Adverbe, Congratulations to both you and your son! Graduation is very exciting. The best part is seeing your LO again and seeing how they have changed. Where does your son go next?
Hi again! I just wanted to thank everybody for this group. The conversations have been uplifting and supportive. my LO graduates this Friday. I hope to meet Adverbe and Shelby there!! A big thank you to the moms of OCS alumni: LoniJ, CL, Quilter, M's mom, Anna, and myvampress, who all contributed to my peace of mind, as well as providing lots of tips for the coming week in Newport! Some of you I have befriended through private messages and some on this public board, but in every way, you ALL have helped out more than you know. The support of this group is incredible. Please remind me which page I should join next for naval aviation. Love to you all!
Nancy, and all you other Moms of class 08-17, congratulations to you and your (almost) Ensigns! Make sure you take tissues to the graduation ceremony, unless you are less emotional than most! Just wait until you see your LO's in full dress uniforms--you won't believe it is the same kid that you sent off 12 weeks ago! You will be bursting with pride!
Nancy, scroll to the top of this page under the banner where it says "all groups," click, and then search for "Naval Aviation." Those Moms will guide you through the flight school adventure! But we hope you will still participate with us OCS Moms, and help us reassure the newbie Moms. You're now a voice of experience!
You are very welcome, I'm glad I could be helpful in any way. M's mom is right, you have to stay with us here so you can a voice of experience to new moms!!! Will your new officer head to P'cola for training?
Hello! Many thanks to all of you for helping me navigate through this page and for helping me find the website for OCS. My daughter is in class 08-17 and graduates this Friday. She is IW (information warfare). Any suggestions on where to find group discussion fir that designator? Thanks especially to Nancy and all other family members of class 08-17. Looking forward to meeting you!
Hello everyone! I'm just checking in. Our DS had his Winging Ceremony this past weekend! He now wears those beautiful Golden Wings...next up SERE!! Most of you know we lost our DS 2Lt Army just 6 months ago, but I will say our Pilot has a special guardian angel right by his side Always and Forever now!!
Quilter, Congratulations on your DS and his Golden Wings!! What an accomplishment! I am sure that SERE is going to be extremely intense. That's something as a mom I don't even want to think about yet. Best wishes to you!
Congratulations on your son's Winging!!! Does he know which squadron he will be going to yet? Good luck to him in SERE.
That article is outdated. My daughter did her training in the winter also. She did tell me that they are instructed not to talk about their training because you don't want the new trainees having an idea about what's going on. It is better for their training if they go in with no incorrect preconceptions.
Shelby,
You won't find groups for Information Warfare as that is a qualification sailors have to earn. My son has his IW pin and he is in the Intelligence field. Is your daughter going to be an Intel Officer? Wishing her all the best in her next phase of training, whatever that might be!!
Quilter, Congrats to your son on his winging!!! I remember when he was at OCS and you were so anxious, but just look at all he has accomplished now! My condolences again about your other son, but you're right, your pilot will always have an angel co-pilot, even if he flies "solo."
Shelby, My son is an intelligence officer. Is that what your daughter's designator will be? Will she be going next to Oceana/Dam Neck in Virginia Beach for her next school? That is where the intel school is. There is no group that I know of here for intel officers. There is a group for Moms of enlisted intelligence specialists, but their experience is different, so I don't have much to add to their discussions.
Congratulations to your daughter! You will be bursting with pride at the graduation ceremony.
My DS left P'cola in November after winging. He was tired of roommates and chose to live alone. Several of the guys rented at Angel Cove Apts. (right outside the back gate) or at the complex across the street owned by the same management group. Rent was reasonable....nothing fancy...VERY close by (one of his MUSTS.) It was basic apartment living but it served his purpose before heading to his next destination. We just googled and happened upon it. Good luck with the next phase. Time will fly by for you as you have probably noticed with this OCS experience.
My daughter also lived in Angel Cove apts. Right by the back gate to the base which was preferable to having to drive through base!! She had an apartment to herself and her cat!!!
Pbmcdaniel and Anna,
Thank you so much for sharing this! So awesome to learn from people, who've been through the same experiences and who can understand the anxiety of leaping into the next phase. I love this forum, and I appreciate all the suggestions! Yes, the time flies by so fast in OCS. I hope it slows down a bit later... Thank you again!
Congratulations to Nancy, Shelby, Adverbe and the class of 8-17! Enjoy your time in Newport. It is both exciting and exhausting.
