April 15, 2002

Marine Corps drills Wharton into shape

By Daniela Matson, WG ‘03

From April 4-5, 80 Wharton students, staff, and sponsors traveled to the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia to learn what they were really made of. The venture, aptly titled "Learning Leadership and Decision Making Under Uncertainty and Complexity," sought to expose us, the future business leaders of the world, to the types of training exercises that have produced generations of successful military leaders. While there are obvious differences between battlefield leadership and corporate leadership, there are also many parallels that can be drawn – especially in the constantly evolving business landscape. We could be nimbler in our decision-making. We could be team players, even from the top. We could lead by example. And we could actively train our subordinates to eventually lead us. Sounds like hogwash? Don't forget that the U.S. Marines has a proven track record – 226 years and running.

The Marines place a premium on leadership, holding that it is the unequivocal link to battlefield success. Not surprisingly, it is the most heavily weighted portion of a candidate's evaluation. Twenty-five per cent is physical fitness, twenty-five per cent is academics and the other fifty per cent lies in leadership skills. Utilizing a $200K Leadership Reaction Course (one of only three in the country and, arguably, the best) along with a well-designed combat course and academics, the Marine Corps consistently produces the best of the best. The only question we had was…could they do the same for us?

Coordinated by the Wharton Veterans Club and the Wharton Leadership Venture Coordinators, the 2002 USMC program promised to offer us a "full-immersion" leadership experience. And full immersion it was. Beginning with our arrival onto the Quantico base we lost our identity as M.B.A. candidates and became Officer Candidates, with all the trappings. The yelling commenced immediately ¯ as we were given a hot second to get off the bus and grab our "trash" (luggage) ¯ and continued into the next morning. During that time, however, we learned to make a proper Marine rack (bed), shower and shave in 5 minutes flat, put on a helmet and artillery belt, respond correctly to a variety of commands and, perhaps most important to our success at Officer Candidate School, we learned how to stand at attention with our thumbs on the seams of our pants doing the thousand mile stare (looking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with drill sergeants and trying desperately to slip under their radar).

Don't get me wrong…it wasn't all bad, and it certainly serves a purpose. Ross Christie (WG'03) explains, "One of the greatest parts of the experience for me was Thursday evening when I felt completely removed from my normal comfort zone, thrown into a state of confusion and rapid response. To me this was intentional and brings out some of the character of people, allowing them to see themselves in a different light." It also fostered a sense of camaraderie among us "new recruits" and an intense sense of teamwork, as we were all held responsible for anything not done correctly by any member of the group.

The Drill Sergeants laid off of us at breakfast the next morning (at 0530), but not without reminding us that the "real" Officer Candidates would endure this treatment for a total of 10 weeks. The Drill Sergeants, not officers themselves, are charged with the duty of training the people that will eventually lead them. They complete extensive training themselves and are held in high regard in the organization. Their purpose – to level the playing field, have people of disparate backgrounds come together and, in doing so, create a cohesive team of future officers that are capable of both taking and receiving orders.

Breakfast itself fell just short of a four-star meal. A number of participants were pulled aside to act as food servers in the buffet line and were charged with the somewhat arduous task of identifying the food that that was being deposited onto our plates. For the most part, everything was recognizable. There were limp waffles, hard-boiled eggs to accompany the scrambled eggs, apples, rice, toast, coffee, orange juice and a white creamy dish that was heavily promoted as oatmeal in the buffet line but turned out to be gravy with sausage bits. It was filling, however, and would provide us with the energy to get through a physically and mentally demanding day.

Following our meal we were assigned to "fire teams" of 4-6 classmates with whom we would complete the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC) and the Combat Course. The combat course, incidentally, is the same one used to train the marines for Vietnam. My fire team was assigned to the LRC for the first rotation and were put under the tutelage of Charlie, our marine mentor for the day.

The LRC, quite simply, is the ultimate case interview. Requiring quick thinking and MacGyver-like skill, the LRC presents candidates with a series of scenarios through which to navigate and test their leadership strengths and weaknesses. A typical scenario went something like this, "Your sergeant is lying wounded on the other side of this swift-flowing river. The bridge is partially blown out. You have two long boards and one short board (none of which span the distance) and an empty artillery box at your disposal. Your job is to cross the river and return with your sergeant. You have no attachments or detachments. There are no supporting forces in the area and an enemy patrol is arriving in 20 minutes (the real marines only get 10 minutes)." Mind you, this is not merely a description. Every scenario came complete with all the things described, including the water. Many a team, ours included, ended up in the "swift flowing river". We also managed to get stuck in a makeshift city sewer system through which we were attempting to transport ammunition (Charlie had to pull me out of the pipe I had managed to wedge myself in backwards). In all four of our cases, our fire team had the right plan, but in none of the cases could we execute it fast enough to complete the exercise.

