The Marine Officer's Guide, 9th Edition

by Col. Christian N. Haliday USMC (Ret.)

This updated seminal reference provides new Marine officers—and those aspiring to become Marine officers—comprehensive information and guidance on what it takes to become a successful officer of Marines. The ninth edition of the Marine Officer‘s Guide includes new content and illustrations to reflect changes in the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps. The book is organized into three parts. After the introductory chapter, Part I addresses the Marine Corps as a military service, an institution, and to some degree, a bureaucracy. This part touches upon the Corps‘ storied history; places the service in the nation‘s defense and naval establishments, the treatments of which are completely updated; describes its mission, organization, and infrastructure; and reveals inter alia its culture, the sum of its beliefs and ways of thinking, working, and behaving. Part II concerns topics related to becoming and being an effective officer of Marines. Most important here are discussions of leadership and the profession of arms, but the updated chapters also cover important topics such as unit and individual administration, pay and allowances, and military justice. Part III provides useful information on personal, family, and social matters. In sum, this new edition of Marine Officer‘s Guide is current and applicable to today‘s Corps.

704 pages, Hardcover

Published March 15, 2023

Reviews

[Keith Brown Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered that this book existed just a few weeks ago. I happened to be in Warrant Officer (WO) Anderson's office executing a computer swap when while he was handling the admin on his computer, I noticed a bright, and shiny scarlet red and gold book on his filing cabinet. I saw that the title read, "The Marine Officer's Guide", and my interest was immediately piqued. I asked WO Anderson if I could see his book, and obviously he said yes. I quickly read through the table of contents, and knew in an instant that I would be acquiring the book, and reading it after I finished Stop, In the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life by Charlie Kirk; which I was going to, and did read after after I finished The Reformation: A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch, which I was still reading at the time.

Well eventually, after only a couple short weeks, the time came to begin reading this book, and it was a good read, and I'm glad that I procured the book, and added it to my personal library. My thoughts on the book are that it is best used as a reference book. That being said, I do think that one full read through upon acquiring the book is in order, especially for newly, or soon to be, commissioned officers because the book is great for: (1) Avoiding common mistakes made by junior officer's, there were at least a few times while reading I said to myself, "I wish I had known that, and that happened to me despite having functionally only 3 months in the fleet, in other words, being a very junior Marine in time and experience; (2) relieving unnecessary stress as a junior officer caused by mistakes made, as well as just general unfamiliarity with the Marine Corps Organization. Another reason why newly, and soon to be, commissioned officers should give the entire book at least 1 full read through before utilizing the it purely as a reference book is there will come a point at which your experience will supersede anything you could learn from the book, there will just come a point at which you will have already encountered, and figured out everything the book talks about.

With that, if you are a newly, or soon to be, commissioned Marine Corps officer, I highly recommend procuring a copy of this book, reading it through at least once cover-to-cover, and then keeping it close at hand to be utilized as a reference book throughout your entire career.