Posted on Jun 3, 2018
PO3 Gunner's Mate
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Looking for the best books to read before ARMY OCS. Interested to hear what everyone thinks. (Doesn't have to be OCS related.. Leadership etc..)
Edited 7 y ago
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2LT Teacher/Coach
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What will help you out tremendously at OCS is reading FM 3.21.8 Infantry Platoon and Squad Tactics and the OCS SOP which you can find on the US Army MCOE site. Learn those two things and you will be in great shape. You will be light years ahead of other students you are competing with. Also, skim over all of America's conflicts. Notice I said skim. When you get to history Doc Campbell has a very unique way of teaching it so keep an open mind. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I just left the course 2 weeks ago.
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2LT Teacher/Coach
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Make sure you go to COMMANDOS and grab the OCS Required Knowledge and study it every chance you get!
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LTC Cyber Security Engineer
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OCS is not a grad school level course. You should be more concerned about leadership at the tactical level. Concentrate on what LT Tolliver said plus FM 5-0 (Operations Process). Also memorize your required OCS knowledge. You should read the above over and over again and use the rest of your time to workout/run. You will be quizzed and tested on tactics and operations. You will also be tested on land navigation (make sure you know how to use a map and MGRS) and lots of physical stuff (running and road marching). The other books are great but a waste of time in prep for ocs...
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SPC Joseph Wojcik
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Slaughterhouse-Five.

You didn't specify whether they had to be OCS related.
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PO3 Gunner's Mate
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Thank you for the call out!
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2LT Teacher/Coach
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I have a very extensive library of books you might be interested in. But I would suggest you learn FM 3.21.8 and the OCS SOP.
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2LT Teacher/Coach
2LT (Join to see)
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Check out: Hal Moore on Leadership, Colin Powell: It worked for Me, Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, The Mission, The Men and Me by Peter Blaber, and The Face of Battle by John Keegan. I definitely have more.
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What are the best books to read before attending Army OCS?
1LT Chaplain Candidate
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Book-reading doesn't really apply to actual OCS prep, other than the FM as 2LT (Join to see) mentioned. Training your body and your basic soldier skills is more appropriate to the success of the actual course.

But for general preparedness as an officer I recommend: Dereliction of Duty, Black Hearts, The Three Meter Zone, About Face, Tribe, and The American Military Tradition.
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LTC Charles T Dalbec
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I would recommend you google the topic and then go to the various DA publications and regulations and become familiar with what you read.
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2LT All Source Intelligence
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The Ranger handbook is your best friend. Trust me!
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Also, Reminiscences by Douglas MacArthur, the autobiography of Edward Rickenbacker, and American Caesar and The Arms of Krupp bymWilliam Manchester on MacArthur, as well as the German Krupp dynasty through WW2....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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I'll wait now, digest all that, I'd be most eager gormyour thoughts, hope was of at least some use, enjoy....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.nape.org

This also, of you're engrg, a PE license is a very good credential to have, I assure yoacceptable....u, or in Amy STEM field that might be acceptable, e.g., comp sci (CS), maybe IT....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.aiaa.org

This is quite good....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.vixra.org

Sorry, typo....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.arxiv.org

Learn to use that...
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.acm.org

Also very necessary.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.ieee.org

Look at their transactions on aerospace and electronic systems....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.mors.org

This is also quite good, ops research is often neglected, integral to wargaming....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.aoc.org

And this....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.afa.org

And this....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.usni.org

This should be reqd reading all svcs....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Oh, also, the complete works of Alfred Thayer Mahan of Naval War College 19th century....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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I can suggest more ifmyoud want, elaborate as I'd said, if you want more, just ask, OK? Also Gorshkov from the Cold War, the Soviet Admiral, and all the biographical stuff on Adm Hyman Rickover you can get...he autobio of Gen Schwarzkopf It Doesn't Take a Hero is also quite good of course....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Then, the complete works of Churchill his post WW2 collection, William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and The Nightmare Years, all the works of Sir Hugh Trevor Roper of the UK, the British mil historian..get Al's The Bridge at Remagen, by a former or possibly late US Congressman Ken Hechler, he may Stoll be alive I'm unsure, superb book...all the volumes of Stephen Ambrose...the PBS Ken Burns Civill War TV series on video....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Sorry, The Proud Tower....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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As to literature, classics are always good to start for mil history, Thucydides history of the Peloponnesian War, Caesar's Pumoc War, Clausewitz On War, Nicolo amachiavelli, then later !material, incl biography and autobiography, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, also get Nimitz by E N Potter...also a book on pre WW1 called The Rpod Tower....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Also, have you considered Army direct commission cyber, USCH direct commission engineer? USPHS Commissiomed Cross as an engineer? Other OIS indpc program!s, like NOAA BOTC, apart from OCS type program!s?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Have you considered Army WOCS, as an alternate, as only high school is needed, at minimum, as an alternate to a regular
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Also, any flight interests? I may not have sent this, which branch or range of branches?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Look up USAF AFIT, and USN Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), all senior enlisted, as well as all warrant and commissioned of any grade can apply, even from other svcs, also civil servants and contractors, though you'd likely need to have to wait a cpl of tours to be taken seriously...
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Also, what major are you on your bachelor's? Grades? GPA? You're gonna need to start a masters even of only part time from day one after you'd be commissioned, expect it, also PME from all svcs, not just your own, I assure you....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Sorry Encyclopedia Britannica I'd left that out....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Get the Encyclopedia Great Books series, read the first called The great Conversation, on the growth of Western thought, trust me....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Elaborate as to hobbies, reading interests, technical, literary, also sports, incl any martial arts...look esp at aikiod and iaido, I think you'd find them to your tastes, maybe also judo and jujitsu, I prefer the first two....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Look up the officer guides by Stackpole Books, I read the one for USAF while at USAF OTS, I'd switched from Army ROTC....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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There are also numerous YouYibe videos on all OCS programs, by students as well as the svcs....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Sorry, I missed you'd said Army, I only caught the AOCS, I thoght you'd meant aviation....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Look up NOAA Corps marine and aviation operations, I think they have a 5-yr term if you're flight trained, plus they must have a STEM bachelors, I'm unsure what majors would suffice....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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NOAA Commissioned Corps? Their OCS is called BOTC, it's at USMMA Kings Point on LI in NY, I walked through there once, my next younger brother was USMMA, I commissioned Jim, the BOTC is a tenant organization there....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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USCG OCS with aviation after that?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Have you looked at other svcs? Could you? Would you care to consider others?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Ambitions? Objectives? Must you go Navy? Are you already committed to Navy? I saw AOCS, I'm assuming flight....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Elaborate considerably....associates? Bachelors? Major or majors? GPA? Grades?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Thismtanlet conks out a lot, so I'll he typing mult short answers, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Your question is quite astutemamd perceptive, as well as forward thinking, however, to answer you properly, and optimally, more info is needed, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Get the autobiography of Gen Colin Powell, you'd find it most instructive, esp about how he got his masters, and became a White House Fellow, trust !e, get it, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.ocsfoumdation.org

You'll fine this useful, of doesn't have everything, however, it does have a good deal....
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