Any Moms or other family who currently have someone at OCS?

[missmellen]

Hoping to connect with some people who currently have an OCS participant.  Or who have had this year? I do not see recent activity?

[Kim8]

Hi missmellen, 

Congrats to your son for being selected to OCS! My son graduated this past March. The Navy is a strange new world for sure but I've enjoyed learning as my son has progressed through so far.

Welcome!

[MhdMom26]

Hi Missmellen 

Our daughter is currently at OCS in 01-22 class. We are at the very start of the process. What class is yours in? 

[missmellen]

He is in 15-21.  They are just entering the last phase.  I thought maybe all classes this year ended in 21... I don't understand much...  I didn't know about candio boxes so if you don't, that is something to learn about.  It is something to have together by week 8.

[Kim8]

The Navy's fiscal year starts in October which makes it confusing. The classes are numbered by when they are commissioned so, the 1st OCS class to be commissioned when they graduate this Oct is Class 01-22. 

If you do Facebook, there is usually a private group for family for most OCS classes.  Search for "Navy OCS class _ _ - _ _". . It can be confusing because some title the group by the start date of OCS because they aren't sure of the class number initially & others use the class number. If you're unsure if it's the correct group, I have found that asking the admin of the group via the membership questions usually works & everyone is really friendly & will let you know if you've found the right group. I found the FB group to be a great way to connect with other family from the same class. "Officer Training Command Newport", where OCS is, also has a page that can be helpful while your LO is at OCS. They will post photos of some of the candidates so if you're lucky you can catch a glimpse of your LO!

My son just graduated this past March so if you have questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. I really wish I had written everything down but I'll do my best to remember.

[missmellen]

Thank you for the facebook info.  I am a limited facebook user and didn't even think of the possibility.  I hope this discussion may help some other family members who are in other classes.

We did not receive any communication from OTC.  From the class Facebook page I see that some families did and others didn't.

[val]

Dear Kim8

Thank you so much for the helpful information

[Ging_83]

Are you wanting ideas to put in the Candio Box?  I can look up one of my old threads and see what some others suggested when I asked.

I sent a whole bunch of random stuff, along with favorite snack items (which they get to keep and share if they choose, because by the time they get the Candio Box, they get a lot more freedom).  My son graduated last November (class 02-21) during the peak of the pandemic.  I sent pictures (but I had been sending pictures from the beginning), air fresheners (double/triple wrapped), an ear of field corn (we farm in Iowa....found out that he wasn't the only one to get an ear of corn LOL, but ours was the biggest:) , my brother made round wooden "car coasters" that had the navy emblem and his name on them, my sister cut letters out on a Cricut for me to decorate the box and I used nautical themed paper from Hobby Lobby to line the box.  I included beef jerky, small candy bars, granola bars...chips.  They don't have much extra room so I didn't send anything that would take up space.  I was worried about sending too many snacks, but my son said I could have sent a lot more...

If you have more questions, just ask!  

[missmellen]

This is great info that may help others.  I put a box together quickly after my son sent a text asking if I had sent a box.  The ear of field corn sounds like a fun idea!

[Kristen]

My son is in this class as well!  We received one letter so far and can't wait until we can actually talk to him for a bit.  He is requesting any and all words of encouragement from family and friends, so if you haven't done so make sure to write to your daughter and encourage others to as well to help them stay positive. What an amazing journey they are on!

[missmellen]

If you haven't looked for a Facebook page for your son's class, you may want to.  It may give you bit more information about what is going on.  One person who knew about the OTC facebook page and is more facebook savvy than I am posted photos from the OTC page that were identified as class 15-21 and some families were able to id their sailor!  The facebook page for families for my son's class is labeled "Navy OCS Class 15-21"  I also saw a page for the candidates but didn't ask to join when I realized it was not a family page.  Class 15-21 is now in the last phase so they have their phones and can text and call.

[LisaMarie]

Hello all... my son is in OCS class 02-22....  he just started last Sunday.  I am looking to learn as much as I can about the phases of OCS, the Candio boxes, what to expect, etc...

[Kim8]

Hi LisaMarie, welcome!

Congratulations to your son! We were newbies also! My son graduated from OCS in class 07-21 in March of this year. I'm happy to help with any questions you may have; I will try my best to remember what I can. 

I found a FB group for your son's OCS class 02-22: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2949133832018273 It's a private group so you will likely have to answer some questions to be approved a member. It looks like this group is candidates plus family & friends. Some groups separate family/friends from candidates but others do not. Some groups are really chatty, others not so much. I was able to learn a lot from the FB groups. You can even look for & request to join the class ahead of your son's (01-22) so that you can have an idea of what's to come. Just tell the admins that is what you're doing...usually no one minds. 

Other good sites are:

- Officer Training Command Newport (OTCN) website: https://www.netc.navy.mil/Commands/Naval-Service-Training-Command/O... 

- OTCN FB page: https://www.facebook.com/OTCNewport 

- DVIDS (Military media site) photos from OCS: https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=OCS&filter%5Btype%5D=image&a...

Here's a basic outline of the 13 weeks of OCS & what I remember:

Indoctrination Phase - Weeks 1-3

• INDOCs have no phone privileges so send snail mail letters; the training is tough so letters from home are like gold. We found that letters took about 1 week to get to our son.
• IST (Initial Strength Test) – Tues week 1
• First Fri – week 1
• Sucky Sat - week 1
• Swim qualification – week 2
• Fast cruise – end of week 2
• Room, Locker, & Personal Inspection (RLP) – week 3
  • Very intense and stressful! INDOC’s have to prepare their rooms for inspection per very specific details & be able to recite knowledge that has been memorized from "Appendix B". The DI (Marine drill instructor) or RDC (Navy Recruit Division Commander) use "ballistic" voices (yell at the top of their lungs), asking the INDOC's questions while telling them to do physical exercises. Indoc’s need to reply using ballistic voices as well. It’s not uncommon for the drill sergeants to up-end the rack (bed) and throw things around if requirements aren’t met exactly.

Officer Candidate phase - Weeks 4-9

• Officer Candidates are given phone privileges – they can sign up to use a pay phone for 10 min on the weekend.
• Weeks 4-6 they are called “Junior Officer Candidates / JOC”
  • In-PFA (Initial Physical Fitness Assessment) – week 4
  • Engineering & Weapons test, Khaki inspection, History test – week 6
• Weeks 7-9 “Senior Officer Candidates / SOC”
  • Watch-O (Watch Officer) mid term – Fri of week 7
  • Cyber final & Officer Personal Inspection “OPI” (dress uniform) & Watch-O final – week 8
  • Mid-PFA – week 8 or 9
• Battle Stations – need to pass before entering Candio phase
  • usually Wed of week 9
  • Candidates get cell phones back & candio boxes (info below) after passing this evolution

Candidate Officer phase “Candios” - Weeks 10-12

• At this point, the Candios are assigned jobs to help run the other classes behind them & are given more responsibility to develop leadership skills.
• Out-PFA (physical fitness assessment) 
• Capstone Project - presentation done with a small group of other Candios & presented to class officers

Senior Candidate Officer phase "Super Candios" - Week 13

• Paperwork to out-process from OCS
• Graduation practices & packing
• GRADUATION! – Fri of week 13
  • Check the OTCN FB page for a link to view graduation online if in-person attendance is not available due to the pandemic. https://www.facebook.com/OTCNewport

As far as Candio boxes, follow this link to an explanation I provided to someone else: 

Hope this helps!