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Comment by M's mom on January 9, 2017 at 12:54am

Charlene,

Keep those upbeat, encouraging letters going out to your son!  They will be his only contact with the outside world for several weeks.  Don't be disappointed if you don't get many letters back from him.  The only time they have to write is when they could be sleeping!   After he passes the big RLP (room, locker, personnel ) inspection at week 3-4, then they usually receive email privileges, and you will hear more from him.

Make sure all of his friends and family know to send LETTERS ONLY at this point in plain white envelopes.  NO gifts or treats at all until he reaches the Candi-O phase at week nine, or he will be punished with many, many extra pushups, etc., so tell all those who have his address.

When he gets email, he will not have access to his private email program or phone, and will have to type in the complete email address, so send him a letter with all the email addresses you think he may not remember.

These first few weeks, remember:  NO news, is GOOD news!  If for some reason he gets injured or fails something and is "rolled" back to the next class and must start over, he will be allowed to call home to tell you.   It is hard to not hear from them for a few weeks, but that means he is still there and making progress!    The first three weeks or so are the hardest on the candidates and the families.  After that, getting email really helps morale on both sides! 

Good luck to your son, and keep writing to him!  They live for those letters from home the first few weeks.

Comment by Charlene on January 9, 2017 at 12:18am

My son left for OCS yesterday and I I received the call a little while ago. I knew this would be difficult but wow! I did receive his address and I will mail out the first letter tomorrow.

Comment by Spettiou on January 7, 2017 at 6:08pm

Appreciate all these helpful comments! Our son reports soon and we are clueless as to what to expect, so keep them coming. Thanks!

Comment by myvampress on January 7, 2017 at 12:37am

USNmom2017,

Yes the socks need to be black

Comment by USNmom2017 on January 7, 2017 at 12:28am

Myvampress on the socks that yiu suggested..do they need to be black? They were mentioned on Air warriors but not the color. I got the green ones. I can send them back and get black if I need to. Thanks so much for all the info. My DS is waiting news on when his OCS date is.

Comment by USNmom2017 on January 7, 2017 at 12:28am

Myvampress on the socks that yiu suggested..do they need to be black? They were mentioned on Air warriors but not the color. I got the green ones. I can send them back and get black if I need to. Thanks so much for all the info. My DS is waiting news on when his OCS date is.

Comment by Charlene on January 6, 2017 at 10:35pm

Thank you so much everyone for all your helpful and great information. Today i had a great day with my son As a family we went out to eat dinner at a favorite local restaurant I will miss him so much but it's so great to see what an amazing young man my son has become
Thanks again for all the valuable information

Comment by myvampress on January 6, 2017 at 8:53pm

Charlene,
My son was at OCS about a year ago, this time of year and it gets very cold and windy there. You might want to go on amazon and order him a few pairs of Fox River Military Boot socks in black to help his feet. They are a little pricey but we'll worth it. You can have them sent to him through Amazon and he will be able to have them, he will just have to open the package in front of one of the Chiefs. Their is also a certain measuring tool that is very helpful for your LOL for his uniform inspections but I can't remember what it is called. I will look it up and tell you. As far as the candi-o box, start it now. I went to the post office and got one of their large (one price postage) boxes and decorated the inside of the box however you want whether military related, family pictures, sports or however and then fill it up with snacks, candy or whatever he likes. Contact me if you need help or suggestions or have any questions.

Comment by CindyN on January 6, 2017 at 11:42am

Charlene -

I should start by saying that my son was in OCS about 1.5 years ago so some of my information may be out of date.

During the check-in process they will need to turn in their cells phones.  They will not get it back until they become Candi-O’s at the end of week 9.  Just before they have to hand their cell over, they will get to make one last call to let you know they arrived and to give you their mailing address.  This call will come on the Sunday of their check-in so stay close to your phone(s). I don’t know if they are reminded to save important phone and email addresses before they turn their phone over, or if my son knew to do that one his own.  But it is good advice to give your son before he goes.

Letters are very important, especially at the beginning. I didn't get many back (maybe 2) but he did say "write and send pictures/news".  So I wrote every day or two using  the service write2them.org to send letters and photos. The service took an email I sent to the service, printed it out and sent it in the appropriate white envelope. I think they mail it from closer to the base so it takes a couple of days off the mail time from where I am. At the time, it cost about $1.20 per letter (for a bit more than 2x a stamp) but for me, it is so convenient that I am writing more often. They will print out 4 sheets, double sided (so 8 pages of info). I generally wrote a bit and then cut and paste a few pictures along a bunch of news stories I think my son and his friends may find interesting or enjoy. The OCs have some down time on weekends (at least Sunday) to visit with other classes, sharing info and stories.  I often thought that writing to him was at least as therapeutic for me, if not more so, than it was for him.

After they pass RLP (week 3) they will be able to sign up for a timeslot (10-15 minutes) to use the phone on weekends.   I believe the possible times were Fri evening, Sat evening and all day Sun.  They will not be calling from their cell phone, so be sure to answer any unknown caller from Rhode Island. They may need ATT prepaid phone cards to use for this.  Don't worry, there are usually some available with minutes left from prior classes that they can use to make their first call.  I have heard that you can get a calling card at Walmart and Walgreens. I got one online (https://www.virtualprepaidminutes.com/) and added it to one of my early letters.

If you think your son may not know your phone and email addresses from memory or have lost them, send a letter (when you get his address) with all the phone numbers and email addresses you think he may want.  When they are allowed to email (end of week 6, I believe), it will be from a closed government server, and will not have access to their usual email program with stored email addresses.  So they will need to type the full address in from memory.

Navyformoms will be a good resource for you. The Friends and Family Facebook group for your son’s class will also be an excellent source of information and support. The "Officer Training Command Newport" Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OTCNewport/?fref=ts) posts photos every week or two which were fun to see.

Best of luck to both you and your son!

Comment by LoniJ on January 6, 2017 at 9:22am

Congratulations! I will add to remember your LO is exhausted so when he does get a chance to call be very encouraging. I sent letters (in those white envelopes) and included some photos of past fun events/memories. You will be able to send a box of goodies in a few weeks but just wait until your LO says you can or you see on FB that you can. I found FB page more helpful than my son as people posted info from their LO that my son didn't share. Answer any phone calls you get as my LO used his roommate's phone once. OCS gave me a new level of patience and I prayed continuously. What an exciting time. I know you are so proud.

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