You are now the OCS Graduate Mom alumni with the most recent and relevant experience. I hope you are able to stay with us and help those you are coming after you.
Congrats! My son graduated in the 06 class. It is an exciting experience. Ensure to do the Cliff Walk and tour the mansions. Praying it will be warm for you.
Hi, I am just now figuring this group out and I really need it because I do not understand a lot of the things my son is telling me. He graduated from OCS in Feb and reported to Pensacola the following week. He is currently attending pre-flight indoctrination? He has two exams to go before he has his instructor led training before his solo flight. Then what happens? He is also getting married in May so a lot of stress for this mom. He also lives at Angel Cove. Close to base, perdido beach and shopping areas.
M's Mom, Anna and Nancy. My daughter still doesn't have official orders! Hopefully, all prayers and fingers crossed, she gets them today or at least before graduation. The hang up now is her OHARP duties. Her detailer having problems connecting with the Point of contact. But she does know where her first assignment will be. NOIC Maryland. Which is tenant of Ft Meade MD. She is IWO. Information warfare. Join the navy - see the world. And she starts out 2 year assignment little over hour from home - horrible traffic commute if she lives at home - and no water! LOL. So she most likely will be looking for living arrangements. I'm hoping her housing allowance kicks in a lot considering the price of living in the D.C. Area! Looks like her training school is booked until August. So she has 90 days OHARP. reports to duty assignment. Then leaves for school in Dam Neck VA reporting 17 August - then back to duty assignment. Oh well. Apparently NOIC MD is 'mother ship' for her designator. It will be good for her to make connections early in career! Looking forward to seeing her and all the 08-17 class and all family members tomorrow night!
H class is a temporary holding class for those in OCS who have been rolled back to the next class. If an OCS candidate fails an inspection or a physical test or is injured, they are placed in H class. They spend their time in H class recovering from their injury or working on the tests they failed so that they can hopefully pass when the next class (3 weeks later) has that test or inspection. If they do, then they join the new class (and leave the H class).
I may be wrong (that has happened more than a few times in my life) but there were also two divisions of my son's class and they were G and H. My son was in 04-16G or Golf. I wasn't sure if that was what you were asking about Piperdog. There is the holding class too that nickstermom wrote about. I tell you my memory isn't what it used to be so I may be completely wrong.
So (just like nickstermom said) that means he will roll back into 13-17 at the same time he rolled out. He will repeat the same inspection or test he failed last time. In the next three weeks he will work on passing that. Don't feel bad at all!! I have heard that the ones who roll come back stronger and become leaders in their new classes.
Does anyone here have a LO who is NFO? I know SNA are having at least 12 weeks of OHARP! Just wondering about NFO's. my LO is due to graduate on July 14. And planning in marrying Aug 5. Have just heard that there is a possibility that he will have to report right away! I hope someone on this board can help me. Or stir me in the right direction.
USNmom2017: Unfortunately, he won't know for sure until he gets his orders, which may not come in until right before OCS graduation. It just depends on when the next NFO class starts in relation to the date of his OCS graduation. Some are sent home to work recruiting (OHARP) for a while. Others have to report right away.
My son is not NFO, but his orders did not come in until the day before OCS graduation, then he had 10 days to report to his next school, so he was able to come home for only a week.
I know the uncertainty is hard, but this is how it is in the military. It is either "hurry up and wait," or "wait, wait, wait, and now HURRY UP!!!" Hope everything works out for your NFO.
USNmom2017,
My daughter had three weeks before she had to report to her next duty station. My daughter isnt a NFO either, she is SWO / ASWO / Engineering . She will do her 4 years in school and at sea. Before going to her duty station for Engineering. As M's Mom said it's either wait, wait, wait or hurray up and leave now. There is nothing you can do. He will be getting his orders soon. Most NFO go to Fla. for training. Good luck to you and you LO and the wedding.
Thank you both for the information. I am thinking it will all work out. Was told by a mom on the FB page that he will should be able to come home for the wedding, just not much time for the honeymoon. They already knew that. Any advice on finding housing in Pensacola would be helpful. Although I think the fiancé is already looking. She will not join him at first as she is still in nursing school. She will be able to visit maybe 1 a month. Thanks for all the information.
My son is NFO and graduated OCS in Feb. he is currently in API and is getting married tomorrow. They live at Angel Cove Apts which is mainly military. 5 minutes from NAS, Pensacola and 10 minutes to Perdido Beach.
