usmclpa-blog

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Tip #1

Stand when a senior officer enters the room. Stand when someone speaks to you.

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Thoughts on the Thirds System at TBS

The thirds system was made so that highly ranked officers are spread out across the fleet, and a less “sexy” Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) is not filled with below average officers. When I first joined, I thought it was an interesting concept, but it made for a lot of job uncertainty. After experiencing 10 months of Officer Candidate School and The Basic School (TBS), we were constantly reminded that we must first be focused on being a leader of Marines, regardless of our MOS. Still, I will remember that fateful MOS day, partly because of the ridiculous PT my Staff Platoon Commander (SPC) made us do and partly because I was so afraid I might not like my MOS. Fortunately, I got my #1 choice.

Recently, I spoke to a man who programmed the algorithm that automates MOS selection for new officers at TBS. I came away understanding the algorithm a lot better. The following is what I took away, but bear in mind that he explained things really fast, and I didn’t 100% understand everything he said. That said, hope this helps...

First, I’ll assume you are an officer at TBS, so let’s rehash what you probably already know. Officers with aviation or law contracts are excluded due to the fact their Primary MOS’s is (for the most part) already decided. Officers who are reservists are also excluded from the thirds system due to the additional parameters inherent in the reservist program. Additionally, the “competitive air” contracts are excluded. Thus, only the “ground-assignable” officers are left.

Officers are then classified into “thirds” based on their TBS grades: top third, middle third, and bottom third. Note that the grades are current as of the time of the actual MOS selection, not the final TBS grades. Ground-assignable officers are then assigned their Primary MOS’s based on how they rank the entire list of PMOS’s, starting from the top of each third and winding down to the bottom of the respective third. Those in the top of the thirds are more likely going to receive the MOS’s of their choice while the ones at the bottom are usually shit out of luck.

Now, all of the MOS’s are divided amongst the thirds. For example, if there are 50 0302 Infantry Officer MOS slots available for a class, those 50 slots might be divided up as 15 top / 15 middle / 15 bottom / 5 general. This is done to ensure no MOS is overrepresented in any specific third. However, the more competitive MOS’s (intel, air traffic controller, etc.) tend to be shifted to the top and middle thirds only. The “general” category is something that the programmer mentioned that I don’t understand -- I just remember it as peculiar.

The algorithm works by looking at your #1 MOS preference and then checks to see if you qualify for it based on the availability of the MOS in your third and other parameters. If you do not meet the parameters set or the slots for your #1 MOS are exhausted, the algorithm will not select you for that MOS and move to your #2. If you don’t qualify for your #3 or that MOS is exhausted, you move on again and so forth.

Now, the additional parameters other than the number of MOS slots available are TS qualified, TS-SCI qualified, and “not ground.” The TS and TS-SCI qualifications are basically whether you submitted an intel package at the beginning of the TBS period of instruction. If you did not, obviously you will not meet those criteria. TS applies to all the intel MOS’s, except for 0206 Signals Intelligence Officer, which requires the higher TS-SCI. Finally, the “not ground” parameter will invalidate your MOS choice for a ground combat MOS. “Not ground” is the only input that someone else (specifically, your SPC / TBS staff) has in the algorithm. The five MOS’s considered ground combat are 0203, 0302, 1302, 1802, and 1803.

For example, let’s say you are ranked in the middle of the top third, and your list looks like this: 1) 0204, 2) 0206, 3) 1302, 4) 5803, 5) 0402 ... and so forth. Let’s also say that you did not turn in an intel package, and your SPC did not believe you cut it for Ground Combat and marked you “not ground.” Because you did not complete the intel package, you are neither TS or TS-SCI qualified, and the algorithm will knock you out of 0204 and 0206. Then, because you were marked as “not ground,” the algorithm will knock you out of 1302, which is considered a ground combat MOS. Let’s say there were very limited slots for 5803, and the slots for your third are already filled by higher ranked officers. Thus, you would be knocked out of 5803 as well. Finally, the algorithm comes to 0402, and let’s say it still has slots available. Since there are no special criteria for this MOS and it is available, you are selected to be a 0402 Logistics Officer. Congratulations? Not quite.

The Executive Officer (XO) of your TBS company receives the automated selection results, and then he/she along with the SPC’s trade MOS’s of the company. The algorithm programmer with whom I spoke looked at final MOS’s assigned compared with MOS’s that were selected by the algorithm over a three-year period. According to him, the difference in final MOS’s assigned from the algorithm-selected MOS’s was approximately 30% on average, with the highest deviance a whopping 55%.

Why does the TBS staff trade MOS’s? Why don’t they just let the algorithm do its thing and accept the results? As a junior officer who has not been behind the curtain at TBS, I assume that TBS staff is trying to balance several things. Most likely, the staff is trying to assign everyone an MOS that is high on their lists as much as possible. Or maybe you may think, as I did at TBS, that the staff just wants to have nice stats (large % got something in their top 5, some % got in their top 10, and minimal % got below that). However, the algorithm is blind and will choose an officer’s 24th choice if that is all that is left. In fact, while I was talking to the programmer, I saw one officer who was selected by the algorithm for his very last ranked MOS, which was 0302; however, he was assigned as a 0602, which was his first choice.

