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!
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
Rachael - Search for "14MAY17 Navy OCS Class - Family & Loved Ones" on Facebook. Could that be the group for your LO's class? There is no set format for the name so you might need to search a bit. They usually have "Navy OCS" in the group name but after that may use based on report date or class number.
Rachel--- Search for "Navy OCS Class XX-17 Friends & Family" where XX is his class number. Usually the class FB pages are started by a family member, not OCS, so you may have to make one yourself. Also search for the FB page "Officer Training Command Newport." This is the official OCS page and they post pictures of the candidates doing training, so you might get to see your son, although the guys all look alike with their shaved heads!
Search for the Facebook pages of the OCS classes numerically before your son's class and ask to join those also. That helps for questions and to see what they are up to three weeks ahead of your son's class.
About the candio boxes, the reason (as we heard it) they stopped allowing food was that the drill instructors were disgusted at seeing the gorging on junk food, hahaha. I didn't mind not sending the food. At first I was disappointed I couldn't send treats, but then got past it and was able to put more thought into other items.
About the first salute, it is not done at OCS, but wherever you are after that. Some graduates got their first salute that very afternoon because they went to the NEX with their families and were still in uniform and were saluted outside. The graduates are given a coin to give to the person. For my son it didn't happen until a week later when he was on OHARP in Norfolk. He was saluted when he went on base for something and he returned the salute and then said, "excuse me <insert whatever rank the guy was>, I believe I owe you a coin for my first salute. I'm sure I don't deserve it, as you've been in the navy a lot longer than I have." To which the enlisted person replied "I'm sure you do deserve it, sir." And he was actually very pleased to receive the coin. So it is not an OCS tradition any longer, but this was really kind of cool for my son and the other guy.
Rachel, the unofficial family group on FB for your LO is 14MAY17 Navy OCS Class - Family & Loved Ones, where we give support and info. You'll find the official link there for the FB page for his actual class.
Thank you, GalleyMom! I will join the group for the class ahead of him! Wow, good to know about the coins! I will tell his dad about it, too! Thanks so much!
Nancy, That's a great story about your son and his first salute! My son's class also designed and ordered challenge coins, but most kept them as souvenirs and used some other coin, not necessarily a silver dollar, for the first salutes. Just kind of a shame that OCS doesn't do it as a formal ceremony anymore. Probably a good idea to discontinue the Candio boxes, because a lot of what they were sent just got thrown out because they couldn't eat it all.
I'm saddened to hear that OCS stopped the first salute tradition. Because they were doing that when my daughter commissioned in 2012, my sailor son and other sailor daughter (twin sisters), were able to attend in uniform and joined the DI and CPO for the first salute. My profile picture is all three of my sailors in the drill hall after the ceremony!!! I've never had all three together in uniform any other time because the enlisted daughter got out!!!!
I a new Navy mom. My son goes to OCS in late June. I don't know much about the process and what to do to support him. If anyone has any advice, I'd LOVE to hear it.
Read all of the recent post. Most of the new moms have asked the same questions.
Support is the biggest thing you have to offer to him right now and while he is in OCS. He will contact you the day he enters with his address. Always keep you phone volume up, you never know when they will get to call home and when they do they will give you a phone number to call them back. Write letters! Those are going to be gold for a while. Don't send letters with pictures etc. in them. White envelops only. No packages until Candio phase and from what Im learning is they are trying to phase that out. My daughter graduated on Halloween of 2014. Make sure you register for your sons OCS FB page and the class after it. This is just incase he rolls. I even joined the OCS Class before my daughter. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask.
Hi Liz! You will find this site very helpful. There is a vast support network and answers for almost all your questions. It helped me a lot just a few months ago, as you can see by all the questions I asked in the discussion forums! Don't forget to check those out! GalleyMom and Noni are right about everything. And do join the facebook page, and the classes before and after. I think I joined about 6 classes! I NEVER saw my son's picture on any of our class's facebook photos. It wasn't until after he had gotten home, and it was in the class 2 classes later and he was helping with their khaki inspection. So it pays to join all of them, the ones before for information, and the ones after for pictures. GalleyMom and Noni have great advice, particularly about memorizing as much stuff as he can before going and getting in shape.
