What is "TBS"?

For a while now, every time I'm on the phone, I struggle to find the correct words to explain what Kevin is doing down in Virginia. As most of you have heard: "Its a boot camp for Officers." This is clearly a very feeble attempt at explaining...but let me show you what I found from a Marine website that is used to explain to the Marines themselves what they're getting into.

"After earning a commission, your first assignment as a Marine Officer will be at The Basic School in Quantico, VA. In this intense six-month program, you’ll build on the skills learned as an officer candidate to turn your leadership potential into command experience.

Leadership, Knowledge and Esprit de Corps

It is a privilege to command Marines, and your responsibility as an officer to provide the best possible leadership. Guided by your mentors, you will build a foundation of leadership for life. In the classroom and in field exercises, you’ll gain the tactical knowledge you need to make critical command decisions and earn the respect of your Marines.

The Basic School instills a pride in the legacy you carry as a Marine Officer. As you study the history and traditions of the Marine Corps, you will become part of a lifelong brotherhood and gain the military virtue and bearing of an officer.

Preparing to Command

Training at The Basic School emphasizes the role of an infantry platoon commander. Patrolling and war-fighting tactics are among the skills you must further develop to lead your Marines by example. You will learn to mentor, train and develop the individual Marines in your command. You will also learn how your role contributes to the overall Marine Corps mission and organizational structure.

In the final phase, a five-day offensive/defensive exercise and a four-day combat exercise, beginning with a helicopter assault, will test everything you’ve learned.

You will leave The Basic School an effective leader, ready to command with confidence. Next, you’ll continue on to specialized training to develop expertise in your assigned Military Occupational Specialty.

The Marine Corps assigns company-grade officers to instructor duty at TBS, where they shape the officers who will be placed in critical leadership roles. Throughout The Basic School, second lieutenants develop their leadership skills, tactical knowledge and command presence.

In every exercise throughout TBS, your instructors challenge you. They push you to respond to situations and solve problems as a Marine Officer. Their mentorship will help you to develop your own leadership style.

Developing these 11 leadership principles will help make you a better officer. Together, they will form a set of traits and values that define your character as a leader.

Adopting these principles will guide your actions with your Marines and your unit, and provide direction throughout your career. The skills you learn now will stay with you long after you’ve finished training.

The principles are also an important tool for self-evaluation. As you progress, you can use them to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and seek self-improvement.

1) Be technically and tactically proficient.

2.) Know yourself and seek self-improvement.

3.) Know your Marines and look out for their welfare.

4.) Keep your Marines informed.

5.) Set and example.

6.) Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished.

7.) Train your Marines as a team.

8.) Make sound and timely decisions.

9.) Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates.

10.) Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities.

11.) Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.

Decide, Communicate, Execute

As a commanding officer, your Marines will look to you for both guidance and orders. With every mission, it's your responsibility to plan a course of action, deliver it to your Marines and ensure they have the tools to accomplish the objective.

Learn from Experience

You will gain experience making decisions and delivering combat orders during tactical training exercises. You’ll learn to trust your training, and work with the senior enlisted Marines alongside you. Preparing and delivering orders throughout training will prepare you to deliver clear commands on any mission.

As a second lieutenant assigned to an infantry unit, you could command a platoon of 41 Marines within your first year. You will need to evaluate each Marine’s abilities, and decide how best to position them for success. Platoon commanders work with the senior enlisted Marines in their unit, who usually have several years of experience. The teamwork between the platoon commander and platoon sergeant is critical to accomplishing any mission.

The Marine Corps war-fighting philosophy and infantry tactics you will study lay the groundwork for operations from basic patrolling to complex urban warfare. The critical thinking skills you develop here will prepare you to make sound decisions no matter what type of unit you lead.

While The Basic School curriculum emphasizes the skills needed to command an infantry platoon, lessons here apply to Marine Officers in every leadership role. You will build a foundation of military knowledge and gain experience in the real responsibilities of leadership, from accomplishing a mission to working with your Marines.

Training progresses through four phases; the first focuses on the individual technical and tactical skills required of an officer. In the second and third phases, you’ll build on those skills and prepare to lead by example in command of a platoon. Finally, in the fourth phase, you will study the strategic organization that makes the Marine Corps our nation’s expeditionary force in readiness, and prepare to apply your leadership skills in action."

Now, does everyone see why its difficult to explain? Its a 6 month long grueling experience that tests the Marines to their ultimate limits. They spend very little time at home, and spend the majority of their lives on base, training, studying, or finding time to sleep whenever they can. This program is designed to be hard; physically and mentally. Kevin and I will spend the majority of the 6 months away from one another. He will typically be home for only a few hours a day (enough time to eat, shower, and go to sleep). Other times, he may not make it home at all and spend the night in the barracks. There may be incidences when you won't hear from him for weeks or months at a time simply because he doesn't have the luxury to call or email. He loves you all and appreciates your support - unfortunately its just one of those times in his career that he doesn't have time for anyone...including me! The 6 months we're here, I may be the only one you can get in contact with. I suppose you'll just have to deal with my glorious voice on the end of the line instead of his.