A Road Map to the Marine Enlisted Officer Program

When I first met my husband, he was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps with 2 years left to decide whether he wanted to reenlist or transition into Civilian life.  Ultimately, he wanted to make a bigger impact on his fellow Marines in ways he felt he could only do as an Officer. 

Out of curiosity, his talkative self asked a Captain in the Marine Corps how he became an Officer after spending several years as an Enlisted Marine.  Through this conversation, my husband came to learn about the MECEP program.  It seemed like a hidden gem within the Marine Corps and a possible solution to his predicament.  

The Marine Enlisted Officer Program (MECEP) is a program for current Enlisted Marines who wish to commission within the USMC as an Officer.  Through this program, Enlisted Marines have the opportunity to obtain a college degree while still on active duty.  While attending college, they will be attached to the college’s NROTC unit & be regarded as staff members of the unit.

The Road to MECEP

In general, the MECEP program requires submitting an application, being accepted into the program, attending Officer Candidate School (OCS), attending college & receiving a Bachelor’s degree, then commissioning & attending The Basic School (TBS).

Application Process

Requirements

• Must take 1 of the 3 following tests & score a minimum of 22 on the ACT, 1000 on the SAT (for ONLY math & reading/verbal), or a 74 on the ASVAB 
• Must have 12 total college credits (3 English, 3 math or science, & 6 other credits) from any college/university 
• Letters of Recommendation (LORs) are optional
• Must have a Commander’s endorsement at each level of the endorsing chain of command up to the first General Officer (GO) or equivalent.  
• After selection into the program, there is a 6 year commitment to the Marine Corps.  You may need to extend &/or reenlist to meet this requirement. 
• Must meet program & medical eligibility requirements prior to submitting application. Waivers will not be considered. 

Selection Board

• About 3-4 months after the submission deadline, the Board will convene to make a determination.  Be sure to check the MARADMIN when it’s released to see if you have been selected! 
• If selected, additional orders will be disbursed with information about OCS.  
• Once selected, you need to graduate from OCS.  You must also apply to & be accepted into a college with an NROTC program. 

Helpful Hints

• Pre-commissioning physical must be dated within 1 year of checking in to OCS
• Ensure that FitRep is updated 
• If you have interest in applying to MECEP, seek mentorship to determine if you are a good fit for the program & ask the Reporting Senior (RS) to recommend you for the program
• Attention to detail & assertiveness will be your friend!  At the end of the day, any minor errors or missed deadlines are the Marine’s fault, regardless of who was responsible for completing the form (i.e. medical, S1, CO, etc.).  Take the time to follow up with individuals involved in successfully completing & submitting your application.  
• Additional information can be found on the MARADMIN

Officer Candidate School (OCS) 

Once you know that you would like to apply to MECEP, start getting ready for OCS!  

Officer Candidate School is a 10-week program located in Quantico, VA & there are 3 OCS classes each year: fall, winter, & summer.  

Think back to the days of Basic Training & find the intrinsic motivation to have a better experience this time around.  While OCS isn’t identical to Basic Training, there are still some similarities & depending on your MOS, you will need to brush up on some things.  

While at OCS, you’ll rotate responsibilities when out in the field and at times will be required to write 5 paragraph orders…so start practicing now!  One of the most important factors to making through all 10 weeks of OCS is injury prevention.  Look up a return to rucking progression and gradually increase running mileage, as well as rucking distance, speed, & weight.  The pace at OCS is about 4 MPH while rucking.  There isn’t much time for rest & the days are long, so it’s important to give your body a gradual increase in intensity before arriving–the last thing you want is to be sent home for a minor injury after spending all of this time applying to the program!

College

After acceptance into the MECEP program, you have 1 year to be accepted into a college with an NROTC program.  To meet college application deadlines & relieve some stress, it is helpful to begin applying to colleges while completing the MECEP application.  Once accepted into your college of choice, defer your start date due to military orders (keep in mind the earliest semester you can begin college).  