I should start by saying that my son was in OCS about 2 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 wrote more often. I often thought that writing to him was at least as therapeutic for me, if not more so, than it was for him. It may be good to include a list of phone numbers and email addresses in one of your letters.
Currently at the end of week 2 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 (There was a recent note that they call you and have you return their call at a number they provide, so a phone card may not be needed.)
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. You can start to watch that page now. It will give you a glimpse of life at OCS.
You can find a packing list here: http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs_requiredpaperwork.html I second GalleyMom’s note about good running shoes. And if you can talk them into bright colored shoes, it is a plus!
OCS is a challenging process for both the candidates and their families. But there seems to be a method to their madness. The men and women that develop during OCS and you meet at graduation are pretty awesome. These young men and women who volunteer and get selected for Naval Officers are so impressive. It gives me so much hope for our future.
Hi Liz, Everyone here has already given you such good advice; I don't have much to add. As Noni wrote, read back as far as you can on these posts, and we probably have answered many of your questions already. When you get to the bottom of this page, just click page 2 and keep going!
Also, above the Comments Wall here, you will see the Discussion Forum. Click on "View All," and read the most recent ones. Things change constantly at OCS, so some of the older posts may give incorrect info. My son went to OCS in 2012, and I found this site and the class Facebook pages invaluable, but I now have to defer to the newer OCS Moms for specific questions because so much has changed. Good luck to your son!
A question about travel after OCS commissioning! I have read that they won't get their orders until that day! Are travel arrangements already made by then or do you have to hurry and make them?
USNmom2017
They usually get their orders a week or so before. At least my daughter did. Your son is a NFO so he may have to wait.... majority of the Ensins know where they are going and when they need to be at post. Your son will let you know all details. As parents we want all the details now. Remember this is the Navy and they are Marine trained. When they say now it's now not later.
USNmom2017,
Welcome to the group!! It is so good to have this support, especially during OCS. My son just finished in March. The NFOs in his class received their orders and moved to Pensacola quickly in a week or less. It will depend on the needs how soon they move on. The pilots right now are waiting almost three months. That has been good for me since he has been home during that time on OHARP. He heads out this week for API finally. It is all very exciting for them. Good luck!!
I figured he would have to report that next week. We are about 6 hours from Pensacola. Hoping he can come home forest and get his car to take down. Do yiu know if that is possible? And are they able to find housing that quick? Thank you fir your answers. He is a grown young man, but you know wus mims, we like to find out.
There are different things that can happen. My son's experience was a little different because he graduated the week before Christmas in 2015. His medical paperwork had not been signed off by the flight surgeons in p'cola so he had to wait another week after graduation on that before starting OHARP. He opted to fly home for that time instead of sitting on base over the holiday. He was so ready to get off the base. OHARP is their assignment before going to flight school and is basically working at an office while he waits for a spot to open up in flight school. That can be a couple of months. He can request where he wants to do that. This time also gives him an opportunity to find housing which he has probably already discussed with some of his OCS classmates. I know as mom's we like to know what's going on but don't frustrate yourself. Hope I haven't totally confused you. I guess when we think military we think precision timing but when it comes to the moving and next assignment it is not always that way.
To all asking about travel arrangements after OCS, I think the Navy will pay for travel from OCS to their next duty assignment, but not to home. Our son got his orders the day before OCS graduation, which gave him 10 days to report to his next school. He had not driven to OCS, but flew, so he wanted to go home and collect his vehicle and worldly goods, and then drive to his next duty. His dad & I flew to OCS graduation, and when son got his orders, we were able to get him a plane ticket on the flight home with us. We had to pay for that, not the Navy. When he drove to his next duty from home, he MIGHT have gotten reimbursed by the Navy for mileage, but I don't remember. I know the Navy pays for travel or reimburses them from one duty assignment to another, but not to home.
Read back on these posts as far back as you can and we may have answered many of your questions already. Your daughter will be able to call you during the first 48 hrs at OCS to tell you she is there, then after that you won't hear much until she gets email at about week 3-4.
