Until I went to Quantico I was a civilian. For the 39 days I was at Officer Candidates School, I was referred to as Candidate. About 5 weeks into OCS we received our orders to TBS. I remember sitting in the classroom next to Candidate L. and seeing the words “Second Lieutenant” before my name. It was the first and last time I would see it printed that way.
Only a few days later while being admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital I was given a hospital bracelet which had Sergeant written on it. Apparently because we were receiving E-5 pay at OCS, I was thought to be a Sergeant.
Since being discharged from the Hospital, I have been being paid “incapacitation pay” by the Marines. Unfortunately for my wallet, those that NPQ from OCS receive a Private’s pay. So now I am in the system as Private. Hopefully one day this civilian will once again read “Second Lieutenant” before his name.
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3 responses to “My name is Civilian-Candidate-2nd Lt-Sgt-Pvt-Openbah…”
If this was a different occasion, the name of this post would be a really bad thing. Going from 2ndLt to Sergeant to Private would be a personal and Marine Corps record for demotion.
But luckily we all know what you’ve been through and know that you haven’t been demoted at all.
I am sure you will see it again one day soon!
I know this is very late but it reminds me, I remember the day when my OCS class received those orders. It was so motivating. I also remember the day I found out I was going to be NPQ’ed, that same night the uniform vendors showed up with our uniforms, all finished and tailored. Dang.