Smoyer graduates from the Officer Basic Course

Trent Smoyer of Twin City successfully completed The Officer Basic Course located at The Basic School on March 7, 2024. The Officer Basic Course is a 29-week course which prepares newly commissioned Marine Corps officers to be provisional rifle platoon commanders. The course consists of classroom, field, and practical application training on weapons, tactics, leadership and protocol. The course is split into three graded categories: Leadership, Academics, and Military Skills. Among the events that must be passed in order to graduate are the 15-mile hike, five written exams, the 5-mile Endurance Course, Final Day Land Navigation, Final Night Land Navigation, and Rifle and Pistol Qualification. Events that simply earn a grade of pass or fail are the 3-,6-,9-, and 12-mile hikes, leadership billets in field exercises, and various decision-making exercises.

Classroom events include topic specific lectures, exams, tactical decision games (TDGs), sand table exercises (STEXs), decision-forcing cases, and small group discussions. There are various field events starting from fireteam and squad level and progressing to platoon-reinforced and company-sized events. These field events involve realistic blank-fire training and live fire ranges.

Just prior to graduation, Smoyer was assigned the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 0207, Air Intelligence, and will continue his training in Dam Neck, VA.

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