Send her only LETTERS in plain, white envelopes--no gifts, no treats, no musical cards, etc. Make sure all the friends and relatives to whom you give her mailing address know this. We have discussed this in recent posts below, so read those.
M's mom is correct when my daughter left OCS she drove home with us and stayed 10 day and she bought herself a car and drove to Cali. They reimbursed her for travel( mileage) ,food and lodging. All receipts must be kept and turned into the Navy.
Nukemom Carol,
Like M's mom said try to read back the previous messages. Both M's mom and I have children who graduated in 12 and 14. Things have changed for us but the new moms will be able to help with their LOs are either just in or just left Ocs. As a mother of a daughter. Join the Navy daughters blog. The only thing in that site is they don't understand us officer moms. We deal with different issues. If you want you can friend me. I tell all parent to know the color of there child gym shoes. That's is sometime the only way you can pick them out of pictures. Make sure you join OCS FB page. Join the class prior, present and Future. Prior to see what the class is presently doing. Then join your class to keep up an see pictures. The future class in case your daughter rolls. Bes of luck to your daughter in Nuke school. Goose island they say is beautiful. My daughter was going Nuke but instead is SWO/ ASWO / Nuke Engineering.
I have a group Moms of Daughters 2 and we have moms of both officer and enlisted. I myself have an officer daughter (and a veteran enlisted daughter, and an enlisted son) who did OCS in 2012. Enlisted or officer, we understand the differences with sending our daughters off to the military!!
My son graduated OCS in summer of 2015. There is a pretty good description of the routine at OCS on a day by day basis on Navydads.com. If you search on Navydads OCS it will give a detailed description of every day for the 1st week. Some of the info (gouge) is old but it seems to get the flavor of what they are going through (according to my son). It is a challenging time for the kids, but my son told me that in looking back on it, it wasn't so bad. Good luck to all of you and your LO's.
I am a retired NavyWife. Our son started OCS class 14-17 on mother's day. Just saw his first pix posted yesterday afternoon on the ocs (fb) website. Was lucky enough to see his face. We are so proud that he decide to follow in his dad's footsteps. We are looking foward to seeing his dad give him the first salute. My husband is trying hard to make sure he fits in his chocker (dress white)uniform. I was wandering if any SNA moms might give me some insight on what are the chances our son will go straight to Pensacola for IFS versus OHARP. you see He was hoping to skip OHARP. It seems NFO go pretty much straight to Pensacola with PCS order but not sure about Pilots except for those that know what they will be flying such as HELOs. We just wanted to know if he will be coming back home for 2-3 months under OHARP or would he be assigned to A-POOL at NAS Pensacola. Which im not sure but is not that great. Thanx everyone.
NavyMomNavyWife: It all depends on when the next SNA class starts vs. when he graduates from OCS. Classes graduate from OCS every 3 weeks, and I don't think they start flight school classes that often. Sometimes, if it will be only a few weeks, his orders may send him to Pensacola right away after OCS, but then he will just be on "stash duty," as my son called it. My son had to report to his CO upon arrival, then just had to call in every morning for 3 weeks, and basically had nothing to do until his class started 3 weeks later. It was good though, because that gave him time to find housing, and settle in.
I think someone recently posted here that the SNA's were currently waiting 3 months or so after OCS. Maybe some of the moms of recent OCS grads could help here.
There is also a group here on Navy 4 Moms called "Naval Aviation" which you should join. Those moms can answer your questions about flight school, and may know how long the current wait is.
Congratulations to your son! That will be quite a photo of he and his dad saluting each other in their choaker whites!!!
Robertsmom, We were in Newport about 2 months ago for graduation and stayed in the Residence Inn Marriott in Middletown, about 10 minutes from the base. This is NOT the same Marriott that our son's class had their Hi Moms event. That Marriott is in Newport near the waterfront. We really liked the one we were at because of its proximity to the base and it is one of a few hotels offering suites of rooms. We were able to get a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen for only $119/night with a military discount. Just tell any hotel you book with that you are there for OCS graduation and you will get the discount. The rates might be higher in the summer; it was still winter when we were there. Don't forget that your son will likely be able to stay with you on Thursday night (as long as he's back by 5:00 am Friday) so make sure you have a place for him to sleep. There were a couple other hotels right around us. The Hampton Inn was next door and very nice. There was also a Howard Johnsons next door, which was cheaper I believe. Many OCS families were in all these hotels in Middletown. Hope this helps a little.
