Which is harder USMC boot camp or OCS?

Andrew S	USMC hands down.

Desert Marine	You cannot pass OCS with a low score in ANYTHING. You are competing with other people for a commission. In Recruit Training you are competing with yourself.

Top Contributor	OCS is a Marines boot camp plus Officer Training. The physical part of OCS is run by a Marines drill Sergeant while the intellectual part of OCS is run by a naval officer.

Tom	It is much harder and the initial physical requirements to enter Ocs are not slightly higher than the initial requirements to enter boot camp, the initial requirements to enter Ocs are much higher than the requirements to graduate boot camp. All Marine Officer commissioning programs require a minimum 1st class PFT, 225+, to even submit an application but most OSO's will not forward an application with a PFT below 240 and a 270 is expected before going to OCS. A male Marine needs a 135 PFT to graduate Boot Camp, that is 3 Pull Ups, 50 crunches and a 28 minute 3 mile run. http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/l/blfitmale.htm "The PFT is the standard test that all Marines run twice a year to assess their physical condition. The test is scored out of 300, with 100 points allotted to each of three components. The test consists of a three-mile run, crunches (two minute time limit), and either pull-ups for males (no time limit) or flexed arm hang for females. A male earning a maximum score will run three miles under 18:00, perform 20 pull-ups, and perform 100 crunches in under two-minutes. A female earning a maximum score will run three miles in under 21:00, perform the flexed arm hang for 70 seconds, and perform 100 crunches in under two minutes. The minimum score to apply for any Marine Officer program is 225, but you must score greater than a 240 for an application to be submitted to a board. Before you ship to OCS, you should shoot for a 270 or higher." http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/physicalpreparation.html Good Luck!

J D	OCS has slightly higher initial physical requirements. The training is somewhat different. While recruit training is keyed toward being a Marine, OCS has an emphasis toward leadership. You get slightly better treatment in OCS but, it is just as hard. Mentally, recruit training is harder in the sense that you are harassed more. OCS is harder in that you must show leadership skills. Both are challenging physically. I would say they are fairly equal. If I say anything else my son will be on my case. May I tell a story which applies to the Marine Corps and officer versus enlisted that doesn't relate to the question? My son is an officer of Marines. A couple of years after he became a Marine officer my son-in-law became an enlisted Marine. The first time they were home at the same time they both arrived in uniform and my son-in-law was saying aye aye, sir and yes sir. I pulled rank by virtue of age and experience saying there would be no more saluting and aye ayes beyond the initial greeting. That made things much more comfortable for everyone. Lava Perro has an interesting, if often inaccurate website, but he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about as far as his opinion of OCS vs recruit training. Put an officer an an enlisted Marine in the same room for a weekend and you'll hear all about it. For instance, it is extremely rare for a candidate to be kicked out of OCS. They do have the option to DOR, drop on request, after a certain number of weeks. This is the usual route for candidates to be dropped from OCS. Enlisted do not have a DOR option.

Lava Perro	OCS is 1,000 times tougher then enlisted boot camp. Very high standards and much more is expected out of you. Plus the mission is different for an officer and an enlisted Marine which is why they are trained differently. Look at it this way: In enlisted boot camp they try to pass everyone unless they quit or get injured. Many who should not graduate boot camp graduate each week. In OCS they wont hesitate to kick you out if you are not USMC officer material.