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Officer Candidate's Guide

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Officer Candidates School (OCS) is the first step to becoming a Marine Corps Officer. It is the most basic physical and mental proving ground for candidates who desire to lead Marines.

Here you will discover that there are no shortcuts to becoming an officer. Your whole reason for being here is to harden your body, test your will, and learn that overcoming hardship is largely a matter of desire.

You will depend on your classmates, and they will depend on you. Fail them, and you've failed your mission. Finish this grueling test of your stamina and you'll know that you have become what others only dream of being - a Marine Corps Officer.

"Here we recognize and develop your potential to lead. But this is but the first step; you truly become an officer only when your commission is validated by the respect of your Marines."

Colonel Robert H. Chase, Commanding Officer, Officer Candidates School
Challenge Yourself