Robertsmom: As the others have posted, search for hotels in Middletown, RI which are actually closer to the base than anything in Newport. The places in Newport are usually resorts and are very expensive in the summer. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Middletown and it was near to the base and there were many other national chain hotels along that road.
If you have some time before/after graduation go into Newport and take a tour or two of some of those "summer cottages" of the old rich, like The Breakers. (Known as "mansions" to most of us!) Also drive around the point on Ocean Avenue for picturesque views of the bay.
There appears to be no limit for numbers at graduation--just Hi Moms. Also, we stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton--also reasonable, very close and really nice and very new. They also include breakfast, happy hour and dinner food for free. We met other OCS parents--had a great time. Also, some classes may not get Thu PM off. It depends on their DI. Mine did not and we did not get to see him until midday Fri. Just be prepared for whatever they are told to do.
For those that have attended OCS and attended the Hi Moms, are the Dad's also invited? After graduation, can our LO's leave? Did you leave the area on graduation day or stay over and leave the next morning? Thank you very much in advance for answering.
SWAF,
Of course dads are invited. It does throw a curve when it say Hi Moms. After graduation we left right away. The daughter couldn't wait to pack up and go home for 10 days. But that dosent happen to all. Sme may leave have to leave to their duty station.
Roberts mom,
For Hi Moms it depends on the class size. We had 5 attend. Remember that your son or daughter will be paying for you to attend this event. Hi Moms I recommend a a nice dress or suite. For graduation it was a dress causal. Don't miss the 5am run and beat down they do. That will be the same day as graduation.
Robertsmom, there is no limit but the officer candidates have to pay for each person they invite. SWAF, yes dads and any loved ones are invited. As soon as graduation is over, they can leave as long as they have their orders. We left the next day because we wanted to sightsee a little. We went back to our rooms and our son actually crashed for a 2 hour nap, then we ate dinner and just hung out in the hotel pool/hot tub that night. The next day we toured the Breakers mansion and caught a late flight home. It's really up to you all what to do, but they are free to leave (if they have orders), and most of them want to get the heck out of Newport. We are recent (March 2017) graduates.
Robertsmom: It depends on what limit for Hi Moms that the candidates themselves decide. OCS has nothing to do with the Hi Moms reception. The candidates make all the arrangements and pay for it themselves, so each candidate must pay so much per guest for their family attending. Sometimes due to the space of the venue, there may be space limitations, say four guests per candidate, etc. Hi Moms can be anything form dinner at the Officers Club to just a cocktail reception, whatever they decide. My son's Hi Moms was cocktails at a historic downtown Newport hotel. They had trays of many appetizers and snacks and provided non-alcoholic beverages, then there was a cash bar. They showed a funny video of pictures taken during their training that they had compiled. It lasted a few hours.
Your candidate will need to turn in a list of names of everyone attending graduation. When my son graduated 5 years ago, the gate guards at the base had the list and had to check photo ID's of every adult in our car against the list, so be prepared for that.
As far as the graduation ceremony, I don't think there is a limit, but seating is first come, first served, so get there very early for good seats. It was standing room only at the beginning of my son's graduation.
y'all are so helpful. we have 5 or 6 flying in from all over. If they can't go to the hi Mom
I'm sure they will be fine on their own for a couple of hours! We are all leaving from Newport to go to a family reunion in DC for the weekend. Fingers crossed that our time line remains the same.
Robertsmom, if you do end up with people not going to Hi Moms (although we saw families with LOTS of people there back in March) I would send some on ahead to get a table at a restaurant OR make a reservation. All the restaurants are very crowded and had at least an hour wait that Thursday night.
M's mom
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!
May 18, 2017
M's mom
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
May 18, 2017
CindyN
Rachael - Search for "14MAY17 Navy OCS Class - Family & Loved Ones" on Facebook. Could that be the group for your LO's class? There is no set format for the name so you might need to search a bit. They usually have "Navy OCS" in the group name but after that may use based on report date or class number.
