Getting the News
This afternoon, I received the call from my OSO that I'd been so eagerly anticipating. The official roster came in today, and my name was on the select list!I obviously can't express how excited I am about this. I know some other applicants who applied for OCC 209 have been following my blog, and I wish them all the best of luck; those who are selected, too, will know what this feels like. It's amazing!
For those who aren't selected, I offer encouragement. The future may be uncertain with the word that only female candidates are being accepted for OCC during the coming summer, but the game isn't over until you quit. I was passed over once, so I know how it feels. Use the time you have to improve yourself; make yourself more like the type of person the Marine Corps needs! Improve your PFT. Volunteer. Lead. Read books from the Commandant's Reading List1. Get more ideas from your OSO, too.
What's Next
Captain Kline is going to contact me after the Thanksgiving break to help me start preparing for OCS. The one thing he told me on the phone today was that I need to "work out like a madman." There are obviously a lot of other things to prepare, too, but I'll have to write about those later.Important Dates
I will continue at my current IT job until the company closes down for the week of Christmas, so my last day will be Friday, 23 December 2011.According to www.ocs.usmc.mil, these are the important dates for OCC 209. At the time of this writing, they are listed as tentative, but I believe they are correct.
- 20 Jan 2012: In-processing begins
- 29 Mar 2012: Candidate Family Day
- 30 Mar 2012: Graduation
Happy Thanksgiving!
1. Commandant's 2011 Reading List (PDF).
There is one book that is absolutely necessary for you to read that does not appear on that list even though I've seen it on the CRL before. The story of a Dartmouth graduate who joined the Corps right after college and was on a deployment overseas at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks before serving two tours in the Middle East, Captain Fick's One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer is a must-read for any applicant to OCS. ↩
Congratulations. I had a ground contract for OCC 209 with a 289 PFT and 3.92 GPA and was not selected. As you know it was super-competitive and I don't see it getting any easier any time soon. Good luck and stay strong.
ReplyDeleteI'm ridiculously proud of you, for you, and with you. =)
ReplyDeleteCongrats. I had a law contact for occ 209 and didn't get selected. It was my second time applying too. Apparently the selection rates are extremely low across the board. Not sure if I'm going to try again. Best of luck to you at ocs. Keep posting while at ocs if you can. Make the rest of us proud.
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome! Hope I can see you out at Quantico some time...
ReplyDeleteCaleb Have you started on your OCC 209 checklist? If not get that going its available at the OCS website. Let me know if you have any questions.
ReplyDeleteSSgt Gonzalez
Caleb, much congratulations. I, too, am a second time applicant that was accepted for OCC-209. Just wanted to touch base with you and maybe see if we can consolidate some training tips and gossip about our up and coming winter of voluntary mayhem. There are some workouts I have discovered recently that I feel are worth sharing with other candidates. I'm convinced they will instill great confidence in being able to physically succeed at OCS.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Ground & Anonymous Law Applicants
ReplyDeleteThank you, both. Yes, it was very competitive on this go-round. I know that I owe it to every applicant who wasn't selected (especially NFOs since I directly competed with them) to give it my all because I have a spot they wanted. I also encourage you both to consult your OSO to learn more about your options and carefully consider them and what your goals are before deciding one way or another.
@Anna Marie
Thank you :) I have really appreciated all your support!
@Allie
Thanks! I hope so, too! I emailed Drew and forgot to CC you, but I'm limited to an 80 mile radius when I do get weekend liberty, so I have to stay nearby. I'm sure there's stuff to do in the area, though. Also, after OCS (if I may look so far ahead), there is TBS for 6 months also in Quantico, though I don't know what weekends/liberty will be like for that, yet. We'll figure something out. Email is better than these comments (or Twitter, haha).
@SSgt Gonzalez
Yes, Staff Sergeant. My OSO has been in contact with me and begin providing me with materials I can use to be as prepared as possible before I even begin in-processing. Within 1-2 weeks I will post about the things I have been doing to prepare for OCS. (Though I love posting about the things I do, doing them must take priority over writing about doing them.)
Staff Sergeant Gonzalez, am I correct in understanding that you will be an instructor at OCC 209?
@Anonymous OCC 209 Candidate
That sounds like a good idea to me. Click my name at the top of this comment, then click View My Website to find several options for you to contact me directly.
As I mentioned above, I will be posting a blog with some of the things I'm doing to prepare so that others may benefit from our experience later on. I also have a few other ideas up my sleeve that I'd love to do, but they may have to wait until later since my own preparations must take priority over writing them down for others at this time.
Thank you all for your comments!
No Caleb, I too will be going through OCC209 as a candidate. So who knows we might end up being classmates(slim chance) but possible. I have served ten years and this year I applied for MECEP. Its an enlisted to Commissioning program available for us. So I am looking at trading in my chevrons for some gold bars. Lets see if my body can handle boot camp again.
ReplyDeleteSSgt Gonzalez
Congrats, I just read your dads post ..... Semper Fi !!!!!
ReplyDeleteSteve (ssgsad)