The Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course is a grueling unapologetic machine, producing only a few hundred elite, light infantry officers per year.
On a quarterly basis, about 100 candidates attempt to survive 86 days of pain, brutal conditioning, and "live-fire" game theory designed to weed out all non-hackers.
Only 80 percent pass the course, sometimes fewer. The rest, IOC mercilessly spits out to become truck drivers and public relations reps — anything but infantry.
Most long distance endurance tests are accompanied by intelligence tests — on paper, in an air conditioned room — or a field intelligence test — tactics, on your feet, possibly to the sound of rounds passing through the air. Call for fire, long distance land navigation, forced marches, 20 miles to the fight, planning, executing, calling a casualty evacuation, grouping your Marines and issuing orders, killing the enemy, bringing everyone home alive, in one piece, while more exhausted than you ever thought possible.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs, assured America his decision to allow women into combat roles is not a preamble to watering down physical requirements. So while the U.S. military has opened the infantry to women, female soldiers still have to make the cut.
Thus far, the course has been attempted by only two women — in September 2012 — and both of them failed. The Marine Corps has plans to send another 90 through the course this fiscal year, simply to see if women can meet the minimum general requirement.
'No Easy Day': Day 1 is about as easy as it gets.
Prospective students show up and report as all Marines do: in their service alpha uniforms, carrying all their issued gear, and the all important Service Record Books.
It's a test of patience: They'll attend a series of short orientations; do reams of paperwork; and set up their racks and living quarters for the next ten weeks.
Day 2 will be brutally early for everyone, and so will every day after that.
"They drop you off in the woods, zero five in the morning, hand you an envelope, and say 'Go!," one officer tells us.
This is the indoctrination test, or indoc.
The indoc is just to see if you have what it takes to do 15 to 20 miles of land navigation (land-nav), while carrying a rifle and necessary gear.
There's a reason the weight of the M-16 strap is on the Sergeant's exam: Every ounce matters.
They'll wear you down to your most ragged physical point, then hit you with strategic decision tests.
Decisive navigation is elemental for Marine leaders.
Defining points on a map, following them in real time, while simulating hostile conditions is called "grunt stakes." Each stake tests a slice of infantry training.
- Calling for fire
- Calling a casualty evacuation (CASEVAC)
- breaking down and rebuilding weapons
Most of it's literally done on the run. It's a timed course, and most finish by noon the same day.
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