May 18, 2017
M's mom
Rachel--- Search for "Navy OCS Class XX-17 Friends & Family" where XX is his class number. Usually the class FB pages are started by a family member, not OCS, so you may have to make one yourself. Also search for the FB page "Officer Training Command Newport." This is the official OCS page and they post pictures of the candidates doing training, so you might get to see your son, although the guys all look alike with their shaved heads!
Search for the Facebook pages of the OCS classes numerically before your son's class and ask to join those also. That helps for questions and to see what they are up to three weeks ahead of your son's class.
May 18, 2017
Rachel
Yes, CL! That's it! Thank you so much!!
May 18, 2017
Nancy
About the candio boxes, the reason (as we heard it) they stopped allowing food was that the drill instructors were disgusted at seeing the gorging on junk food, hahaha. I didn't mind not sending the food. At first I was disappointed I couldn't send treats, but then got past it and was able to put more thought into other items.
About the first salute, it is not done at OCS, but wherever you are after that. Some graduates got their first salute that very afternoon because they went to the NEX with their families and were still in uniform and were saluted outside. The graduates are given a coin to give to the person. For my son it didn't happen until a week later when he was on OHARP in Norfolk. He was saluted when he went on base for something and he returned the salute and then said, "excuse me <insert whatever rank the guy was>, I believe I owe you a coin for my first salute. I'm sure I don't deserve it, as you've been in the navy a lot longer than I have." To which the enlisted person replied "I'm sure you do deserve it, sir." And he was actually very pleased to receive the coin. So it is not an OCS tradition any longer, but this was really kind of cool for my son and the other guy.
May 18, 2017
SWAF
Rachel, the unofficial family group on FB for your LO is 14MAY17 Navy OCS Class - Family & Loved Ones, where we give support and info. You'll find the official link there for the FB page for his actual class.
May 18, 2017
Rachel
Wonderful, have sent a join request. Thank you, SWAF!
May 18, 2017
Rachel
Thank you, GalleyMom! I will join the group for the class ahead of him! Wow, good to know about the coins! I will tell his dad about it, too! Thanks so much!
May 18, 2017
M's mom
Nancy, That's a great story about your son and his first salute! My son's class also designed and ordered challenge coins, but most kept them as souvenirs and used some other coin, not necessarily a silver dollar, for the first salutes. Just kind of a shame that OCS doesn't do it as a formal ceremony anymore. Probably a good idea to discontinue the Candio boxes, because a lot of what they were sent just got thrown out because they couldn't eat it all.
May 18, 2017
Anna
I'm saddened to hear that OCS stopped the first salute tradition. Because they were doing that when my daughter commissioned in 2012, my sailor son and other sailor daughter (twin sisters), were able to attend in uniform and joined the DI and CPO for the first salute. My profile picture is all three of my sailors in the drill hall after the ceremony!!! I've never had all three together in uniform any other time because the enlisted daughter got out!!!!
May 18, 2017
Liz
I a new Navy mom. My son goes to OCS in late June. I don't know much about the process and what to do to support him. If anyone has any advice, I'd LOVE to hear it.
May 19, 2017
Noni
Hi Liz,
Read all of the recent post. Most of the new moms have asked the same questions.
Support is the biggest thing you have to offer to him right now and while he is in OCS. He will contact you the day he enters with his address. Always keep you phone volume up, you never know when they will get to call home and when they do they will give you a phone number to call them back. Write letters! Those are going to be gold for a while. Don't send letters with pictures etc. in them. White envelops only. No packages until Candio phase and from what Im learning is they are trying to phase that out. My daughter graduated on Halloween of 2014. Make sure you register for your sons OCS FB page and the class after it. This is just incase he rolls. I even joined the OCS Class before my daughter. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask.
May 19, 2017
Nancy
Hi Liz! You will find this site very helpful. There is a vast support network and answers for almost all your questions. It helped me a lot just a few months ago, as you can see by all the questions I asked in the discussion forums! Don't forget to check those out! GalleyMom and Noni are right about everything. And do join the facebook page, and the classes before and after. I think I joined about 6 classes! I NEVER saw my son's picture on any of our class's facebook photos. It wasn't until after he had gotten home, and it was in the class 2 classes later and he was helping with their khaki inspection. So it pays to join all of them, the ones before for information, and the ones after for pictures. GalleyMom and Noni have great advice, particularly about memorizing as much stuff as he can before going and getting in shape.