Another likely consideration being balanced is the SPC’s judgment of a specific Marine’s aptitude for an MOS. While the TBS staff can mark you as “not ground” for ground combat MOS’s, there are no other parameters for the other MOS’s. The TBS staff wants to put the company where the majority will bloom. If one officer was selected for her 1st choice while another got his 20th choice, an SPC may have to sacrifice the officer with the 1st choice so that the officer with the 20th choice can have a more palatable MOS. If TBS followed the algorithm strictly, it’s likely the Marine Corps would have a retention issue for junior officers. It’s not perfect, but it makes sense.

Final “saved rounds”... 1) Given the significant differences between what it selected and what was finally assigned, the best course of action is tell your SPC what you want. Do research beforehand, and make sure they know in your initial counseling and try to be as consistent as possible. 2) Don’t try to game the thirds system. Even if you are near the bottom of a third, don’t fail on purpose. Your ranking at TBS can affect the rest of your Marine Corps career (or at least that’s what they tell us). Still, your SPC may go to bat for you if you were consistent. 3) Finally, trust in the system. You may or may not ultimately be very happy with your MOS. However, there are extraordinary opportunities in every MOS, and as an officer, you should be focused on making the MAGTF succeed. If you’re still not happy, then try to lateral move to another MOS, but you’ll only be competitive for anything if you “bloom where you’re planted.”

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MARADMIN’s

Check and read MARADMIN’s regularly. if a MARADMIN applies to you, read the MARADMIN thoroughly and follow the instructions. Some captain just got assigned by his monitor to “the depot” when that probably could have been avoided by following simple instructions in a MARADMIN that applied to him.

Yes, they’re terribly formatted and hard to read, but if you don’t, you might get orders to a less than optimal billet.

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Fitreps 2

1. When you go to an MOS school, you will have an unobserved academic fitrep. It will be fairly straightforward for Billet Description / Accomplishments. 1a. Be sure to include PME, Awards, etc. if you have belted up in MCMAP, received an LOA, etc.

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Fitreps 1

1. Start a new MRO Worksheet as soon as possible 1a. Ask for your RS’s last five EDIPI for the MROW 2. At your initial counseling, ask for billet description (usually you get from person you’re replacing), so you can fill in the MROW 3. Over time, fill out your MROW with the significant tasks you’ve completed in Billet Accomplishments 3a. Write Billet Description and Billet Accomplishments bullet-style 3b. Each bullet in Billet Accomplishments should relate to a respective bullet in Billet Description. E.g., “Maintain training and readiness of gear” in Billet Description relates to “Maintain # pieces of gear worth $# million during # exercises” 3c. Use specific details (including numbers/percentages, condition of equipment, etc.) and action verbs in Billet Accomplishments

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As an officer, you’ll have 1,000 things to do and 100 hours to do it. You need to learn what you can skip and what will get you shot in the face.

Maj H.

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How to Address Generals

Heard from a senior officer…

When addressing a general officer, it is customary to address them by their rank, i.e. “General” rather than the typical “sir” or “ma’am.” However, if you intend to carry a conversation or are delivering a presentation, you would address them as “sir” / “ma’am.”

Addressing any other senior officer by their rank tends to be improper. It seems that you are talking down to them or at least putting them on your level by addressing their rank. That is why we always use “sir” / “ma’am” when speaking to higher ranking officers. For generals, that is not the case. The general officer ranks are quite uncommon that it is appropriate and expected for you to address them by their rank.

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Learning Resource Center

The LRC or “library” is where you can use a computer to log into CAC-enabled websites if you don’t have a CAC reader. It’s where a lot of the enlisted get their MarineNet classes done.

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Duty

New officers don’t stand duty for the first 30 days they’re with a unit since they’re still getting used to the unit, checking in, etc.

Apparently, summer is the worst time for duty since many people are PCS-ing, so the duty roster shrinks. I was told not to be surprised if I have duty twice a month during that time.

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Commissioned

As you may have guessed, I am a new officer in the United States Marine Corps. As I have begun to navigate the world of the military, I have quite often found myself unprepared. The military world takes some time to figure out since it’s so different from the civilian world.

I decided to make a blog with the primary purpose of documenting things as I cut my path through the Marines. However, I figured why not post all this shit up, so other enterprising lieutenants can have a resource (and perhaps even contribute to my own learning as well) or save face by learning from my mistakes. Additionally, I am posting up thoughts, ideas, and experiences, so that one day when I’m out of the Corps, I can look back and laugh at myself. Feel free to laugh at me now.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at <usmclpa@gmail.com>.