OCS Class October 30th 2011

[proudmom]

Hi, I am the Mom of a son leaving for OCS in Newport on October 30th 2011, just wondering if anyone else has a son or daughter also entering at the same time. Would you have any idea when graduation is scheduled for? Thanks for any information, he is heading into intelligence in VA after OCS.

[Mayapple]

Hi proudmom,  Graduation is on Friday morning of week 12.  There are activities on Thursday afternoon and evening too.  My LO graduated on September 16th.  Plan on writing a letter everyday even if he thinks that won't be needed.  It will be needed and appreciated by him.  Best wishes!   

 

[proudmom]

Thank you Mayapple for your response, I love reading anything about OCS since my son tells us very little. So we should plan on spending 2 nights in Newport for Graduation? I am planing on writing him lots of letters, and know to expect very little from him in return. We are so proud of him for going through this and just want to be very supportive! By the way what does LO stand for? Loved One? I asked my son and he wasn't sure. Thanks for anything you want to share. Regards

[Mayapple]

Hi again Proudmom, LO does stand for loved one. It's used a lot on facebook.  Your LO probably doesn't know what the graduation activities will be yet.  Facebook is great for learning things like that.  Also, my LO tells us very little too.  Facebook is helpful because people will post things that their LOs write and it is so good to hear any news at all.  You will be able to send a box of goodies in week 9.  They are not allowed to have caffine or sugar during the first part of the program and the boxes are a very big deal.  That will be a little different for you because your LO will be home for Christmas.  My LO rolled which was tramatic.  Facebook was a pretty good support for that.  There was support but there was also some miss information.  He will probably have no rolls, but if he does, it will be ok.  Not easy but all will turn out well.  You are so smart to be learning early all that is going on. 

[proudmom]

Hi Mayapple, I just signed up for facebook, so I am hoping to get some information about the class starting on October 30th. What does it mean to "roll", does the whole class do it or is it an individual thing? My son is so ready and anxious to get started, I've seen the Pushed to the Limit video so I think I have a vague idea of what to expect... Thank you so much for answering all my questions!

[bhagler]

Have you watched "Pushed to the Limit"? http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/ocs/ You might want to join USNavyOCS.com at http://www.usnavyocs.com/portal/index.php

 

We got our first letter from our daughter yesterday. She said everyone was real nice except for the DI and it ocean was beautiful but they couldn't look around because they had to use the 1000 yard stare. She complained about how hard it was but on the bright side there wasn't a word mentioned about quitting although she did want to hurry up and finish.

[bhagler]

Our daughter was in the class beginning September 18 but unfortunately she did not make it through Outpost. She is a very small girl and the seabag was extremely difficult for her to handle although she did well in everything else. Hopefully, she will be rejoining the October 9 or October 30 class if they are still having that one. It seems like there has been a lot of changes in the class schedules. I'm not sure but I saw in one of the forums that the graduation date for the October 30th class would be February 10. As I understand (no guarantees) they are off for Thanksgiving for the week but must remain on base and they are off two weeks for Christmas and may go home. That is the reason it is 15 weeks rather than 12. It should be stated on your son's orders. Facebook is an excellent way to receive and pass information. The link for the 9Oct2011 class is http://www.facebook.com/groups/153415208068914/?id=179621695448265&... 

 

I have not seen a Facebook page for the 30Oct2011 class.

[proudmom]

Thank you bhagler for your response, it is great that you already now know what to expect. I think that you are right about the Thanksgiving break and the extra two weeks at Christmas, where did you obtain that information. I currently do not use facebook, do you think I would get more information that way though? Our son really doesn't tell us very much and mostly what I know I get from this site. I am planing on writing him a lot of letters and we thought he might get Thanksgiving day off, but I guess that isn't happening. I wish your daughter lots of luck and look forward to hearing of her graduation!

[bhagler]

I don't understand why but it seems that OCS does not like to release the class dates publicly so I shouldn't say where I got the information. I never used Facebook either until a couple of months ago when my secretary started a page for our organization. I would HIGHLY recommend that you do so for your son's OCS class although I do not see a page for that group yet. You can join some of the other groups and that will provide you excellent information about what to expect and and will also allow you to ask questions and share with others. The link to OCS Class 0412 is http://www.facebook.com/groups/153415208068914/?notif_t=group_activity and the link to OCS Class 0512 09OCT11 is http://www.facebook.com/groups/153415208068914/?notif_t=group_activ... The sites also contain a lot of information about what to expect and you can even find a day by day description from one of the candidates in 0412. It is a very difficult time and many quit or roll during the first week. My daughter told us that 5 had either quit or rolled by Wednesday of the first week. So encourage your son to focus on the fact that the DIs have a job to do and their job is to train officers. The Navy cannot have officers who will crash during a crisis so the DIs do their best to make sure it happens before they are commissioned. I tell my daughter this every day when I write to remind her to not give up. That first week will be the toughest so encourage him continuously. Remember that no news is good news. You do not want a phone call after the initial call for the next four weeks.

[proudmom]

Have you heard yet which class your daughter will be going into? I have to set up a facebook account and then I will join one of the classes you sent me. We have been spending a lot of time lately with our son and I know how ready he is for October 30th! I have been saving up some newspaper articles to send him, and I love hearing all the information that other Moms have given me. What does it mean to roll? Is that when an officer is held back into another class? Thank you for all the great information you have given me.

[bhagler]

Our daughter will be going into Class 05-12 which begins on 9OCT. The way I understand it you can roll out of a class or roll into another one. Our daughter was rolled out of Class 04-12 during Outpost (which is on Friday of the first week) because she did not pass the portion where she had to run with the sea bag. She will roll into Class 05-12 on Thursday night 13OCT and will be with that class to repeat Outpost and hopefully to graduation. She does not have to repeat the phases that she has already passed which is why she won't join them until the 13th. Roll is basically when you leave a class (due to failing an event or medical problems) or enter another class.

[proudmom]

Thanks so much for your response Bubsmom, I loved reading all your valuable information! I am not on Facebook now,but I will if you think it is a good source of information. I am planing on writing him a lot and will not expect anything back in return. I have watched some of the videos from the Providence Journal, so I have a very brief idea of what is in store for us. It will be very hard to accept that we won't hear anything for weeks from our son, and he has a girlfriend so I'm not sure who will take precident when he is able to make a call.... I think that this group will be getting off for Christmas so at least that is when we can look forward to seeing him next. Good luck with your son and all his future endeavors in the Navy. Best Wishes

[dmarie]

Welcome to the rollercoaster known as OCS! There's some great advice posted above. My LO is also intel. You won't find too much info about that (for obvious reasons), but the general OCS info is abundant.

Any stand down dates for OCS will be posted at this site; http://www.ocs.navy.mil/index.asp

Two years ago (has it been that long already?) they had Thanksgiving day "off" and a two week stand down at Christmas. Even if there is a week-long stand down at Thanksgiving and two weeks at Christmas, any time your LO takes to leave Newport will count against his leave time, and not all OC's are allowed to leave. Keep that in mind, and also the idea that things change all the time. I would caution against making any plans that cannot be changed easily (like non-refundable plane tickets). When my LO started on Oct 25 the graduation was Jan 29. Hope this helps!

Good luck to you and your son.