OCS Graduate Moms

My son also graduated with class 16-12  with 1proudmama's son on Sept 7.    It was awesome!  So proud!  I will echo the advice to arrive at things EARLY.  The actual ceremony starts at the appointed time, but the companies march in well before.   Arriving 45 mins to one hour early is necessary to get good seats for photos.  Our son got his orders on Wed evening, just after we arrived and had dinner at the excellent Red Parrot restaurant downtown.  He has to report to Naval Intelligence School at Dam Neck, Va which is an annex of Oceana Naval Air Station, by Sept 17.   He was able to get a plane ticket on the same flight as ours to fly home with us on Sat!  (He had flown to OCS instead of driving.)  Now he has a few days to pack all of his things up and drive to VA.  We thought he would have to work recruiting at home for a few weeks since his school actually doesn't start until Nov, but they want him to report early, which is OK, because then he will have time to find housing and settle in.  The only other advice I have to you all going to grad is to take extra duffle bags, and a nice, large travel garment bag for uniforms to your LO.  Especially if they flew to OCS like our son did with just a small carry-on suitcase.  They are issued a seabag, but there is NO WAY they can get all of their uniforms and boots and shoes and gear that they have been issued into that.  We took a large travel garment bag and a large rolling duffle bag with us, and our son had all of that plus his seabag plus his suitcase stuffed to the max when he left!  If they have not received their orders yet  at graduation, they cannot leave until they do, but take the extra luggage with you anyway.  They will eventually need it when they can leave, even if they drove to OCS.

Good morning.  Is there anyone out there with a son or daughter in OCS Class 03-13 that started on September 9, 2012?

Hi Campbellm, I have a son in 03-13.

My son is in class 03-13 in Newport also...I am loving seeing the pictures posted and have been able to spot him in a few. Has anyone heard from their son/daughter/husband ? We got on phone call so far and we sent one letter.

Hi momoffive,  

My son graduated from OCS in September 2011.  May I suggest sending a letter everyday.  They will mean so much to him.  The circumstances are very intense and the guys and gals love getting mail.  I ask friends who knew him to send letters too.  Just tell him all that is going on and give some words of encouragement.  It's generally not a good idea to send pictures.  Best wishes to you and your son.  Wonder where you are seeing pictures.  Maybe on fb.  I only saw one of mine the whole time.  What a wonderful thing for you.  

Thanks ...I did join the FB page and am enjoying the pictures, we also got an email from him today!!!

And thank you Mayapple for your comments...we have sent his address to family members and hope they will write, too.

momoffive:  Tell all the family members that you give your LO's OCS address to, to send ONLY letters, until they reach the Candidate Officer (Candio) phase at nine weeks.  Do not send candy, gum, cookies, or any gifts now, or they will be punished.  One candidate in my son's OCS class got sent cookies at week three by an aunt, and had to do 800 pushups!  The letters should be in plain, white envelopes, no glitter, or stickers.  They also frown upon loose enclosures such as photos and cartoons. One way around this that we did successfully was to photocopy pictures and cartoons onto letter- sized paper, or print them into a word-processed letter.  NO MUSICAL CARDS!!!  You don't want their mail to stand out and call the DI's attention to them.  Tell all who have your LO's address about these rules, or they may innocently get your LO in trouble.

M's mom - thanks for the or letter writing. details..I shared that with our family.

I saw that our graduation (03-13) is November 30 (Friday). Does anyone know what time we show up for "Hi Mom"? I heard that was the Wed before graduation. We are trying to plan our travel, so if anyone knows please comment. Also, where do the families usually stay? I know my son spent one night at a hotel on the base, but not sure if we can or do we just stay in Newport. Thanks  everyone!

Ok, thanks everyone ...sounds like we can maybe see him on Wed., Hi mom is on Thurs and then graduation is Friday. What kind of attire should we plan on wearing? And...did anyone bring younger siblings? We have a 19, 12 and 8 year old and they all would like to come...but not sure if we should bring them. Again, thanks for any input.