May 19, 2017
CindyN
Liz,
I should start by saying that my son was in OCS about 2 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 wrote more often. I often thought that writing to him was at least as therapeutic for me, if not more so, than it was for him. It may be good to include a list of phone numbers and email addresses in one of your letters.
Currently at the end of week 2 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 (There was a recent note that they call you and have you return their call at a number they provide, so a phone card may not be needed.)
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. You can start to watch that page now. It will give you a glimpse of life at OCS.
You can find a packing list here: http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs_requiredpaperwork.html I second GalleyMom’s note about good running shoes. And if you can talk them into bright colored shoes, it is a plus!
OCS is a challenging process for both the candidates and their families. But there seems to be a method to their madness. The men and women that develop during OCS and you meet at graduation are pretty awesome. These young men and women who volunteer and get selected for Naval Officers are so impressive. It gives me so much hope for our future.
May 19, 2017
M's mom
Hi Liz, Everyone here has already given you such good advice; I don't have much to add. As Noni wrote, read back as far as you can on these posts, and we probably have answered many of your questions already. When you get to the bottom of this page, just click page 2 and keep going!
Also, above the Comments Wall here, you will see the Discussion Forum. Click on "View All," and read the most recent ones. Things change constantly at OCS, so some of the older posts may give incorrect info. My son went to OCS in 2012, and I found this site and the class Facebook pages invaluable, but I now have to defer to the newer OCS Moms for specific questions because so much has changed. Good luck to your son!
May 19, 2017
USNmom2017
May 22, 2017
Noni
They usually get their orders a week or so before. At least my daughter did. Your son is a NFO so he may have to wait.... majority of the Ensins know where they are going and when they need to be at post. Your son will let you know all details. As parents we want all the details now. Remember this is the Navy and they are Marine trained. When they say now it's now not later.
May 22, 2017
Noni
The Navy makes the travel arrangements. Your son will have his orders and everything will have to be checked off before leaving
May 22, 2017
LucyJo
Welcome to the group!! It is so good to have this support, especially during OCS. My son just finished in March. The NFOs in his class received their orders and moved to Pensacola quickly in a week or less. It will depend on the needs how soon they move on. The pilots right now are waiting almost three months. That has been good for me since he has been home during that time on OHARP. He heads out this week for API finally. It is all very exciting for them. Good luck!!
May 23, 2017
USNmom2017
May 23, 2017
LoniJ
May 23, 2017
NukeMomCarol
May 23, 2017
M's mom
To all asking about travel arrangements after OCS, I think the Navy will pay for travel from OCS to their next duty assignment, but not to home. Our son got his orders the day before OCS graduation, which gave him 10 days to report to his next school. He had not driven to OCS, but flew, so he wanted to go home and collect his vehicle and worldly goods, and then drive to his next duty. His dad & I flew to OCS graduation, and when son got his orders, we were able to get him a plane ticket on the flight home with us. We had to pay for that, not the Navy. When he drove to his next duty from home, he MIGHT have gotten reimbursed by the Navy for mileage, but I don't remember. I know the Navy pays for travel or reimburses them from one duty assignment to another, but not to home.
May 23, 2017
M's mom
Welcome NukeMomCarol,
Read back on these posts as far back as you can and we may have answered many of your questions already. Your daughter will be able to call you during the first 48 hrs at OCS to tell you she is there, then after that you won't hear much until she gets email at about week 3-4.
Send her only LETTERS in plain, white envelopes--no gifts, no treats, no musical cards, etc. Make sure all the friends and relatives to whom you give her mailing address know this. We have discussed this in recent posts below, so read those.
