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Comment by M's mom on May 18, 2017 at 10:46am

The change in the Candio box policy at OCS got me wondering... I think someone posted that OCS has also discontinued the First Salutes ceremony?    For 200 years or so, the tradition in the Navy was that a new Ensign had to give a silver dollar to the first enlisted who saluted him/her. It was usually arranged so that the drill instructor was the first saluter.  (You may remember this scene in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman.")   After my son's graduation, we all went down to the bay and the class Drill Instructor and Chief Petty Officer saluted each one of them, and were both given coins.  My son used two old silver dollars that had belonged to his grandfather.  OCS took official portraits of this, which we purchased.  It was a really moving ceremony, but someone said they had discontinued it because the drill instructors were selling the coins and "making too much money from it."   Well, I always thought that was an understood perk of the job!    If they have also discontinued this at OCS, it is sad that they have let go of some of the old traditions.

BTW, if any of you have never seen the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman," it is worth seeing if only for Louis Gossett Jr.'s Academy Award-winning portrayal of the Marine D.I.  It is certainly not an accurate portrayal of OCS, though, because in the movie, the candidates were able to leave the base all the time to hook up with local sweeties!!  It's probably for the best that they can't do that any more!   haha 

Comment by M's mom on May 18, 2017 at 10:18am

Nancy---Thanks for clarifying about the Candio boxes.   My son was at OCS in 2012, and one of the rites of passage was finally being allowed a box from home with cookies and treats, because they had not been allowed any sugar for nine weeks, not even desserts in the dining hall.  So of course, they all gorged themselves on the treats and made themselves sick, but my son said it was worth it!  haha  He lost 20 pounds at OCS, and he wasn't overweight to begin with.  I hardly recognized that scrawny kid at graduation!  It's probably for the best though, to try to get them off sugar and eat a healthy diet for a change.  (We all know college students aren't usually nutrition-focused.)  

I just wish OCS made it perfectly clear to families that they are not allowed to be sent anything but letters.   When my son was at OCS, there was no mention made of this on any OCS material.  I had to find out on this site, and also his class Facebook page.  Some families don't learn the rule and innocently earn their LO more pushups! 

Comment by Rachel on May 18, 2017 at 10:13am

Looked for his class FB page, nothing available yet.  How soon are those posted, usually?

Comment by Rachel on May 18, 2017 at 10:11am

I am so grateful for your comments!!  I will find his class FB page, and get those letters going!  Thanks, everyone!  

Comment by CindyN on May 17, 2017 at 11:27pm

Rachel - You are in the most difficult portion of this journey right now. It does gets better, especially when you get a call from your LO. Hearing their voice again is wonderful! This group and your son's classes FB page are great resources. Your LO will really appreciate letters from family and friends at this stage. Best of luck to you and your LO.

Comment by CindyN on May 17, 2017 at 11:18pm

Nancy - It is very interesting to hear about the changes to the OCS process! We were able to send food in our Candio boxes back in 2015 and when we arrived for graduation, I found that most snacks I had included hadn't been eaten anyway.

Comment by Nancy on May 17, 2017 at 9:49pm

I'm a little more recent (08-17, March 31 grad), and these moms are correct about letters. They cherish the letters!! But they don't have time to write. No food allowed in Candio box. Someone even said the boxes were being phased out altogether. 09-17 still had candio boxes (without food) but I thought I heard somewhere that they would stop candio boxes altogether soon. Your class's facebook page would be helpful with this. There is an officer who comments on the facebook page occasionally when needed to clear up questions. 

They are allowing phone calls from the base landlines earlier than ever now, like at the end of week 2. It was week 3 for us, but then they moved it up to week 2 with the 09-17 class. So keep your cell phone by you at all times beginning with the weekend after 2 weeks. Answer any calls from Rhode Island. They could be any time. We almost missed one at 6:45 am Sunday morning because my phone was turned down for sleeping. I only answered because I happened to be barely awake and saw the phone light up. When he calls, he will ask you to hang up and call him right back at that number. You will get to talk for 15 minutes. After they get email (end of week 3) they can tell you approximately when they will call. Don't despair if you don't get a call from him. Sometimes they have trouble getting a time slot to call.

Comment by M's mom on May 17, 2017 at 9:20pm

Rachel,

Noni is right.  Don't send anything but letters, or he will have to do lots of extra exercise as punishment. Someone in my son's OCS class got sent cookies at week three, and he had to do 800 (that's eight hundred) pushups as punishment!!!!  Make sure everyone to whom you give your son's mailing address knows this. 

It used to be that when they reached the Candidate Officer (Candio) stage at week 10, ONLY THEN could they receive a box of goodies from home--called a Candio box--but, I think someone recently posted that they are now not allowed to receive any candy or cookies or junk food whatsoever, whenever.  Maybe one of the moms of recent OCS grads can clarify this. Can they still receive goodies as a Candio?

When they are allowed email privileges after passing the big Room, Locker, and Personnel inspection at week 3-4, then you will hear more from him.  If you think he doesn't know your email address from memory, sent it to him in a letter.  He will not have access to his phone or his usual email program, so he'll have to type in the complete email address.

I know the lack of communication is hard, but remember, NO NEWS is GOOD NEWS.  If he fails something and is "rolled" back to the next incoming class, he will be allowed to call and tell you.  The lack of communication is deliberate, to wean the candidates AND their families off of constant communication.  When he eventually will be deployed on a ship or sub, you will hear from him very seldom, so you have to get used to it.

At this stage of OCS, write a encouraging letter to him every day and include all the news from home!  Those letters are the only connection they have with the outside world for a few weeks, so they treasure them.   Don't expect many, if any, letters back from him, though.  The only time they have to write is when they could be sleeping!

Best to hold off on plane tix until you know he will graduate on time.  They can be rolled back at any point, but as Noni wrote, you can be fairly sure about three weeks from the end.    We booked our flight to graduation on Southwest Airlines, which flies into Providence, about half-way through OCS.    I don't believe Southwest charges a hefty fee to change your tickets, like the other airlines do, at least they didn't used to.

Hang in there!  The first few weeks of OCS are the hardest on the families as well as the candidates, but it gets better when they are allowed more communication.

Comment by Noni on May 17, 2017 at 7:17pm

Rachel,
Don't plan any flights or trips just yet a lot happens when they are at OCS. He can roll, he can advance, he could be in holding for some sort of medical. You will get about three weeks notice from you son with info. NMH!

Comment by Noni on May 17, 2017 at 7:14pm

Rachel,
The answer is no , no and no. Just plane white envelopes no smelly stuff, no gifts, no food. Sorry this isn't what you want to hear. Best of luck to your son and congrats to your family. Follow the FB OCS web site and you may see your sons pictures in them. Try to spot your son gym shoes. Sounds funny but they start to look the same.

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