USNmom2017,
If your LOS fiancé will be staying back, it might be best if he finds someone at OCS to room with for a while. When my daughter attenden OCS a lot of the NFO roomed together. Apartment cost isn't as bad in Fla as it is in San Diego. There is a web site for fla let me see if I can locate it for you
Thank you Noni and Gina for that information. I am guessing that housing is readily available being that they graduate on Friday and possibly need to report the next week.
My son had to report within a week after graduation, but did not actually start for a couple of weeks. First was his pre-flight indoctrination in where he had to fly Cessna solo. He is in API now with two weeks left. Last of academics is next week so pray he passes the last two finals, before survival training. Lots of studying.
Tess099, I know the waiting can be hard for a report date. My son was accepted to OCS right before his college graduation, but then he was told that it might be a year before OCS had room for him. So he was resigned to trying to find a job for a year, while being honest with employers that he was waiting to go to the military! All of a sudden, his recruiter called him the first of April, and said he was to report to OCS in 60 days in June!
Even if your LO has no estimate on when the OCS orders will come, he/she needs to use that time to get in the best physical shape ever, because they will greatly regret it if they show up to OCS out of shape!
The orders can come in any time even if they were given a long estimate like my son, so I know the uncertainty is hard, but this is the military--- wait, wait, wait, and now HURRY UP!!!
Thanks, M's mom! I appreciate your note. Did he get a letter of acceptance or was it just a phone call from the recruiter? My son's recruiter told him he would get his "orders?" in about 1 month. That was late-March. It's been almost two months. Someone told me all Navy review boards were halted due to some "problems" in one of them...
My daughter is at OCS in RI right now. She has been working hard to get into the program for either NFO or pilot. They told her two weeks ago she had 48 hours to show up for this last class. She declined because she had a trip planned, so she went on her trip and went the next class, which started this past Sunday. This morning, she called and was extremely upset because they told her that "her arms were 2" too short for NFO or pilot...and if she put on 2" of back-fat, she would pass". Do you think they're just jerking her around or what? She is tiny, but tough. She wants this bad. I encouraged her to hang in there, etc. She wasn't kicked out, just is facing choosing another route. Have you ever heard of something like this?
It's been 5 years ago, but I think my son's OCS orders came to his recruiter, who then called him, and then forwarded the printed orders to my son by email.
Hurry up & wait, or wait & now hurry up are the way it is in the military. Sometimes deployments are delayed after months of personal planning to leave, or worse, moved UP, so the military family has to scramble to get everything in place before the loved one leaves. Sailors and their families just have to learn to roll with it. "Semper Gumby" they say----Always Flexible!!!!!
Tell your son to use this time to memorize all the Navy knowledge, ranks, etc. that his recruiter should have given him, and work out hard daily. He will have a much easier time at OCS if he has all that stuff memorized and is in great physical shape going in.
SWAF: Sorry to hear that your daughter didn't "measure up," but I know they have certain size requirements that you can't be too big for the cockpit, or too small so you can't reach the controls. Seems pretty crass and unprofessional that someone made a lame joke about "putting on two inches of back fat so she would qualify."
Far be it for me to question the United States Navy, but it seems to me they could make sure these young people qualify in advance, before accepting them to OCS for a certain designator, then dashing their hopes once they get there and finding out they don't qualify. I mean, they couldn't have measured her arms at her MEPS physical and told her then that she wasn't big enough?
Something similar happened to my son. He also started OCS as a pilot candidate. He did extremely well on the aptitude tests and passed TWO different military physicals at the MEPS with flying colors. Then he went to OCS, and about 6 weeks in, they gave him a flight physical, in which they apparently scan every square inch inside and out. They determined that he has a minor congenital heart anomaly that one percent of the population have. It is not life-threatening, and he could stay in the Navy, but it DQ'd him from pilot or NFO. (Before they had the technology to scan for this, I'm sure there were hundreds of pilots who flew with it, but now that they can find it, they err on the side of caution, I guess.)
My son was pretty upset to say the least, but the Navy did allow him to transfer to Intelligence and graduate from OCS. It was probably a blessing in disguise for him since he now loves being an Intel officer, and I think he is probably better suited to it than he would have been a pilot.
I just wish they would screen the pilot/NFO candidates better before they even go to OCS. Unfortunately, this happens frequently. I hope your daughter is able to transfer to some other designator that she finds rewarding.
My daughter wanted pilot but got NFO instead. She was told she could never fly in jets tho cause she is too small and would never survive an ejection seat!!! So I'm not surprised to hear your daughter wasn't the right size for something.
