Vigorous Bulldog platoon training

For the members of the Norwich University Marine Corps ROTC program, training for Officer Candidate School can be a vigorous task during junior year.

At the start of every spring semester, the contracted or scholarship midshipmen begin training that is specifically designed for those attending OCS in Quantico, Va., at the close of the year. 

This unit of Marine Corps ROTC is known as Bulldog Platoon, an intensely physical and highly motivational asset to the Marine program.

"(Bulldog Platoon) consists of classes, PT and practical application in certain subjects or billets," said 2nd Lt. Jefferey Newman of the United States Marine Corps and recent graduate of Norwich University.

The members of Bulldog Platoon meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Plumley Armory for a 0530 PT session, and at 1400 on Tuesday afternoons for Mil Lab.
According to Scott MacLean, 21, a junior criminal justice major from Norwood, Mass., PT sessions are designed to be more challenging than in the other platoons, aiming to get the MECEPS and contracted midshipmen in top physical condition for OCS.

A required uniform item for the members of Bulldog Platoon is a 15 pound flack jacket, which is a primary piece of equipment used during OCS.  It is to be worn during all of the Bulldog PT sessions.

Mil Lab for the Bull Dog Platoon is more advanced than the typical Mil Lab sessions. It is more advanced with specific OCS training, such as squad tactics and five paragraph OPORDs. 

"(We learned) about the M16, general orders, USMC organization and general military subjects," said Newman, recalling his training with Bulldog Platoon. "We also did very basic land navigation; (it was all) designed to give you a taste for OCS."
When asked how Bulldog Platoon helped him prepare for OCS, Christopher Collins, 22, a senior history major from York, S.C., stated that, as far as training goes, it is much better than being in a regular platoon. "It allows your fitness to increase and you are training with (individuals) you will be (at OCS) with over the summer."

There are two six-week increments to OCS and one 10-week increment. The first is at the end of May, the second in mid-July, and the 10-week program is for the midshipmen doing Platoon Leaders Course, or PLC.

Some Norwich Marines have said  that Bulldog Platoon is a valuable asset for those who are to attend OCS in the summer. 

Adam Sankovsky, 22, a senior accounting major from Bethlehem, Pa., stated that the training he received from Bulldog Platoon was beneficial to him "physically and as far as mentally goes it definitely prepared me for some of the aspects (of OCS)."

Over the years, Bulldog training has modified the amount of physical training conducted during the week.

Sankovsky recalls that during his sophomore year in the Marine department, Bulldog Platoon would conduct physical training every week day, whereas "this year and the past year they have (steered) away from that and made the morning sessions more intense."
"(I saw that my) physical performance was much better," said Newman. "The mental part is something you either have or don't (have)."