May 23, 2017
Noni
May 23, 2017
Noni
Like M's mom said try to read back the previous messages. Both M's mom and I have children who graduated in 12 and 14. Things have changed for us but the new moms will be able to help with their LOs are either just in or just left Ocs. As a mother of a daughter. Join the Navy daughters blog. The only thing in that site is they don't understand us officer moms. We deal with different issues. If you want you can friend me. I tell all parent to know the color of there child gym shoes. That's is sometime the only way you can pick them out of pictures. Make sure you join OCS FB page. Join the class prior, present and Future. Prior to see what the class is presently doing. Then join your class to keep up an see pictures. The future class in case your daughter rolls. Bes of luck to your daughter in Nuke school. Goose island they say is beautiful. My daughter was going Nuke but instead is SWO/ ASWO / Nuke Engineering.
May 23, 2017
Anna
NukemomCarol,
I have a group Moms of Daughters 2 and we have moms of both officer and enlisted. I myself have an officer daughter (and a veteran enlisted daughter, and an enlisted son) who did OCS in 2012. Enlisted or officer, we understand the differences with sending our daughters off to the military!!
May 23, 2017
NukeMomCarol
May 23, 2017
NukeMomCarol
May 23, 2017
navymom1304
My son graduated OCS in summer of 2015. There is a pretty good description of the routine at OCS on a day by day basis on Navydads.com. If you search on Navydads OCS it will give a detailed description of every day for the 1st week. Some of the info (gouge) is old but it seems to get the flavor of what they are going through (according to my son). It is a challenging time for the kids, but my son told me that in looking back on it, it wasn't so bad. Good luck to all of you and your LO's.
May 24, 2017
NukeMomCarol
May 24, 2017
NavyMomNavyWife
Hello everyone,
I am a retired NavyWife. Our son started OCS class 14-17 on mother's day. Just saw his first pix posted yesterday afternoon on the ocs (fb) website. Was lucky enough to see his face. We are so proud that he decide to follow in his dad's footsteps. We are looking foward to seeing his dad give him the first salute. My husband is trying hard to make sure he fits in his chocker (dress white)uniform. I was wandering if any SNA moms might give me some insight on what are the chances our son will go straight to Pensacola for IFS versus OHARP. you see He was hoping to skip OHARP. It seems NFO go pretty much straight to Pensacola with PCS order but not sure about Pilots except for those that know what they will be flying such as HELOs. We just wanted to know if he will be coming back home for 2-3 months under OHARP or would he be assigned to A-POOL at NAS Pensacola. Which im not sure but is not that great. Thanx everyone.
May 24, 2017
M's mom
NavyMomNavyWife: It all depends on when the next SNA class starts vs. when he graduates from OCS. Classes graduate from OCS every 3 weeks, and I don't think they start flight school classes that often. Sometimes, if it will be only a few weeks, his orders may send him to Pensacola right away after OCS, but then he will just be on "stash duty," as my son called it. My son had to report to his CO upon arrival, then just had to call in every morning for 3 weeks, and basically had nothing to do until his class started 3 weeks later. It was good though, because that gave him time to find housing, and settle in.
I think someone recently posted here that the SNA's were currently waiting 3 months or so after OCS. Maybe some of the moms of recent OCS grads could help here.
There is also a group here on Navy 4 Moms called "Naval Aviation" which you should join. Those moms can answer your questions about flight school, and may know how long the current wait is.
Congratulations to your son! That will be quite a photo of he and his dad saluting each other in their choaker whites!!!
May 25, 2017
Robertsmom
Good Morning,
Does anyone have recommendations on hotels in Newport?
Looking for moderated price, need several rooms.
May 28, 2017
Noni
They are kinda far and few in RI. We stayed outside of Newport. I can't remember where. Good luck
May 28, 2017
Nancy
Robertsmom, We were in Newport about 2 months ago for graduation and stayed in the Residence Inn Marriott in Middletown, about 10 minutes from the base. This is NOT the same Marriott that our son's class had their Hi Moms event. That Marriott is in Newport near the waterfront. We really liked the one we were at because of its proximity to the base and it is one of a few hotels offering suites of rooms. We were able to get a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen for only $119/night with a military discount. Just tell any hotel you book with that you are there for OCS graduation and you will get the discount. The rates might be higher in the summer; it was still winter when we were there. Don't forget that your son will likely be able to stay with you on Thursday night (as long as he's back by 5:00 am Friday) so make sure you have a place for him to sleep. There were a couple other hotels right around us. The Hampton Inn was next door and very nice. There was also a Howard Johnsons next door, which was cheaper I believe. Many OCS families were in all these hotels in Middletown. Hope this helps a little.
