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Comment by jagsailor on October 23, 2020 at 9:59pm

Thank you so much Kim8,Allison, and Ging_83 for great advice! Embarking on a new journey!Thanks for the help on this site all of you!!

Comment by Kim8 on October 22, 2020 at 7:25pm

jagsailor

Congratulations to your son! My son just finished ROM & is in his 1st week of OCS! The waiting to leave was the worst. My son was pushed back twice.  You've got some great advice from the others who posted here!  Currently graduation is that is live streamed on the Officer Training Command Newport FB page & unfortunately no civilians are allowed at this point. https://www.facebook.com/OTCNewport/  

For a phone calling card we purchased one of these AT&T virtual cards because it was referenced as the same that could be found on base at the NEX (but we were told that most times they were sold out there).  My son hasn't been able to call home yet so I can't speak to how well it works but I'm sure hoping since it's a Navy specific card, we won't have issues.  https://www.facebook.com/OTCNewport/

My son, along with me & his Dad, felt that ROM was actually a great way to acclimate to being at OCS. It does get boring, they are only allowed out of their rooms for 1 hour in the morning & 1 hour in the afternoon for PT, but since my son has no prior military experience, it gave him a chance to get over his initial nerves & really put in a last solid 2 weeks completely focused on PT & studying.  They keep their phones so he texted & video called which helped with the transition also. Of course, I'm curious how he's doing now that OCS has started but I'm just writing lots of letters.

My son took a plastic clip board to help with making his bed instead of the pancake flipper but he had heard both work.

Yes to taking food & snacks for ROM, as was mentioned previously. The meals are carb heavy. Breakfast was usually a bfast burrito, orange or apple, apple or orange juice & sometimes a pop tart. Lunch is sandwich, granola bar or yogurt, orange/apple, chips, water, dinner was a variety but on the Navy's birthday they got steak!  I guess the hot commodity was mayo for the sandwich at lunch. Usually no condiment for the sandwich; they did usually get salad dressing but usually just Italian. My son took mayo & ranch dressing & was able to use both & he made friends by sharing, haha!  

My son used this woman's videos to help decide what to take, they are very informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYAowtKObXY This recent grad recommended Fox River socks also & my son purchased their boot & dress socks.

RE: letters - my son said don't include anything with the letter that can be felt through envelope. So, I've been using Word, to copy/paste pictures & funny memes onto the paper that way. I guess it depends on their DI how much they are harassed for receiving anything but a plain white envelope letter, ie don't draw a heart on the outside or put it in a flowery/fancy envelope. They can receive packages but no food & they do have to open packages in front of someone. .

If you have any specific questions about ROM, please ask & I'll do my best to answer since my son just finished it.

Comment by Allison on October 22, 2020 at 3:43pm

My son really appreciated when I sent him a bit of news and sports from the outside world so I always tried to include that in my letters. No disaster news, just overall events. Your son may be in OCS during the election so he may appreciate learning the results, etc. Otherwise, they will hear nothing! My son found OCS hard but he said he tried to think of it as a "game" that he had to conquer. No one was really mad at him when they were shouting, it was just part of the role they had to play. That helped him get through it. Good luck to your son! I think I can speak for all of us Navy parents when I say we are proud of all the young men and women who take on this challenge!