My son graduated OCS on Sept 7th, and this was our timeline:  Most families arrived on Wednesday, because there are things happening on Thursday that you won't want to miss due to flight delays, etc.  Our son was able to meet us at the airport at 2:00pm, but some are not allowed liberty until later Wed, depends on if they get their duties done. We ate dinner with him, and he had liberty until 10:00 pm Wednesday night.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Middletown, which is only about one mile from the Base. When searching for area hotels, any of them in "Middletown" are right next to Newport and close to the base.  Families can also stay on the base at the Navy Lodge, but your LO will have to be there to check you in.  It fills up fast, so make reservations EARLY for there.   Thursday they held Pass in Review at 2:00pm (Get there early.)  This is when they demonstrate their rifle drill and they march in formation past a reviewing stand containing Navy big wigs. Thursday evening was Hi Moms reception at a downtown Newport hotel from 5:30 to 7:30.  Everybody was dressed up.  Our class just had appetizers and a cash bar.  Every class makes their own arrangements for this. Some have a dinner at the Officers' Club; some just have snacks at Hi Mom's and then people go where they want for dinner.  You can meet the class officers at Hi Moms and they show a video of their training.  Your LO will need a head count of how many attending, because they will have to pay the "per head" cost up front.    Friday morning was the graduation run at  5:00am.  You can run along with them if you want, but we just watched.  They demonstrate a physical training "beatdown" in the sandpit.  Then they march into the chow hall and demonstrate "eating by the numbers" one bite at a time. (Search YouTube for "Navy OCS chow hall procedures" to see videos of this)   Families could then buy breakfast for about $3 each and eat with your LO, as long as you were out by 6:15, because other classes had to eat.  Then our son went back to the barracks and we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for graduation at 9:00 am.  Get there early for good seats.  They actually march in before 9.  After grad, everybody walks outside to near the Bay, for First Salutes by the DI and Petty Officer.  It is all pretty much over by noon on Friday.  If your LO has orders, they are then free to leave as soon as they pack up all their stuff and sign out. (Take them extra duffle bags and a travel garment bag for uniforms.)  If they have not received their orders yet, they will have to move to King Hall, and just stay there in Newport until they do, which may take weeks!  We flew home on Sat morning, and our son was able to go with us because he had orders, and a week's "travel time" to report to his next school, but orders vary widely.  Sometimes they have to go home and work recruiting if it's going to be a while before their next school starts.     ALSO--- Your loved one will need a prior list of names of everyone attending anything on Base, and all adults will need  a photo ID to get on Base.  The gate guard will compare the ID's to his list of names, so be prepared for this.   The times of things for other OCS classes may differ, but it should be close to this for current classes.

Thank you M's mom for the details...so helpful!

I have a brand new Ensign in our family!!!  Daughter graduated Friday, Sept 28 and reports to Pensacola in October!!

Congrats, Anna!  My son graduated Sept 7.  It's a big relief for the family as well as the Ensign!    Now you can join the "Moms of Officers"  group here on N4M.  Best wishes to your daughter in Pensacola.  Will she be a pilot or Naval Flight Officer, (NFO) ?

Thank you everyone!!  Watching the commissioning is awesome isn't it??!!

M's mom,

I am so excited to now join the Moms of Officers group!!!  And Jenn will be going NFO. 

HI everyone...my son is in class 03-13 and we just got an email from him today! He said he looked forward to hearing from us snail mail or  email...we have sent a number of letters and so have several other family members. Does anyone know how the mail is distributed when they are there? The letters should have definitely gotten there by now.

Thanks for any input!

momoffive:  My son was the "Mail Body" (mail deliverer) for OCS class 16-12.  He was given a big pile of letters from the mail room every day Mon-Fri (but not on weekends) to distribute to his classmates.  However, he was not allowed to pick up OUTGOING mail. There isn't an outgoing mailbox in their barracks.  The closest one is several blocks away, and they are not allowed to just walk around freely in the early weeks of OCS, except maybe on Sunday during chapel time.  This is why you may not get any letters from your LO for a time, and then get 3 in one day!  It's just not easy for them to get to a mailbox.  It's much better when they get email privileges after four weeks. Those handwritten letters usually stop then!  The young folks today don't DO snail mail.  But they still like receiving mail FROM home.  We sent photocopies of cartoons and local newspaper clippings of interest.  They also look forward to when they become Candidate Officers (Candios) at nine weeks, and then they can receive "Candio Boxes" of treats from home!  But don't send anything edible until then.

