Take A Test Drive?

The following is a letter from George Mellone. George is an aviation management major at UND and has been accepted to the Marine Corps' Platoon Leader’s Class program with a guaranteed pilot contract. He has completed the first increment of Officer Candidates School and he will be returning to finish the senior's course this summer. George will graduate from the University of North Dakota and be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2007.

From: George Mellone (UND student)
To: Any individual interested in Marine Corps Officer Programs.
Subject: Why the Marines, anyway?

So what’s so special about the Marine Corps? Why should anyone risk getting involved with a military service when times of war tend to make services desperate to recruit potential members? Won’t they suck you in and trick you into signing something that you can’t back out of without being labeled a deserter and getting the law after you?

Well, when it comes to the Marine Corps, this answer is NO! The very nature of the officer programs dictates that you can BACK OUT AT ANY TIME. Think about it logically. As an officer in the Marines, you’re an all-out, no-bunk, straight-up battle leader, regardless of your job. The Marines don’t want to be led by chicken-s@#t people who get badgered or tricked into signing some sort of life-skewing contract. It would poison the peerless Gung-ho, patriotic spirit that makes the Marine Corps famous.

If you don’t want the Marine Corps, they don’t want you.

I am not your typical student. I spent six years on active duty as an enlisted Marine before “getting out” and coming to UND to pursue an aviation degree. During those six years I absolutely fell in love with the Marine Corps, to the point of addiction. It’s the intangibles and your fellow Marines who make the Marine Corps so awesome. You won't find the level of camaraderie and passion towards one's job anywhere else. Being in the Marine Corps is priceless, but it is something that ca not be fully explained to an outsider. I never wanted to leave the Marine Corps, but I did so in order to obtain my Aviation Degree. After getting out, I missed it and immediately began looking into becoming an officer and aviator. Within one month of returning to civilian life, I joined the PLC Program and the rest is history.

Immediately after looking into the PLC Program, I realized it was quite a bit different than my experience with my enlisted recruiter. My enlisted recruiter never really pressured me too much (like some of my friends who went in the Army), but they were definitely more proactive with me. In contrast, my OSO never called or pestered me. He told me what the program had to offer and the rest was up to me. I had to pursue the program in other words. Once I showed him I was committed to doing so, he became more involved but he never chased me or called me fifty times per day to get me to sign a piece of paper.

In retrospect, that makes sense, but it wasn't what I expected. If you think about it though, his very title insinuates that rather than being a Recruiter he is a Selection Officer. He has the power, and takes the time, to discriminate among potential candidates for the program. He is judging you to decide if you’re good for the Marine Corps, not the other way around. How quickly and enthusiastically you pursue your chance for a contract determines how quickly and easily you get selected. After all, if you can back out any time, who’s got all the chips? You. However, the OSO must protect his end and make sure the Marines are getting “the right stuff." That's where the selection part come into play. Don’t worry, if you think that because you’re not Joe Commando right now, you might not impress him enough, just realize his job is recognizing potential, not combat-capable super-heroes.

You can quit ANY TIME in the program, including before, during, and after training at Officer Candidates School.

Another fact that took a little time to realize was that you really could “test drive the Marine Corps” as an Officer Candidate. When I enlisted into the Marines, the stereotype was true of recruitment – the minute I signed the contract, not Hell nor high water could get me out of it until I’d done my time in Boot Camp and came home a rough-hewn instrument of war. People that didn’t make it simply couldn’t hack it and were sent home, but nobody quit. Nobody was allowed to quit.

NOT TRUE OF THE OFFICER SIDE. In fact, about 35% of the applicants who attend OCS will fail to make it through, probably 95% of that group chooses to quit. It's called "Dropping on Request." Others will complete OCS and disenroll from the program after returning to school. No kidding, you can disenroll at any time prior to graduating from college, and you don't even need a reason for doing so!

I am in no way suggesting that you enter this program with the intention of not seeing in through. I simply want you to know the option is always there. With a guaranteed pilot contract signed, sealed, and delivered before you even set foot on a Marine installation, why wait around hemming n’ hawing? You can sign now, like I did, see what it’s like; get your kicks, and THEN decide if you like it or not. Too good to be true? Email me, and I’ll send you my contract for a Marine pilot slot. I believe in it that much.

The Marines are a breed apart. We are a few good aviators, a few good cannon-cockers, and a few good tank drivers, all supporting a few DAMN good infantrymen. We are all proud members of an elite Corps that has been the first into – and the last out of – every U.S. military engagement for 231 years.

Semper Fi

George Mellone
gmellone@aero.und.edu

Think you got what it takes?

Send me an email. I’m not a recruiter. I’m a passionate patriot with a guaranteed pilot slot who knows exactly what he wants and how he’s gonna get it. I can show you the way.