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Comment by M's mom on February 18, 2016 at 2:03pm

GalleyMom:  Good to hear from you again also!  How's your sailor doing?

Comment by M's mom on February 17, 2016 at 9:42pm

Welcome, Shopgirl.  Make sure your son knows your phone # and email address from memory.  Their cell phones are taken from them as soon as they arrive at OCS and stored until they are allowed to have them in their possession again after week 10 or so.  They are allowed to call home from a pay phone within the first 48 hours by using a pre-paid phone card, which you can buy at Walgreens or Walmart,  but he must know your #.   (So many people these days just scroll down their phone directory to MOM, without even knowing the #)  Then you won't hear from him again probably until about week four, unless he writes you a snail mail letter (But don't hold your breath for that from a young person today!)

After they pass the big Room, Locker, and Personnel inspection at week 4-5, then they usually will be given email privileges. Again, they won't have access to their usual email program and directory, so will have to type in any email addresses from memory.

Send ONLY letters in plain white envelopes until he becomes a Candidate Officer (Candi-O) at week ten.  Then, they can receive care packages of goodies (Candi-O boxes.)  Anything except letters sent before week ten will be considered contraband, and confiscated, and he will have to do hundreds of pushups even if he didn't request it!!!  Make sure everyone to whom you give your son's OCS mailing address knows this!!!  But do have friends and family send lots of encouraging letters to him those first four weeks until they get email, even if he doesn't write any in return. They love getting mail with news from home, because they are so isolated the first few weeks--no TV, phones, internet, etc.  A tip:  I photocopied cartoons and pictures onto letter paper for my son. (We were told not to send any loose enclosures such as cartoons or pictures.)  Also- NO decorated envelopes or musical cards!  You don't want his mail to draw any attention from the Drill Instructor.

Good luck to your son!  You will be bursting with pride at his graduation!  As others have said, best to hold off on plane tix until you are certain he will graduate with his original class.

Comment by topdog1p on February 17, 2016 at 4:06pm

Shopgirl welcome to the rollercoaster ride of OCS. My LO graduated Sept 2015. I also look up Officer training command newport on Facebook. will be able to see pictures there that they post of the classes. We too make it a family vacation as we flew in for washington state. spent a couple days in boston and newport. It is an exciting time. We were able to my son on wednesday before friday's graduation. Hi mom's is something you did not what to miss on thursday and 6:30 am we  watch PT. after friday graduation he picked up his packet of paperwork and was free to go. It can be different for each person. 

Comment by CindyN on February 17, 2016 at 3:36pm

Shopgirl - Here is a facebook group for people reporting for the 11-16 class: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1561332564157206/ 

If you son hasn't joined that group, he may want to. He can ask on there if any has started a Friends and Family group for 11-16. 

I second the advice to join a group for the class or two in front of your son's and well as your son's group. It is very helpful to know what is coming up for your son's class.

Comment by Doreen on February 17, 2016 at 3:21pm

Here is the link for class 10-16 on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/936712806412830/

Comment by Doreen on February 17, 2016 at 3:19pm

Shopgirl - if you scroll down, you will see a link to join the Facebook page for class 08-16.  Request to join that class, you can then see what an older class is going thru and will know what is ahead for your son.  Based on the report date, I think your son's class will be 11-16.  There are FB pages already set up for class 10-16.  Everyone on FB is very helpful and going thru the same thing you are!  Hang in there.  I also would wait on reservations until after week 6.

Good luck!!

Comment by LoniJ on February 17, 2016 at 3:09pm

Looks like you have received all good info. I too wanted to make my reservations early just because that is what I do. I did hold off like the others said until it was closer to graduation time. Never know if your loved one will go into holding class. My son was blessed to avoid that. Don't be discouraged if he does as it just helps him prepare more. Also remember you won't hear from him for a few weeks and during that time no news is good news. They are allowed to call if they roll to h class. My son graduated in Dec 2015 and luckily the weather was good. We were not able to get on base until Thursday of Hi Moms party without going thru the Pass Gate and then the only place we could really meet was the coffee shop. There is a hotel on base but we stayed off base. Things to do in Newport include visiting the mansions and there is the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge close by. Good luck to your son.

Comment by 1after909 on February 17, 2016 at 2:23pm

Hello Shopgirl
My son graduated OCS 10/10/14. You will learn so much from his class FB page. I have so many happy memories from the graduation.

Comment by CindyN on February 17, 2016 at 2:10pm

Shopgirl - If you scroll through old messages here, you will find lots of good information. Things are always changing but I will pass on information from last summer.  OCS training is 12 weeks. Graduation events are usually the Thursday afternoon/evening (Hi Mom's Reception) and Friday (Graduation) of that 12th week. 

That said, your loved one could "roll" for any number of reasons such as failing a "rollable test" or getting injured. If they roll into H class or Med Hold, they roll back into a later OCS class on 3 week increments.  For example, if they fail the RLP test at week 6, they would move into H class. While in H class they study and make prepratations for attempting 3 weeks later to pass the test that they originally missed.  If they get injured, they could be out for longer.

The general advice is to not make any reservations you can not cancel without cost until after the RLP test at week 6. There are other rollable events/tests after that but, in general, it is more unusual to roll after week 6.

Your LO may not have orders until right before graduation, or even after, so it is hard to know if you should plan on heading home on Friday night or staying for the weekend. When they get orders, as others have said, they may go home and pack up or they may have to report directly to their first assignment.

It is difficult to know what is best for how long to stay. At a minimum, you will want to be in Newport Thursday noon through Friday about 6pm.

Hang on for the exciting, and occasionally bumpy ride! My son is now learning a lot and generally having a great time with his first ship assignment.

Best of luck and feel free to ask questions here. This is a helpful group.  You will also want to get connected into your LO's OCS class on Facebook. The Facebook group is usually something like "Friends and Family of Navy OCS Class xx-xx" but is occasionally named something slightly different.

Comment by navymom1304 on February 17, 2016 at 2:07pm

Welcome Shopgirl! My son graduated OCS July 2015. OCS is scheduled for 12 weeks but there are many reasons a candidate can roll (placed out of class for 3 weeks) which delays the graduation. The graduation usually takes place the fri of week 12. The Hi Moms evening celebration is usually the night before (thurs). 

The best way to stay informed is to join the class FB page. They are usually listed as Friends and Family of (your candidate's class number). For example, mom son's was friends and family of 1415

All the best

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