First, the Infantry Officer Course changes the b@ll-busting Combat Endurance Test, or CET, from a "must pass" requirement to more of an assessment-type event. Failing it, in other words, doesn't get you immediately dropped from the course.
Now, as our former MOS 0302 Marine Corps infantry officers here in the LR have pointed out, the CET wasn't always a vital facet of the course, at least in its present iteration, so I guess a change to it may not mean that the Corps is lowering the IOC qualification standards to make it easier for women Marine (WM) officers to make it through. Maybe.
Or maybe not. Because the Marine Corps has announced yet another change to the qualification gates at IOC (which is legendary for its toughness). This time, the Corps is reducing the number of evaluated hikes from six to three. There's still a total of nine hikes, with three of them constituting a learning opportunity, I guess, and some time to round into field shape? (I'm sure our 0302s will explain it.) Fair enough, and the Marine Corps knows what's best for the training and qualification of its infantry officers, without a doubt.
Apparently, Marine officers used to have to pass five of the six hikes under the old curriculum. Now it's down to just three of the six? I'm guessing these hikes are with full combat load and there's no way they're not physically taxing (though not as tough as the CET). Forced marches or hikes aren't a killer if you're in Marine Corps infantry shape, though. I know this from experience. .
So why the drop in evaluated hikes from six to three? The official line from the Marine Corps (via the Marine Corps Times) is that "towering attrition rates" have caused the Corps to miss its infantry officer numbers in recent years but, with these changes, the Marines hit their target for the first time since 2008. Fair enough.
This report says something a little different, though:
"The U.S. Marine Corps has relaxed hiking standards for prospective officers seeking to graduate from the service’s punishing Infantry Officer Course amid disquieting attrition rates.
Marines will still be required to participate in nine hikes as part of the course, but the shift has reduced the number of evaluated hikes from six to three, the Marine Corps Times reported on Wednesday. Marines are required to pass all three evaluated hikes to graduate, whereas previously they had to pass five of the six evaluated hikes…
A former Marine Infantry Officer, who now serves as a congressional aide, said the modifications to IOC have raised flags among service members who feared the Corps would lower standards after the Obama administration opened all military combat roles to women in 2015.
The aide said the change to the hiking requirement is particularly alarming."
The Marine Corps is still denying these changes are designed to make it easier for WM officers to pass IOC. But some in the Department of Defense are suggesting that rising attrition rates among officers are leading to the lowering of requirements across the board and over all the services.
There have also been some anonymous comments from active duty Marine officers about such changes:
“Hiking is such an integral part of leading your Marines, whether in training or some of the combat situations we’re in, and the idea of an officer not being able to stay with his men and, in fact, lead his men from the front on a hike is beyond the pale.”
Speaking from personal experience, Marine Corps infantry officers leading troops in the field ALWAYS lead from the front of the column, and they NEVER fall back into the rear unless they're grievously injured or they've been seriously wounded. And these overland hikes or forced marches are a vital part of the infantry world. You've got to get yourself and your troops from one coordinate to another in good order, with about 100 to 115 pounds of gear in many cases, and at the end, be ready to close with the enemy, if necessary, and destroy him. To do that, you and your Marines (and your Navy hospital corpsmen, naturally ;-) must be in shape.
Hopefully, much study has indicated to the Marine Corps that requiring passage of only three of six evaluated hikes or forced marches isn't a big deal, and the Corps isn't reducing the number to make it "easier" to make it through the Infantry Officer Course.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
Now, as our former MOS 0302 Marine Corps infantry officers here in the LR have pointed out, the CET wasn't always a vital facet of the course, at least in its present iteration, so I guess a change to it may not mean that the Corps is lowering the IOC qualification standards to make it easier for women Marine (WM) officers to make it through. Maybe.
Or maybe not. Because the Marine Corps has announced yet another change to the qualification gates at IOC (which is legendary for its toughness). This time, the Corps is reducing the number of evaluated hikes from six to three. There's still a total of nine hikes, with three of them constituting a learning opportunity, I guess, and some time to round into field shape? (I'm sure our 0302s will explain it.) Fair enough, and the Marine Corps knows what's best for the training and qualification of its infantry officers, without a doubt.
Apparently, Marine officers used to have to pass five of the six hikes under the old curriculum. Now it's down to just three of the six? I'm guessing these hikes are with full combat load and there's no way they're not physically taxing (though not as tough as the CET). Forced marches or hikes aren't a killer if you're in Marine Corps infantry shape, though. I know this from experience. .
So why the drop in evaluated hikes from six to three? The official line from the Marine Corps (via the Marine Corps Times) is that "towering attrition rates" have caused the Corps to miss its infantry officer numbers in recent years but, with these changes, the Marines hit their target for the first time since 2008. Fair enough.
This report says something a little different, though:
"The U.S. Marine Corps has relaxed hiking standards for prospective officers seeking to graduate from the service’s punishing Infantry Officer Course amid disquieting attrition rates.
Marines will still be required to participate in nine hikes as part of the course, but the shift has reduced the number of evaluated hikes from six to three, the Marine Corps Times reported on Wednesday. Marines are required to pass all three evaluated hikes to graduate, whereas previously they had to pass five of the six evaluated hikes…
A former Marine Infantry Officer, who now serves as a congressional aide, said the modifications to IOC have raised flags among service members who feared the Corps would lower standards after the Obama administration opened all military combat roles to women in 2015.
The aide said the change to the hiking requirement is particularly alarming."
The Marine Corps is still denying these changes are designed to make it easier for WM officers to pass IOC. But some in the Department of Defense are suggesting that rising attrition rates among officers are leading to the lowering of requirements across the board and over all the services.
There have also been some anonymous comments from active duty Marine officers about such changes:
“Hiking is such an integral part of leading your Marines, whether in training or some of the combat situations we’re in, and the idea of an officer not being able to stay with his men and, in fact, lead his men from the front on a hike is beyond the pale.”
Speaking from personal experience, Marine Corps infantry officers leading troops in the field ALWAYS lead from the front of the column, and they NEVER fall back into the rear unless they're grievously injured or they've been seriously wounded. And these overland hikes or forced marches are a vital part of the infantry world. You've got to get yourself and your troops from one coordinate to another in good order, with about 100 to 115 pounds of gear in many cases, and at the end, be ready to close with the enemy, if necessary, and destroy him. To do that, you and your Marines (and your Navy hospital corpsmen, naturally ;-) must be in shape.
Hopefully, much study has indicated to the Marine Corps that requiring passage of only three of six evaluated hikes or forced marches isn't a big deal, and the Corps isn't reducing the number to make it "easier" to make it through the Infantry Officer Course.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."