QUANTICO, Va. – Across the Marine Corps, small-unit leaders make decisions every day that affect not just mission success, but the well-being of the Marines they lead. The Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) program is designed to support those leaders by giving them the tools to recognize stress early, take care of their Marines, and keep their units ready.
Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz, the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, underscored the importance of that responsibility.
“Marines are our Corps’ greatest capability,” Ruiz said. “OSCAR training has evolved to match the way our Marines operate and the pressures they face today. Gen Four equips leaders at every level to recognize stress early, care for their Marines, and keep units mission ready.”
Building on that focus, the Marine Corps is launching OSCAR Generation IV (Gen IV) training. This updated approach better prepares OSCAR Teams to recognize, mitigate, and manage operational stress in both deployed and garrison environments.
At the same time, the Marine Corps has formally established OSCAR as a force-wide standard through the publication of MCO 5351.1A and NAVMC 5351.1. These documents codify the program as an enduring warfighting capability. Governed by policy and doctrine, OSCAR now provides clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for leaders at every level, reinforcing accountability and consistency across the force. These directives ensure Marines understand their role in preserving combat power and taking care of one another.
The OSCAR program remains the Marine Corps’ embedded, peer-driven approach to strengthening resilience and sustaining combat effectiveness at the small-unit level. Rather than relying solely on external support, OSCAR empowers Marines within the formation to look out for each other and act early when stress begins to impact performance.
Under the Gen IV framework, a Headquarters Marine Corps team will travel to major commands to conduct train-the-trainer workshops. These workshops will equip Marines to deliver OSCAR training within their own units. The updated curriculum reflects direct feedback from Marines and lessons learned from recent operational experience. It introduces a more culturally relevant, standardized yet flexible model that clarifies leadership roles, improves consistency across the enterprise, and better aligns training with the realities Marines face today. This evolution also advances Marine Corps Total Fitness by strengthening commanders’ ability to integrate peer leadership, installation capabilities, and community-based resources. By bringing these elements together at the unit level, OSCAR reinforces that managing operational stress is not separate from the mission. It is a core component of readiness and combat power preservation.
The OSCAR Gen IV training team will conduct workshops across the Marine Corps in the coming months: Camp Lejeune / II MEF: 24–26 March Camp Pendleton / I MEF: 7–9 April Okinawa / III MEF: 5–7 May Hawaii / III MEF: 12–14 May MARFORRES: 2–4 June MCB Quantico: 23–25 June
These workshops will prepare command teams and facilitators to deliver OSCAR training across the force, ensuring Marines are equipped to recognize stress early, support one another, and sustain readiness in increasingly complex environments.
For more information about OSCAR, visit manpower.marines.mil/Divisions/Marine-and-Family-Programs/Behavioral-Programs.