Hello, OCS moms! My son just got to OCS, and I have a couple of questions. Is it appropriate to send anything to him other than letters? Are there "special occasions" when they can receive gifts at all? I miss him so very much already and he just started. Used to speaking with him two or three times a day and am in some serious withdrawal. Also, how much advance notice will I get to book flights, etc.? I am a planner, so all this wait and see stuff is pretty brutal. Thanks in advance <3
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.
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!
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.
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.
NicoleM
Mar 13, 2017
Adverbe
My son is in 08-17 too. He graduates on Friday! :) This is all very new to us.
Mar 25, 2017
CindyN
Adverbe, Congratulations to both you and your son! Graduation is very exciting. The best part is seeing your LO again and seeing how they have changed. Where does your son go next?
Mar 25, 2017
Nancy
Hi again! I just wanted to thank everybody for this group. The conversations have been uplifting and supportive. my LO graduates this Friday. I hope to meet Adverbe and Shelby there!! A big thank you to the moms of OCS alumni: LoniJ, CL, Quilter, M's mom, Anna, and myvampress, who all contributed to my peace of mind, as well as providing lots of tips for the coming week in Newport! Some of you I have befriended through private messages and some on this public board, but in every way, you ALL have helped out more than you know. The support of this group is incredible. Please remind me which page I should join next for naval aviation. Love to you all!
Mar 26, 2017
M's mom
Nancy, and all you other Moms of class 08-17, congratulations to you and your (almost) Ensigns! Make sure you take tissues to the graduation ceremony, unless you are less emotional than most! Just wait until you see your LO's in full dress uniforms--you won't believe it is the same kid that you sent off 12 weeks ago! You will be bursting with pride!
Nancy, scroll to the top of this page under the banner where it says "all groups," click, and then search for "Naval Aviation." Those Moms will guide you through the flight school adventure! But we hope you will still participate with us OCS Moms, and help us reassure the newbie Moms. You're now a voice of experience!
Mar 26, 2017
Anna
Nancy,
You are very welcome, I'm glad I could be helpful in any way. M's mom is right, you have to stay with us here so you can a voice of experience to new moms!!! Will your new officer head to P'cola for training?
Mar 26, 2017
Shelby
Mar 27, 2017
Quilter
Hello everyone! I'm just checking in. Our DS had his Winging Ceremony this past weekend! He now wears those beautiful Golden Wings...next up SERE!! Most of you know we lost our DS 2Lt Army just 6 months ago, but I will say our Pilot has a special guardian angel right by his side Always and Forever now!!
Mar 27, 2017
PortMom
Mar 27, 2017
Nancy
Quilter, Congratulations on your DS and his Golden Wings!! What an accomplishment! I am sure that SERE is going to be extremely intense. That's something as a mom I don't even want to think about yet. Best wishes to you!
Shelby, can't wait to meet you later this week!
Mar 27, 2017
Anna
Quilter,
Congratulations on your son's Winging!!! Does he know which squadron he will be going to yet? Good luck to him in SERE.
That article is outdated. My daughter did her training in the winter also. She did tell me that they are instructed not to talk about their training because you don't want the new trainees having an idea about what's going on. It is better for their training if they go in with no incorrect preconceptions.
Shelby,
You won't find groups for Information Warfare as that is a qualification sailors have to earn. My son has his IW pin and he is in the Intelligence field. Is your daughter going to be an Intel Officer? Wishing her all the best in her next phase of training, whatever that might be!!
Mar 27, 2017
M's mom
Quilter, Congrats to your son on his winging!!! I remember when he was at OCS and you were so anxious, but just look at all he has accomplished now! My condolences again about your other son, but you're right, your pilot will always have an angel co-pilot, even if he flies "solo."
Mar 27, 2017
M's mom
Shelby, My son is an intelligence officer. Is that what your daughter's designator will be? Will she be going next to Oceana/Dam Neck in Virginia Beach for her next school? That is where the intel school is. There is no group that I know of here for intel officers. There is a group for Moms of enlisted intelligence specialists, but their experience is different, so I don't have much to add to their discussions.
Congratulations to your daughter! You will be bursting with pride at the graduation ceremony.
Mar 27, 2017
ljdnavigator
My son is graduating 8-17 too. I can't wait to see him!
