Marine Corps Schools

		Marine Corps Schools
		If you are Marine, that sign in the center of this photo rings a bell, doesn't it? Even if you cannot read the words, you know those colors, don't you! I took this photo in 1963, shortly after I reported in at The Basic School, MCS, Quantico, Virginia. The sign welcomes you to one of the more important spots in Quantico at that time, at least for a newly-commissioned Second Lieutenant. On the right of the sign is the standard, 1963 vintage obstacle course. On the left, is a devious creation referred to as the "confidence course." Quite different challenges. The obstacle course was a timed event - you ran it by yourself, and if you properly cleared all the obstacles in the required time, you passed. I don't remember how much time you were allotted. The confidence course was entirely different. It was impossible to clear these obstacles by yourself - you needed help from others. I don't remember now how we were grouped - probably as a fire team. And it was not timed; it only mattered that your team completed the course. Those were good times.