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6th Marine Corps District Parris Island, SC- As the high school year came to an end, Lackey started looking into a variety of universities and colleges to further continue her education into Law School. Heavily influenced by her brother who is serving in the United States Navy, she was determined to pursue a career as a military lawyer. The only thing standing in her way was deciding which branch was the best for her. Violet Lackey a native from Los Angeles, California, who is currently enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University(FGCU) pursuing a Law degree and currently at Marine Corps Officer Candidate School(OCS), Quantico, Virginia.
Lackey spent her early years growing up in southern California, where she received homeschooling due to the Covid-19 pandemic occurring at the time. As her high school freshman year was about to begin her family decided to move across the country making Florida their new home. Her high school year began and Lackey was having difficulty in communicating with her student peers due to not having to attend public school for a long period of time. She decided to join several after-school sports clubs like weightlifting, Track and Field and cross country running in efforts to stay active and socialize with like-minded driven peers. Lackey has always been infatuated with human capabilities and has always enjoyed challenging herself physically and mentally by participating in various sports. As she started to look into her career path, considered all military branches, as she learned more about the history of the Marine Corps and what it had to offer. “ I learned about the Marine Corps and I feel it is more ideal for my lifestyle, since I love a great challenge,” said Lackey. So she determined that becoming an officer and a lawyer in the Marine Corps was her only option.
She decided to take the first step and made the call to the recruiting office. She asked about all her options but there was a program she was interested in, she wanted more information about the NROTC program but she was not qualified due the deadline being closed for the quarter. The Marine Recruiter gave her another option, he told her to get in contact with Capt. Alyshia Crawford, the Officer Selection Officer for Recruiting Station Tampa.
Determined to get accepted in one of the Marine Corps officer programs, she called Crawford not knowing what she could expect. Lackey explained her situation and frustration, she asked Crawford if there was a possibility to join the NROTC program but Crawford countered with a more ideal program for Lackey. Crawford offered her the Platoon Leaders Course(PLC) Law program, is a program offered to undergraduates for the opportunity to earn their commission as a Marine Corps commissioned Officer and as judge advocate. Crawford invited Lackey to join her on the next Physical Fitness Test(PFT) that was being held in Tampa, Florida. The PFT is a requirement for all officer candidates and must be completed within the standards set by the Marine Corps. The PFT contains pulls-ups, a plank and a 3-mile run, to Lackey’s surprised she did better than she expected on her first try at the PFT, she scored a first class PFT score 288 out of 300 points, but still she was not satisfied and wanted to attend the next PFT and try to score a perfect score. “The PFT event was an incredible environment with lots of like-minded peers competing for the same goal and I really enjoyed the camaraderie.” said Lackey. After the PFT, Crawford and Lackey had a conversation about joining and becoming a Marine Corps commissioned officer and explained the PLC Law program with further details. “When I met Captain Crawford and had the one on one conversation with i felt inspired by her and that is when I knew I wanted to be part of the Marine Corps.”
Lackey signed the contract with a set date to ship out to Officer Candidate School(OCS) and also attended a few more events hosted by Capt. Crawford. Lackey was selected to participate in the 6th Marine Corps District annual Mini OCS at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, an event that prepares future officer candidates for Officer Candidate School. When Lackey heard the news, she took this as an opportunity to compete against other officer candidates from all over the southeastern region. She knew the competition would be much tougher than what she was used to but she was excited to compete against the unknown. Before stepping off the bus for the first time at Parris Island, Lackey recalls Crawford pulling her to the side and telling her “ Alright Violet, you'll be taking a PFT, so I'm going to need you to run as fast as you can because the run time is very crucial.” Lackey said. “Those words meant a lot to me and I didn't want to disappoint Capt. Crawford down, because she had invested so much time and effort in me that I had no choice but to give it my all.” Lackey participated in the mini OCS Physical Fitness test against other candidates from all over the southeast, scoring a perfect score of 300 on the PFT.
During the mini OCS Lackey was introduced to the Leadership Reaction Course(LCR), where she learned about being in a situation that will require her to step out of her comfort zone and be a leader. “ The course really helped me to think under stress and it also helped me with my leadership skills, something I had lacked for a very long time but I feel like I’m ready for OCS and truly learn what it's like to lead Marines.” Before leaving Parris Island, Lackey received the Gung-Ho recognition award, an award given for being one of the most motivated Marines who participated in a course or event. Lackey described the Mini OCS as an eye opening experience and can’t wait to become a Marine Corps Officer and Judge Advocated. Lackey shipped out on May 17, 2026 to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School, where she began her Marine Corps transformation.
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2026 17:14 |
| Story ID: | 568072 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 10 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Officer Candidate Violet Lackey: Consistency and Perseverance, by Cpl Yovanik Calderon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
