MCUF Honors IOC Graduate with Award for Leaders in Infantry

Second Lieutenant (2ndLt) Jared P. Drake of Toledo, Ohio was selected as the winner of the LtCol Vic Taylor Award for Leader's in Infantry at Infantry Officer's Course (IOC) Class 1-26 graduation. The LtCol Vic Taylor Award for Leaders in Infantry was established 17 Sept 2003 to recognize the Distinguished Graduate of each IOC class through the generous gift by the late LtCol Vic Taylor, USMC(ret). In 1976, then Captain Bayard “Vic” Taylor, USMC(Ret) was a Tactics instructor at The Basic School (TBS) and was tasked to create a course at TBS to provide sufficient attention to the mastery of increasingly complex tasks and weaponry to prospective infantry officers.  

Key points of this award:

1) It is the only award given to an IOC graduate. 

2) The IOC students vote to choose one of their own peers to receive the award.  

As students considered who to select for the award, their class advisor suggested if they were ever in combat and in a firefight about to be overrun, who in their class did they most hope was on the way to provide support and prevent defeat. 

In his remarks to his peers after receiving the award, 2ndLt Drake noted that he was very humbled to be chosen by his peers, but as an example of the selflessness of young Marine Officers, emphasized the award was not about him, it was about ensuring the 42 young Marines they would soon lead in an Infantry Platoon had the best, most selfless leaders possible.