October 6, 2003

Quantico! Heart and intensity

Nick Blawat, WG ‘04

I had the pleasure of accompanying the latest group of Wharton "recruits" to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia last week. I can admit to a great deal of reminiscing during the 24-hour experience because I was trained by similar Marine Corps Drill Instructors at the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. Although I spent a lot more time in classrooms than scrambling through the forest or quietly sliding through bogs, Gunnery Sergeant Woolette, USMC, made sure that my time outside of class was very exciting.

Two events in particular stood out as particularly relevant as I shared my classmates' "training" experience. The first occurred during my first week of exposure to Gunny Woolette. He took my entire class to see a plaque mounted in his office. On the plaque were what appeared to be the remnants of the heels of a pair of standard, black, navy-issue dress shoes. In Gunny Woolette's words, "You pigs see them heels? Those heels were given to Heart and intensity me by a candidate. He couldn't march in step to save his life (and believe me, I tried to take it), but by God, he marched with friggin' doggone INTENSITY!"

I hope that by the end of breakfast Friday morning all the students realized that this is what DI's expect and demand. Intensity. It doesn't matter how well or how fast you complete a task (many of which are actually ridiculous) as long as you do it with intensity. Instilling this type of behavior in candidates leads to focused, efficient, and eventually skilled officers who can lead their subordinates by example and through sheer determination.

The second event occurred six weeks later, immediately after our rifle drill inspection. Starting with the intensity speech in week one, Gunny Woolette spent 2-3 hours a day with my class teaching us how to move a rifle around our bodies, march, and sound off in unison. It wasn't all fun though: we paid for mistakes dearly by "exercising" in an old beach volleyball court positioned conveniently in the exhaust of a gigantic air conditioner. Inexplicably devoted to making this man proud (or avoiding "exercise"), we spent hours each night practicing on our own in preparation for the inspection.

We were a confident team that really bonded together with the shared goal of achieving the highest rifle drill score at OCS and giving Gunny Woolette bragging rights amongst the DI's. Our score? Slightly above average. Our collective emotional response? Devastation. However, moments later we learned a lesson that none of us will ever forget. Gunnery Sergeant Woolette took us aside and for the first time in seven weeks looked each of us in the eye. He said, "You all strove for perfection and fell short. No shit. It was hard. No shit. Did you want to go home after graduation and tell you family how easy it was? Hell no! If it's easy, we don't want it."

It wasn't the most eloquent speech, but there was a swollen heart in each chest on those parade grounds. Without saying it, Gunny Woolette conveyed his pride in our collective heart, and instilled in us a leadership lesson you can't learn in a classroom, from a book, or in a newspaper article. At Quantico, Sergeant Major Willey echoed this sentiment which pervades the Marine Corps and which I believe is the core of what makes a Marine special. They have found a thing within themselves that provides the courage to do something they normally wouldn't, the desire to do it well, and the motivation to do whatever it takes to get it done. We were lucky- Gunny Woolette found it for us. Hopefully, some of the Quantico participants found it in the Leadership Reaction Course, in a bog or on a wall in the Combat Course, or somewhere else in their lives. It has made all the difference for me.