The Basic School

The Basic School
The Basic School insignia
Active	N/A
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Training
Role	Train and educate newly commissioned or appointed United States Marine Corps officers
Part of	Training Command (TECOM)
Garrison/HQ	Camp Barrett, Virginia
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel George W. Smith, Jr.

The Basic School (TBS) is where all newly commissioned United States Marine Corps officers are sent to learn the art and science of being an Officer of Marines. TBS currently lasts 26 weeks. During those 26 weeks, the new officers are given extensive classroom, field, and practical application training on subjects ranging from weapons and tactics to leadership and protocol. Whether commissioned from the Naval Academy, NROTC or one of the other Officer Candidate School (OCS) routes, TBS is the first stop for new Marine officers. During TBS, the officers are selected for a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) ranging from Infantry to Military Police to Naval Aviator. Following TBS, the Officer will attend one or more additional schools to be trained in that particular specialty prior to being assigned to a unit in the Operating Forces.

The Basic School, a formal school within Training Command, is located at Camp Barrett. Camp Barrett is 11 miles west of Marine Corps Base Quantico in Stafford County, Virginia. Each year, over 1,700 new officers are trained to lead Marines.

Mission Statement

Train and educate newly commissioned or appointed officers in the high standards of professional knowledge, esprit-de-corps, and leadership required to prepare them for duty as company grade officers in the operating forces, with particular emphasis on the duties, responsibilities and warfighting skills required of a rifle platoon commander.

Instruction at TBS

The most critical aspect of instruction at The Basic School is the Five Horizontal Themes. They were created to clearly define the expectations of every student officer at TBS. These themes are not only taught to the student officers at The Basic School, they cross all subordinate units; from the instructors all the way down to the private who issues the student his weapon at the armory. The purpose for this is consistency, unity of effort and shared vision among all personel at TBS.

• A Man or Woman of Exemplary Character
  • Has a clear understanding that a Marine commission brings with it "special trust and confidence" and the highest expectations of the American people.
  • Devoted to our Corps Values of Honor, Courage and Commitment
  • Possesses a moral compass that unerringly points to "do the right thing" - an ethical warrior
• Devoted to Leading Marines 24/7
  • Embraces the "exceptional and unremitting" responsibility to one's Marines and their families
  • Inspires and instills confidence in his/her Marines during times of adversity
  • Adheres to and enforces standards regardless of time of day, location or duty status
  • Treats all Marines and Sailors with dignity and respect
  • Dedicated to a lifetime of study and learning about the profession of arms
• Decides, Communicates, Acts
  • Can think critically and arrive at an acceptable decision based on sound tactical thinking within their commander's intent
  • Communicates clearly both orally and in writing in tactical and administrative situations with emphasis on issuing clear, meaningful orders and guidance
  • Has a bias for action - seizes the initiative and acts instead of waiting for the perfect sight pictrure or direction from higher
  • Once action is initiated, acts with boldness and determination
• A Warfighter
  • A compotent combat leader, grounded in the basic infantry skills, and characterized by sound judgment and agressiveness in execution
  • Educated in the fundamentals of manuever warfare, tactics, combined arms, and the time-tested principles of battle
  • Maintains an offensive mindset throughout - proactive, not reactive
• Mentally and Physically Tough
  • Imbued with a warrior spirit and able to thrive in a complex and chaotic environment and persevere despite the obstacles to mission accomplishment
  • Posesses the self-discipline to push past preconceived limits

Training Evolutions

TBS students prior to a live-fire exercise

Students conduct a series of urban assaults during MOUT training

• Rifle Range with M16A2
• Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
• FEX I (Field Exercise 1) - a three day evolution that acts as a introduction into infantry Squad level tactics. The first two days are blank fire against a opposing forces and the last day is the live fire attack against pop-up targets.
  • Day 1 - Squad attacks and offensive maneuvers using blank ammunition with a new "squad leader" for each separate attack.
  • Day 2 - Same as Day 1. The reason for the repetition is for the students to have "brilliance in the basics."
  • Day 3,4, or 5 - The students conduct a squad attack at a live fire range. There is a day attack and an illuminated night attack at the range. Demolitions are detonated in pits on the range during the conduct of the attack to simulate explosions, artillery, mortars.
• Patrol FEX (Field Excersise)
  • Day 1 or 2 - Students conduct an initial daytime security patrol, called I-Day.
  • Day 3 or 4 - Students conduct a daytime security partol, immediately followed by a nighttime ambush patrol.
• FEX II (Field Exercise 2)
  • Day 1 - Students conduct platoon level offensive or defensive operations. This is a platoon "pure" FEX, as the platoon has no attachments, detacthments, or supporting arms that is not organic to the squad.
  • Day 2 - Students conduct whichever exercise was not completed on Day 1.
  • Day 3 - Students conduct a platoon pure live attack at a live fire range. The attack is broke up into one squad as a support by fire element that supresses the objective while the other two squads are act as a manuever element and assault the objective by rushes.
• FEX III (Field Exercise 3)
  • Day 1 - Movement to Contact and Deliberate Attack
  • Day 2 - All day preparation for a night attack that night.
  • Day 3 - Platoon (reinforced) in the Defense
  • Day 4 - Platoon (reinforced) in the Defense with another platoon attacking at night
• Convoy
• MOUT (Military Operation in Urban Terrain)
• AMPHEX (Amphibious Field Exercise)

School Staff Personnel

The Basic School is run and taught by the permanent personnel who are stationed at Camp Barrett, Marine Corps Base Quantico, members of Instructor Battalion, The Basic School.

• Instructor Battalion
  • Headquarters and Service Company (H&S Co.)
    • Warfighting Instructor Section (The Bullpen)
  • Combat Service Support Company (CSS Co.)
    • Artillery Instructor Battery (AIB)
    • Communications Platoon
    • Motor Transport Platoon
    • Motor Transport Maintenance Platoon
  • Combat Instructor Company (CI Co.)
    • Enlisted Warfighting Instructor Platoon (The Dugout Platoon)
    • Infantry Platoon
    • Weapons Platoon
    • Engineer Platoon
  • Enlisted Warfighting Instructor Course (EWIC)
• Martial Arts Center of Excellence (MACE)
• Corporal's Leadership Course

See also

• United States Marine Corps Boot Camp
• Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
• Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
• Organization of the United States Marine Corps

References

Notes

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

Web

• TBS Official Website
• Official Descriptions MOS's
• "The Basic School", The Making of a Marine Officer, MarineTimes.com.
• Quantico: Marine Combat Development Command - The Basic School