Mar 27, 2017
Maxx
Mar 28, 2017
PortMom
Mar 28, 2017
pbmcdaniel
Maxx4 and PortMom,
My DS left P'cola in November after winging. He was tired of roommates and chose to live alone. Several of the guys rented at Angel Cove Apts. (right outside the back gate) or at the complex across the street owned by the same management group. Rent was reasonable....nothing fancy...VERY close by (one of his MUSTS.) It was basic apartment living but it served his purpose before heading to his next destination. We just googled and happened upon it. Good luck with the next phase. Time will fly by for you as you have probably noticed with this OCS experience.
Mar 28, 2017
Anna
My daughter also lived in Angel Cove apts. Right by the back gate to the base which was preferable to having to drive through base!! She had an apartment to herself and her cat!!!
Mar 28, 2017
PortMom
Thank you so much for sharing this! So awesome to learn from people, who've been through the same experiences and who can understand the anxiety of leaping into the next phase. I love this forum, and I appreciate all the suggestions! Yes, the time flies by so fast in OCS. I hope it slows down a bit later... Thank you again!
Mar 28, 2017
CindyN
Congratulations to Nancy, Shelby, Adverbe and the class of 8-17! Enjoy your time in Newport. It is both exciting and exhausting.
You are now the OCS Graduate Mom alumni with the most recent and relevant experience. I hope you are able to stay with us and help those you are coming after you.
Congratulations again!
Mar 28, 2017
Gina Mills
Mar 29, 2017
Gina Mills
Mar 29, 2017
Shelby
Mar 29, 2017
Piperdog
My son is currently in OCS and I hope this forum will be useful in answering my questions. Can anyone explain H Class ? Thank you
Apr 7, 2017
nickstermom
Apr 7, 2017
LoniJ
I may be wrong (that has happened more than a few times in my life) but there were also two divisions of my son's class and they were G and H. My son was in 04-16G or Golf. I wasn't sure if that was what you were asking about Piperdog. There is the holding class too that nickstermom wrote about. I tell you my memory isn't what it used to be so I may be completely wrong.
Apr 7, 2017
Piperdog
Thank you LoniJ and nickstermom for your help with my question. I am trying to figure out the system, lingo, and processes.
Apr 7, 2017
Nancy
Piperdog, is your son in 09-17, 10-17, 11-17 or 12-17?
Apr 7, 2017
Piperdog
He was/is in 12-17 and got rolled on Wednesday.
Apr 7, 2017
Nancy
So (just like nickstermom said) that means he will roll back into 13-17 at the same time he rolled out. He will repeat the same inspection or test he failed last time. In the next three weeks he will work on passing that. Don't feel bad at all!! I have heard that the ones who roll come back stronger and become leaders in their new classes.
Apr 7, 2017
USNmom2017
May 11, 2017
M's mom
USNmom2017: Unfortunately, he won't know for sure until he gets his orders, which may not come in until right before OCS graduation. It just depends on when the next NFO class starts in relation to the date of his OCS graduation. Some are sent home to work recruiting (OHARP) for a while. Others have to report right away.
My son is not NFO, but his orders did not come in until the day before OCS graduation, then he had 10 days to report to his next school, so he was able to come home for only a week.
I know the uncertainty is hard, but this is how it is in the military. It is either "hurry up and wait," or "wait, wait, wait, and now HURRY UP!!!" Hope everything works out for your NFO.
May 11, 2017
Noni
My daughter had three weeks before she had to report to her next duty station. My daughter isnt a NFO either, she is SWO / ASWO / Engineering . She will do her 4 years in school and at sea. Before going to her duty station for Engineering. As M's Mom said it's either wait, wait, wait or hurray up and leave now. There is nothing you can do. He will be getting his orders soon. Most NFO go to Fla. for training. Good luck to you and you LO and the wedding.
May 11, 2017
USNmom2017
May 12, 2017
Gina Mills
May 13, 2017
Noni
If your LOS fiancé will be staying back, it might be best if he finds someone at OCS to room with for a while. When my daughter attenden OCS a lot of the NFO roomed together. Apartment cost isn't as bad in Fla as it is in San Diego. There is a web site for fla let me see if I can locate it for you
May 13, 2017
USNmom2017
May 13, 2017
Gina Mills
May 13, 2017
Tess099
Is anyone out there who's son/daughter is waiting for orders to actually go to OCS?
May 15, 2017
M's mom
Tess099, I know the waiting can be hard for a report date. My son was accepted to OCS right before his college graduation, but then he was told that it might be a year before OCS had room for him. So he was resigned to trying to find a job for a year, while being honest with employers that he was waiting to go to the military! All of a sudden, his recruiter called him the first of April, and said he was to report to OCS in 60 days in June!
