat. Making that commitment while married and as a couple? Nearly unheard of, but David and Brianna Whitehead did just that. Their story began in 2012 when David and Brianna decided to join Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia. Initially they were just acquaintances, but by their sophomore year, they started dating. “It was quick," said David. "We started talking, then went on a drill trip in Jacksonville, Florida, and then, by the next week, we started dating. We started dating in October of 2013, and we’ve been together ever since.”

A second chance at earning the title

Esmeralda Rojas, a native of Bakersfield, California, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on November 16, at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia.

Michigan linebacker takes his fighting spirit from “The Big House” to the Marine Corps

Former Michigan linebacker Noah Furbush, 24, is training to become a commissioned officer in the

Boston native utilizes Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Program to become Marine officer

Michael McHale commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on August 11, 2018. McHale utilized the Marine Corps’ Enlisted Commissioning Program (ECP), which is designed to allow enlisted Marines who have earned a baccalaureate degree to attend Officer Candidates School (OCS). Marines who complete the 10 weeks of training at OCS, located in Quantico, Virginia, are commissioned as Marine officers.

MARFORRES NCOs lead Tulane NROTC midshipmen during morning PT

The peace and quiet of a dark and humid Wednesday morning at Tulane University in New Orleans was suddenly interrupted by shouts of “aye aye, sergeant!” and “aye aye, corporal!” from Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps midshipmen as they ran to pick up main packs, ammo cans and water jugs.

50 years later "The Quigley" has the same wicked reputation

The assignment given to then-1st Lt. William J. Quigley was simple and to the point. Create a course where "each candidate should look like they tangled with two constipated pit bulls, and lost." The result was a 50-yard section of the Officer Candidates School’s (OCS) Combat Course, filled with snakes in the summer and ice in the winter. It greets you with dirty and foul smelling water, barbed wire, concrete culverts and someone yelling at you from start to finish. It is an experience that normal people would call their worst nightmare, while Marine Corps officers just smirk and think of two words – "The Quigley."