Marine Corps Training Center

raining is a never-ending process in the Corps and to be in theMarines one has to be a trainor or trainee most of the time.Marines spend much of their time for this activity for this isthe only way to keep individual and unit skills at its peak for

combat. Although the Marine Corps Training Center is tasked with thebasic, advance and other career courses for each Marine - unitcommanders conduct their own training to ensure continuity either ingarrison or in the operational area. The Marine Corps is the only unitin the armed forces that practice the rotation of its Battalions fromthe operational area for the purpose of retraining and reequipping atits headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. Perhaps one outstanding feature ofMarine Corps training is from the words of its third commandant, whenhe stated "One outstanding custom is the desire of every Marine toexcel in everything he does - to do better than every other person.This was imbued into each Marine during the basic training and followedthrough by the officers upon completion of training and then assignmentto the line".

Marine Corps training had its beginnings right after the activationof the "A" Company on November 7, 1950. With six officers and 206enlisted personnel, the task of forging the "Cutting Edge of the ArmedForces of the Philippines" was laid on the shoulders of a youngtraining staff and the senior Non Commissioned Officers, who acted asthe first drill instructors, and became the unit's key personnel whowere all sailor volunteers and Philippine Scouts veterans of the justconcluded WWII.

The toughening phase of the training was conducted at Poro Pont inSan Fernando, La Union. It was during that phase when the trainingactivities were inspected by no less than the Secretary of NationalDefense, the Honorable Ramon Magsaysay who announced the arrival of new

weapons from the U.S. arsenals and decreed that American militaryinstructors were to take over the training in weapons. The first of thetraining exchanges between the United States Marines Corps and thePhilippine Marines thus started.

The turmoil in Southern Philippines paved the way for the Marine'srapid expansion in the early 1970's. During that period, applicantsflocked to the recruiting centers in droves, each hoping to become ofone of "The Few, The Proud, The Marines." With the activation of theMarine Brigade in 1972, formal education and training of officers andenlisted personnel became a primary concern.

The year 1973 was significant in Marine Corps training. It was duringthis year that plans for the establishment of an independent trainingunit were laid out to effectively cater to the education and trainingneeds of the officers and enlisted personnel of the growingorganization. Eventually, on September 6, 1973, the Marine TrainingGroup was activated pursuant to General Orders Number 8, Headquarters,Philippine Marines Brigade dated September 5, 1973, It was initiallycomposed of a Headquarters and Service Detachment, a Recruit TrainingUnit, an Amphibious Troop Training Unit, and a Marine SniperDetachment.

Aside from its primary mission, the Marine Training Group alsoregularly trained personnel of the other AFP units particularly inamphibious operations and marksmanship. A year later, on November 2,1974, the Marine Training Group was redesignated as the Marine BrigadeSchool pursuant to General Orders No. 25, Headquarters, PhilippineMarine Brigade dated November 4, 1974. By then, top quality training inthe school became a by-word in the entire AFP. Between 1974 and 1976,the Marine Brigade School successfully conducted 12 special classes ofthe Marine Basic Course for recruits of the Communications andElectronics Group, AFP, the Composite Military Police Brigade, theirIntelligence Service AFP and other units of the Philippine Navy. Lessthan two years later, on June 1, 1976, the Brigade Schools wasredesignated as the Philippine Marines Training Center pursuant toGeneral Orders No. 499, Headquarters, Philippine Navy dated July 20,1976, with the specific mission of educating and developing MarineOfficers and Enlisted Personnel so that they can be adequately equippedwith the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish the mission of thePhilippine Marines and to conduct research and develop doctrinespeculiar to its mission.

From 1988 to 1993 alone, the Marine Corps Training Center (MCTC)successfully trained 708 officers, 4,383 enlisted personnel, 861trainees, 207 CMT cadets officers and 46 security covering a total of124 career and specialization Courses.

The MCTC is specifically tasked to conduct career and specializationtraining and to formulate, develop and validate doctrines peculiar tothe PMC organization. It is capable of conducting basic, specializationand advanced training for infantry, armor, artillery and combat servicesupport personnel. It can also conduct research and develop doctrineson warfighting organization, and training peculiar to the Marines, andsubsequently conduct tests and evaluation of the doctrines to determinetheir validity. It can provide mobile training teams to units of other

services for the conduct of amphibious operations and to train MarineReservists on a regular basis.

The unit is composed of a Headquarters and Service Company tasked toprovide command, control and administration of the MCTC; The AdvanceSchool which is tasked to train and develop Marine personnel onamphibious operations and other types of Naval and AFP operationsrelated to Marine Corps functions; The Special School tasked primarilyto conduct specialization courses in different fields of specialtiesand other special operations courses for Marines; The Basic Schoolwhich is tasked to conduct basic courses for newly recruited MarineOfficers and Enlisted Personnel; and The Marine Scout Sniper School -the first and only dedicated sniper school in the country having beenestablished in 1967. It is tasked primarily to train scout snipers andconduct marksmanship training to all Marines. The MCTC is likewisecomposed of the Research and Doctrines Development Unit which issubsequently composed of a Doctrines Development section, a Test andEvaluation Section and a Correspondence Section. This unit is tasked toconduct research and develop doctrines on warfighting, organization andtraining, as well as to test and evaluate doctrines on organization,materiel and training and eventually determine their validity.

For the Marines, education, training and doctrines have always, andwill always be, an essential part of their warfighting concept as theyremained focused and continuously drive towards their unique conceptualand philosophical perspective regarding the waging of war and thepursuance of physical combat. As a Corps, all Marines believe thattheir capability enhancement should rest firmly on these solidfoundations.

To this end, the Marine Corps Training Center stands at the forefrontof education, training and doctrines development of Marines and ispursuing a rigorous training program in response to its goal of"Breeding the Representatives of the Best In Soldiery ".