Once you officially begin college, you must maintain full time enrollment.  Yes, that includes taking at least 6 credits over the summer.  To maintain retention within the program, a minimum GPA of 2.5 is also required & an undergraduate degree must be obtained within 4 years.  Your undergraduate can be in any major you’d like!  There is also the option of using your GI bill to cover tuition.

Commissioning & The Basic School (TBS)

Congrats! You graduated college & received your undergraduate degree.  After graduation, your NROTC unit will likely host a Commissioning ceremony for all new graduates/Officers.  Here, you will have your first salute as an Officer…so think about which enlisted personnel has helped you on your journey & ask them to be your first salute.  

After Commissioning, you will receive O-1E pay.  This pay is for any O-1 who has at least 4 years of prior service as an enlisted Marine.  This O*E pay will continue until you become Major (field grade), then it will transition to O-4 pay grade. 

Shortly after Commissioning, you will attend TBS in Quantico, VA for 6 months.

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What Changes Can Milspos Expect?

There are several waves of changes you can expect while your SO is a part of this program.  

Officer Candidate School (OCS)

Initially, you can expect similar changes to bootcamp or a deployment/TDY while your SO is at OCS–limited communication, not being able to see him/her until graduation, long days in the field & classroom.  

The Marine will be unaccompanied during this time, but spouses/family can drop the Marine off on check in day.  

During the first 3 weeks of OCS, there will be no communication with the Marine.  After this initial period, you will have limited communication every Sunday.  Cross your fingers that Fire Watch doesn’t intervene with this time!  

When I dropped my husband off, I was nervous the entire drive home that I would get a phone call from him saying that I needed to turn around because they found a minor error in his application & he was dropped from the program.  Luckily that didn’t happen, but I did get a phone call from him during the first 3 weeks because half of his class had COVID & they were allowed to call home to update their families.  

There are some fun parts to OCS for families, though!  There is a Facebook page where updates will be posted & the photographer will share photos of the Marines during their time there.  I remember checking the Facebook page every week with hopes that I would get to see some photos of my husband & it always made my day when I found some!  Getting to hear the stories behind what was happening in those moments made Sunday phone calls even more exciting.  

As the time nears for OCS graduation, you will receive communication regarding time & location. 

On Family Day, the gates typically open at 0500 with Candidates completing The Commander’s Motivational Run early in the morning.  Once Candidates complete the run, they are free to spend the day with you but must return for graduation practice in the late afternoon. 

The following day is the Graduation Parade.  After graduation & awards, you may walk down to meet your Marine & take pictures!  If your Marine forged strong relationships with Marines who already completed college & are officially commissioned as an Officer, he/she may be asked to do that Officer’s first salute. 

College

After OCS, prepare for PCSing wherever your SO chooses to go to school.  The logistics to PCSing are just like any other military move with regards to funding, waiting on orders, finding housing, etc.  Once graduating OCS, your SO will be authorized to begin college during a specific semester.  For the fall class, college will begin in the summer.  If your SO graduates in the spring, then college will begin in the fall.  Finally, if graduating in the summer, college will begin in the spring.  Keep in mind that you still need to wait for orders to be finalized before officially PCSing.  

While each NROTC unit functions slightly differently from one another, there are still similarities.  Checking in with the unit (and quite possibly the nearest Marine Corps base/post) will be required.  Your Marine is technically attached to the closest base, but will “just” be a college student with some staff responsibilities & mentoring of the Midshipmen. 

Commissioning & TBS

After graduation, your Marine will attend TBS, where a barracks room will be provided.  Communication will be limited due to the amount of time spent out in the field. After completing TBS, you can expect life to be similar to how it was when your Marine was enlisted. Unless, of course, he/she chooses to pursue something like becoming a pilot where Flight School & additional training is required.

A Bit of Advice for the Families

As always, be supportive of your significant other if they are interested in pursuing the MECEP program.  Like I said before, my husband considers it one of the hidden gems of the Marine Corps and appreciates the opportunity to live a more “normal” lifestyle for a few years while still being Active Duty.  Of course, your significant other is still in the military so while they may have more freedom & flexibility while in college, there is potential for last minute changes & responsibilities to pop up.