Following each exercise we were debriefed with regard to the leadership roles we assumed during the exercise (Leader, Follower, Helper, Spectator) and were able to discuss ways to better ourselves in the future. Not surprisingly, the MBA participants in general approached the LRC too cerebrally. "In at least two of our four exercises, if we had spent less time figuring out the plan and more time executing it, we would have achieved our goal," explained Clare Kanter (WG'02).

Lunch came next with our introduction to the MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). An amazing invention, the MRE manages to pack a complete meal (3000 calories worth) into a fairly small plastic bag -- and, amazingly, it tastes pretty good. These MREs are what the troops have been dropping on areas in need of assistance like Afghanistan and are also what the Marines eat out in the field. A just-add-water heating device is included in each bag that cooks the meals which range from Thai chicken to pork chops to bean and cheese burritos.

After a relaxing meal and what felt like a full day already (even though it was only 1130) we headed to the Combat Course to work off those 3000 calories. With focus and perseverance my fire team successfully maneuvered the three-rope bridge, the 18-foot wall (which entailed both climbing and rappelling) and the two-rope bridge. The combat crawl was a bit trickier. We were all thankful for the large gymnastic pads strategically placed below us (and, we were told, were put out especially for our group). A few more minor obstacles brought us to the infamous Quigley, a frigid mud swamp smack dab in the middle of the course. We were told to stay low and move quickly and quietly through the muddy water so as not to attract enemy attention. The quick part was much easier than the quiet part, especially when we were asked to submerge ourselves completely under the muddy water to navigate a series of logs.

The rest of the course went rather quickly, partly because we were freezing and wanted to keep moving and partly because we were getting more and more confident as to what our bodies could actually do. We worked our way over, across and under logs, up a steep hill and then back down, crawled on our stomachs and scooted on our backs under barbed wire, waded through another less disgusting swamp, and finally ¯ the coup de grace ¯ we stormed a machine gun nest while avoiding gunfire (don't worry, they were blanks). We were informed that, had this been a real encounter, we all would have died. Regardless, we felt like heros and heroines in an action movie. Freezing, we proceeded to the barracks where we disrobed. A brief moment of panic ensued when one of our fire team members could not get her button fly pants unbuttoned due to her cold hands. In one last demonstration of teamwork we freed her and rushed to the communal showers.

Again, the lessons learned resonated with participants. "Falling into pits of mud, swimming through 37 degree water, and hanging from ropes might not seem like much of a learning experience, but it really forced us to bond as a team and assess our physical capability," commented John Bishop (WG'02)

After some time to clean ourselves up and clean the barracks up we proceeded to a de-briefing session led by Wharton professor Mike Useem. Students, faculty and sponsors were asked to share their thoughts. Lehman Brothers Managing Director Jeff Zorek, who sponsored the entire event, spoke of the importance of organizational trust and having a bias for action. Others spoke of the importance of doing the right thing versus just doing things correctly (and applied this lesson to the recent Enron debacle). One student went so far as to say that he learned more in the short time at Quantico than in the entire semester of Leadership and related classes.

Following the open forum we adjourned to dinner in the Officers' Club. During cocktails and over dinner, we were able to interact with our drill sergeants in a more familiar manner. We also had the distinct pleasure of listening to a presentation by Major General Clifford Stanley who spoke at length about the love that makes the Marines who they are. Love may seem an odd word to describe the military, but Stanley assured us that it is love -- the respect and pride Marines feel for themselves, each other and their nation -- that makes the Marines such a tight knit organization.

On the bus ride home we were exhausted, but thankful for having had the experience. We would be sore for the coming days, and would be showering incessantly trying to remove the mud from our bodies, but we also would know that we are capable of accomplishing things we may have previously thought unthinkable. Additionally, we were given a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Marine Corps. Clare Kanter (WG'02) recounted "Living through a brief part of the training, and interacting with people who feel the pride of being a member of the Marine Corps, left us all profoundly impressed at the caliber, the commitment, and the courage of its people."

My only regret is that not everyone could have the opportunity to participate in the Quantico program. "There is incredible demand for getting out of the classroom and experiencing hands-on leadership activities," explained Vincent Martino, who spearheaded the Quantico venture, "hopefully the school can expand such programs in the future so more students have such opportunities." Keep your fingers crossed.