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had a lot of work to do. I began running gradually increasing my speed and distance. The Prince William ‘Forest Park’ near Quantico provided the perfect place to get the aerobic training I needed—it had endless trails that were interconnected so you could alter your ’course’ for whatever distance you wanted. I made sure to include the infamous ‘ hill trail ‘in my weekly regimen. The hill trail was located at the Officer’s Candidate School training area on the Base. I also worked out on the ‘obstacle courses’ and did all the exercises required for the ‘Physical Readiness Test’—I knew I would have to be in better shape than the young officer candidates coming to Quantico from all over the United States ( Quantico is the only place where Marine Officers are trained). The military academies send some officers to Quantico to complete the ‘Basic School’ component of the training which is located on a different site on the Base. That portion of the training begins after OCS and extends for six more months and is known as ‘the finishing school’ for Marine Officers. This is where the officers receive in depth training in all aspects of the USMC. Leadership, history of the Corps., infantry tactics, weaponry, land navigation, command responsibilities, proper military ‘etiquette’ , etc. to add the polish to become ‘an officer and a gentleman’.
Soon, I had my first class of Officer Candidates running the ‘hill trail’ that I had used and cursed as a student myself a couple years earlier. The weeks progressed and I had the opportunity to coach my platoon under actual ‘field conditions’ to prepare them for the Viet Nam War which they all would be engaged in within the next year. I shared my experiences and answered their
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