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One of Us: Officers of Marines--Their Training, Traditions, and Values
This engaging book plunges readers into the culture shock of Marine Officer Candidates School, a ten-week physical, intellectual, and emotional testing ground so grueling that every fourth candidate fails to complete.
What does it take to become a Marine Officer? This engaging book transports readers through the culture shock of Marine Officer Candidates School, a ten-week physical, intellectual, and emotional testing ground that every fourth candidate fails to complete. The Sergeant Instructors' intensity is palpable as candidates are made to strip away civilian habits and attitudes, replacing them the Marine Corps ethos in the hopes of becoming officers. Anecdotes and personal recollections of OCS by two generations of officers provide instructive, poignant, and humorous interludes for the reader.
A second focus of the book involves research into the demographics, attitudes, and opinions of two groups of officers, separated in time by 50 years. This comparison across a wide range of personal and social issues and beliefs renders some surprising results that lie in opposition to conventional wisdom. From the older generation, the reader will better understand the lifelong impact of the Marine leadership experience. From today's officers, the reader will discover the motivations of today's allegedly soft and coddled young people to follow the difficult path to a lieutenant's gold bars. This book is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Marine Corps and its culture.
What does it take to become a Marine Officer? This engaging book transports readers through the culture shock of Marine Officer Candidates School, a ten-week physical, intellectual, and emotional testing ground that every fourth candidate fails to complete. The Sergeant Instructors' intensity is palpable as candidates are made to strip away civilian habits and attitudes, replacing them the Marine Corps ethos in the hopes of becoming officers. Anecdotes and personal recollections of OCS by two generations of officers provide instructive, poignant, and humorous interludes for the reader.
A second focus of the book involves research into the demographics, attitudes, and opinions of two groups of officers, separated in time by 50 years. This comparison across a wide range of personal and social issues and beliefs renders some surprising results that lie in opposition to conventional wisdom. From the older generation, the reader will better understand the lifelong impact of the Marine leadership experience. From today's officers, the reader will discover the motivations of today's allegedly soft and coddled young people to follow the difficult path to a lieutenant's gold bars. This book is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Marine Corps and its culture.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
195 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2000
16 people want to read
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August 23, 2015
Jack Ruppert's book compares and contrasts the training of two platoons of officer candidates. The first being his own experience in 1956 with those that were being trained in 2000. Similarities and differences are discussed. A must for those wanting to research the core values of the Corps.
Displaying 1 of 1 review