Comment by Ging_83 on October 22, 2020 at 2:52pm

jagsailor,

My son was in much the same situation earlier this year, with his report dates getting pushed back and then a very short notice to swear in and hop in a plane!   I was worried about the "List" of items they were supposed to pack, here are a few things I have learned:  White socks with colored toe and heel are OK --just no logo where it can be seen (try to get a heavy duty brand, we bought Fox River--our local farm store carries them), and they can take and keep their own athletic shoes, so if he has a brand or style that he is most comfortable in, have him take a new pair, he should also go get a pair of good insoles for the boots he will be issued.  Send him with a calling card, my son says they are not easy to get at the N-Ex, I found those at Walgreens, they are different than "pre-paid" phone cards, you can send one of these in a letter, that is allowable (anything that would fit flat in an envelope, as long as it is NOT food/gum); after the first 3 weeks he will probably be able to get a time slot to use the pay phones to call home on the weekend...but the first call or two might only be a few minutes long until they figure out how to use the phones and calling cards.   He can and SHOULD take snacks (nuts, protein or granola bars, beef jerky etc.) for ROM (the Quarantine period); If he drinks protein drinks and is ok with mixing them with water, he should pack a tub of that too (he won't be able to take it with him after ROM, but he can use it during ROM).  He will be able to use his own computer during ROM. He should pack a bag just for ROM with workout clothes, towel, washcloth, extra socks and underwear, this will be things that will get packed away after the quarantine. He will be able to have his own phone during ROM, but after OCS starts, those letters from home are SO important.  They can have pictures sent to them in the envelopes...but only 2 or 3 at a time so the envelope isn't too fat, so I would take photos on my phone, then go to Walgreens and create a "Collage"  with 6-8 random pictures (4x6 $0.39 --pretty awesome deal), after I sent the first one, he asked me to send more! Have friends, relatives and church friends write too (caution them not to send anything with glitter because it gets on uniforms and ...need I say more?, they might not get a letter back in return, but your OC will appreciate every one he gets.  Lastly, go buy him one of those x-large pancake turner/flipper kitchen utensil.  He will thank you for it later, it will save his knuckles when making his bed!  One other thing, If he tends to have heavy facial hair, he should take a regular razor with cartridge blades AND an electric shaver.  He will make some great friends!  Congrats and wish him the best! 

Comment by ProudMom on October 22, 2020 at 2:51pm

jagsailor,

That's so exciting, congratulations to you and your son! I agree with everything M's mom said, write those letters!  Oh, and be sure you don't send any cards with glitter.  Also, a phone card is highly recommended (at least it was a year ago).  I ordered this one from Amazon and sent it in one of my letters, it worked perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QFS9CDL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search...

Best wishes!!

Comment by M's mom on October 21, 2020 at 8:54pm

jagsailor,

Congrats to you son!  Write lots of encouraging letters to your son with all the news from home!  When my son was in OCS, they were kept isolated, no cell phones or email for about four weeks.  The only thing they could receive was good ol' fashioned paper letters, until they were allowed email after about the first month.  (Things may be different now.)   My son said those letters from home were a real treat, so write often. 

When my son was there, they could NOT receive any treats or other "contraband" except letters, so make sure anyone to whom you give your son's mailing address knows the rules and doesn't send cookies, for instance.  Those who received contraband in my son's class were punished by having to do many, many pushups, even if they didn't ask for it to be sent!

Advise your son that he must keep his eyes on the prize, and do not quit, no matter what!   OCS is hard, physically and mentally.  At some point, the Drill Instructors punish all of them unfairly, just to see who will give up.  He must know this is part of the process, and just do whatever is ordered.    

Those first 4 weeks are the hardest. If he can get through that, it does get better, as the next class comes in and his class will move up in seniority.   

Considering the current COVID situation, I'm sure OCS will probably do a live streaming online of the graduation ceremony, (but I could be wrong.)  Since they will probably want to avoid big crowds in the auditorium, they may not have a graduation open to civilians at all.  We attended my son's graduation, and we were able to order a DVD video of the ceremony, so we could show it to relatives at home who were not able to attend.  Maybe someone who has a recent OCS grad can chime in here and tell you how they are currently handling graduation.

Also, not that we want to drive you away from Navy for Moms, but if you do Facebook, you might want to search for a Facebook group for your son's class.  Search for "Navy OCS Class XX -XX  Friends and Family" or similar wording where XX -XX is his class number.  Since the Navy's new fiscal year starts Oct 1st, his class number will probably be XX-21.  Usually these are closed groups, and you have to ask to join, but it was such support for me to connect with other families in the same class and share the news!

Also search on Facebook for "Officer Training Command Newport."    They (used to) post pictures there of the current classes doing their training, and you might see your son.

Good luck to him, and hang in there Mom!  You think you are proud now, just wait until you see him in his dress uniform as a new Navy Ensign!!   (Even if just a picture online!)   

Comment by jagsailor on October 21, 2020 at 7:29pm

My sons been waiting to go to OCS for 9 months. His date kept getting pushed back but is finally leaving on Saturday. Any advice? Don't think we will get to graduation because of Covid. I'm so proud and so anxious!

Comment by topdog1p on September 24, 2020 at 4:04pm

Congrats Kim8 to your son! My son just hit his 5 years mark from his commissioning. It was one of our proudest moments. 

Comment by M's mom on September 23, 2020 at 11:23pm

Helomom,

I just saw your comment today as I was reading this thread, Sorry!   I just sent you a reply back to YOUR inbox!

Comment by Helomom on September 23, 2020 at 10:41pm

M's mom - Did you get the note I sent to your inbox?

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