Thanks M's mom...I didn't expect him to write but it does not seem as if he has gotten the many letters and cards that have been written to him...if there are many to be delivered maybe there is a delay? I hope he gets them soon!

momoffive:  Some of the OCS Drill Instructors, for whatever reason, do not allow the candidates to have their mail for the first few weeks,and then they get a pile all at once.  That's why I numbered my letters on the outside, #1, etc. Our son's DI was not as strict as some and they were allowed to have mail right away.  But some of the DI's are very strict, and their word is law.  The whole idea is to keep the candidates isolated and focused on their training. For instance they have no access to TV, radios, or newspapers. Our son had no idea of any national news going on, other than the news clippings we sent, because even when they get computer access, all they can do is email and get to .mil (military) sites.  They cannot get to the rest of the internet--Facebook, news pages, etc.   The DI's are weaning the candidates (and their loved ones!) off of constant communication with each other.  When they go out on sea duty, you will not be able to talk or text to them all the time.  If they are on a sub, it may be weeks (or months!) without hearing from them!    Your son will get his mail eventually.  He just may have a really strict DI.  They don't have any free time to write back either, except when they could be sleeping, so we were surprised that our son actually handwrote about 6-7 letters!    Once they got email, our son was able to check it daily, but again, SOME of the DI's only allowed them to email on weekends.  They have weekend phone privileges after the fourth week also. 

dmarie,

Thank you!!!  So funny - just before commissioning I helped my other daughter move from WA to PA.  I drove the UHaul!!!  I am glad OCS is over - now on to flight school!!

momoffive:  Has your son gotten any of your letters yet at OCS?

Hi M's mon - yes, he  did, and now he has email so we have heard from him quite a bit this weekend. Thanks for asking!

Jamesmom,

The orange belt means they haven't passed some part of their pt assessment.  They will be given extra training in order to pass the next time they are tested.  There is the In-PFA, the mid-PFA, and the out-PFA.  Usually anyone with an area to work on will have passed it by the mid assessment.  If they don't pass it by the out-PFA then they will be rolled back.

Do you use facebook?  There is a group page for friends and family of loved ones in class 04-13.  There are also groups for classes 16-12, 17-12, 01-13, 02-13, and 03-13.  It is good to join the older groups so you get a heads up of what is to come for your class.  16-12 and 17-12 graduated so those groups may not have current posts on there but you can certainly read through the older posts and check out the pictures.  There are also many files of valuable information on these older class pages under the tabs "files".  It would be a wonderful source of information to join facebook and these group pages if for nothing else than the time your son is at OCS.  My daughter graduated in 17-12 and I really relied on these groups for knowing what was going on.  Also,
 Officer Candidate School Newport has a facebook page and they post class updates and photos of the classes as they are going through in important events and challenges.  Good luck to your son - - hope this helps!!!!

HI

Can anyone tell me if the graduation is always outside? My son's class graduates on Nov. 30 and I was wondering about the weather...we are Floridians!!

Momoffive,

My daughter's graduation was Sept 28 and it was inside.  The first salutes are done outside, but graduation is inside along with the pass in review and of course, Hi Moms.

When my LO graduated in December both the graduation and first salutes were done inside.

navymom9875,

I wish our first salutes had been held inside.  It was threatening rain, cold, and windy and I don't think it made for good photo opportunities.

Can anyone tell me what the 03-13 officers rank will be when they graduate?  I am thinking of having something engraved with my son's name and would like to have his proper rank listed as well.  He will be a flight aviation officer.  Thank you for the information!

Nancy, who is your son? Our son is in that class and said his bunkmate is a FAO from WVU...is that your son by any chance?

Yes!! our son is 04-13. Have you seen the pictures on facebook?