May 28, 2017
Anna
In 2012 we stayed at the Mainstay Hotel and Conference Center in Middletown. Was very roomy room as we had our son and daughter also with us!!!
May 28, 2017
M's mom
Robertsmom: As the others have posted, search for hotels in Middletown, RI which are actually closer to the base than anything in Newport. The places in Newport are usually resorts and are very expensive in the summer. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Middletown and it was near to the base and there were many other national chain hotels along that road.
If you have some time before/after graduation go into Newport and take a tour or two of some of those "summer cottages" of the old rich, like The Breakers. (Known as "mansions" to most of us!) Also drive around the point on Ocean Avenue for picturesque views of the bay.
May 28, 2017
Rachel
Wondering how many people will be allowed to attend graduation for OCS?
May 28, 2017
LucyJo
May 28, 2017
Robertsmom
thanks for all the great info. The suites sound great...we have several coming. How many are invited to the Hi Moms?
May 28, 2017
Noni
May 28, 2017
SWAF
For those that have attended OCS and attended the Hi Moms, are the Dad's also invited? After graduation, can our LO's leave? Did you leave the area on graduation day or stay over and leave the next morning? Thank you very much in advance for answering.
May 28, 2017
Noni
Of course dads are invited. It does throw a curve when it say Hi Moms. After graduation we left right away. The daughter couldn't wait to pack up and go home for 10 days. But that dosent happen to all. Sme may leave have to leave to their duty station.
May 28, 2017
Noni
For Hi Moms it depends on the class size. We had 5 attend. Remember that your son or daughter will be paying for you to attend this event. Hi Moms I recommend a a nice dress or suite. For graduation it was a dress causal. Don't miss the 5am run and beat down they do. That will be the same day as graduation.
May 28, 2017
Nancy
Robertsmom, there is no limit but the officer candidates have to pay for each person they invite. SWAF, yes dads and any loved ones are invited. As soon as graduation is over, they can leave as long as they have their orders. We left the next day because we wanted to sightsee a little. We went back to our rooms and our son actually crashed for a 2 hour nap, then we ate dinner and just hung out in the hotel pool/hot tub that night. The next day we toured the Breakers mansion and caught a late flight home. It's really up to you all what to do, but they are free to leave (if they have orders), and most of them want to get the heck out of Newport. We are recent (March 2017) graduates.
May 28, 2017
M's mom
Robertsmom: It depends on what limit for Hi Moms that the candidates themselves decide. OCS has nothing to do with the Hi Moms reception. The candidates make all the arrangements and pay for it themselves, so each candidate must pay so much per guest for their family attending. Sometimes due to the space of the venue, there may be space limitations, say four guests per candidate, etc. Hi Moms can be anything form dinner at the Officers Club to just a cocktail reception, whatever they decide. My son's Hi Moms was cocktails at a historic downtown Newport hotel. They had trays of many appetizers and snacks and provided non-alcoholic beverages, then there was a cash bar. They showed a funny video of pictures taken during their training that they had compiled. It lasted a few hours.
Your candidate will need to turn in a list of names of everyone attending graduation. When my son graduated 5 years ago, the gate guards at the base had the list and had to check photo ID's of every adult in our car against the list, so be prepared for that.
As far as the graduation ceremony, I don't think there is a limit, but seating is first come, first served, so get there very early for good seats. It was standing room only at the beginning of my son's graduation.
May 28, 2017
Robertsmom
I'm sure they will be fine on their own for a couple of hours! We are all leaving from Newport to go to a family reunion in DC for the weekend. Fingers crossed that our time line remains the same.
May 29, 2017
Nancy
Robertsmom, if you do end up with people not going to Hi Moms (although we saw families with LOTS of people there back in March) I would send some on ahead to get a table at a restaurant OR make a reservation. All the restaurants are very crowded and had at least an hour wait that Thursday night.
May 30, 2017