Even if your LO has no estimate on when the OCS orders will come, he/she needs to use that time to get in the best physical shape ever, because they will greatly regret it if they show up to OCS out of shape!
The orders can come in any time even if they were given a long estimate like my son, so I know the uncertainty is hard, but this is the military--- wait, wait, wait, and now HURRY UP!!!
May 15, 2017
Tess099
Thanks, M's mom! I appreciate your note. Did he get a letter of acceptance or was it just a phone call from the recruiter? My son's recruiter told him he would get his "orders?" in about 1 month. That was late-March. It's been almost two months. Someone told me all Navy review boards were halted due to some "problems" in one of them...
May 15, 2017
SWAF
My daughter is at OCS in RI right now. She has been working hard to get into the program for either NFO or pilot. They told her two weeks ago she had 48 hours to show up for this last class. She declined because she had a trip planned, so she went on her trip and went the next class, which started this past Sunday. This morning, she called and was extremely upset because they told her that "her arms were 2" too short for NFO or pilot...and if she put on 2" of back-fat, she would pass". Do you think they're just jerking her around or what? She is tiny, but tough. She wants this bad. I encouraged her to hang in there, etc. She wasn't kicked out, just is facing choosing another route. Have you ever heard of something like this?
May 16, 2017
M's mom
Tess099:
It's been 5 years ago, but I think my son's OCS orders came to his recruiter, who then called him, and then forwarded the printed orders to my son by email.
Hurry up & wait, or wait & now hurry up are the way it is in the military. Sometimes deployments are delayed after months of personal planning to leave, or worse, moved UP, so the military family has to scramble to get everything in place before the loved one leaves. Sailors and their families just have to learn to roll with it. "Semper Gumby" they say----Always Flexible!!!!!
Tell your son to use this time to memorize all the Navy knowledge, ranks, etc. that his recruiter should have given him, and work out hard daily. He will have a much easier time at OCS if he has all that stuff memorized and is in great physical shape going in.
May 16, 2017
M's mom
SWAF: Sorry to hear that your daughter didn't "measure up," but I know they have certain size requirements that you can't be too big for the cockpit, or too small so you can't reach the controls. Seems pretty crass and unprofessional that someone made a lame joke about "putting on two inches of back fat so she would qualify."
Far be it for me to question the United States Navy, but it seems to me they could make sure these young people qualify in advance, before accepting them to OCS for a certain designator, then dashing their hopes once they get there and finding out they don't qualify. I mean, they couldn't have measured her arms at her MEPS physical and told her then that she wasn't big enough?
Something similar happened to my son. He also started OCS as a pilot candidate. He did extremely well on the aptitude tests and passed TWO different military physicals at the MEPS with flying colors. Then he went to OCS, and about 6 weeks in, they gave him a flight physical, in which they apparently scan every square inch inside and out. They determined that he has a minor congenital heart anomaly that one percent of the population have. It is not life-threatening, and he could stay in the Navy, but it DQ'd him from pilot or NFO. (Before they had the technology to scan for this, I'm sure there were hundreds of pilots who flew with it, but now that they can find it, they err on the side of caution, I guess.)
My son was pretty upset to say the least, but the Navy did allow him to transfer to Intelligence and graduate from OCS. It was probably a blessing in disguise for him since he now loves being an Intel officer, and I think he is probably better suited to it than he would have been a pilot.
I just wish they would screen the pilot/NFO candidates better before they even go to OCS. Unfortunately, this happens frequently. I hope your daughter is able to transfer to some other designator that she finds rewarding.
May 16, 2017
Anna
SWAF,
My daughter wanted pilot but got NFO instead. She was told she could never fly in jets tho cause she is too small and would never survive an ejection seat!!! So I'm not surprised to hear your daughter wasn't the right size for something.
May 16, 2017
Rachel
Hello, OCS moms! My son just got to OCS, and I have a couple of questions. Is it appropriate to send anything to him other than letters? Are there "special occasions" when they can receive gifts at all? I miss him so very much already and he just started. Used to speaking with him two or three times a day and am in some serious withdrawal. Also, how much advance notice will I get to book flights, etc.? I am a planner, so all this wait and see stuff is pretty brutal. Thanks in advance <3
May 17, 2017
Noni
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.
May 17, 2017
Noni
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!
May 17, 2017
M's mom
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.
May 17, 2017
Nancy
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.
May 17, 2017