New Class FB page

[Quilter]

Hi everyone, there is a new page that just started up for the new upcoming OCS class. Go to  Navy Class 12-15 Friends and Family.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1553023738313280/

[Proud Mom]

How do I join the new page for Navy Class 12-15 Friends and Family.  Is it on Facebook or this website?  My son reported this morning.  Thank you!  

[Quilter]

Yes, it is up and running, Navy OCS 12-15 Friends and Family... I will friend you on here and send you a message.

[Proud Mom]

Thank you!

[Quilter]

Proud mom it keeps saying you haven't accepted my friend request on here so I can send you a message. Go to my page here Quilter and ask my friend request and then we can go from there. 

[Quilter]

Proud Mom I need your name to add you, can you send me a message please. Thank you :)

[M's mom]

Proud Mom:  It is on Facebook.  You have to ask to join since it is a private group.  However, the "Officer Training Command Newport" page (search Facebook) is a public page, and anyone can view it.  They show pictures and reports of the current OCS classes.  You might see a picture of your son! 

You might also ask to join the Facebook groups for OCS classes 11-15 and 10-15, the classes ahead of your son's, so you can ask questions about what those classes are doing 3-6 weeks ahead of your son.  Of course, you can always ask us OCS veteran Moms here on N4M's anything also.

You will get a call from your son in the next 48 hrs.  He will sound hoarse from all the yelling they have to do.  He may sound discouraged and say "I think I made a mistake coming here."  Tell him you have heard from other Moms and practically ALL of our kids told us the same thing!    Tell him that they are going to scream in his face, and punish him, and mess with his mind, but he must not quit!  He must realize it is a psychological test.  Tell him it WILL get better after a few weeks if he will just hang in there.  Good luck to your son!

[freckles1218]

All this talk kind of freaks me out! We are not a "military family" and our son decided this all on his own last year. He studied all the info and did everything he could over the 7 months to get into the NUPOC program. He was sworn in on the spot after his interview with the Admiral and called to tell us after. We are proud of him as you are all proud of your sons and daughters, but this certainly is not what we would have chosen for him. It has taken some getting used to. He is a very intense, focused young man and has chosen to NOT read all the guides on what to expect. He says he doesn't want to know all the details and will learn along the way. That is his choice and hopefully he is not the only naive one coming along. Scares the crap out of me, but he is an adult and is going to do what he wants to do. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be well received if I told him his shoe laces had to match exactly or he would have to sit out until the next class. They will tell them that stuff, won't they? I'm fretting about WHEN he goes and I have to worry about his shoe laces??? How will we all get through this??? We know nothing!

[Quilter]

Dear Freckles, here are two youtube videos on OCS check them out.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6LBuyxy6Ns      Also check out this one      www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag0gP3msU6E

They should give you a GLIMPSE of what to expect. My son in a letter he wrote said that the physical part and drills are REALLY tough. He was so glad he really workout everyday up until the day he had to leave. So I would advise your son to really be in shape!! Run, lift weights and really prepare himself mentally.  Really being informed of OCS can really make a big difference.  I know it helped our son a great deal.

[ITgal]

Quilter - just after 9 minutes in to the first video you posted, a Candidate Officer explains that he failed the first RLP.  Notice the 6 bars on his collar.  He was the Regiment Commander - top of the chain of Candidate Officers - when he graduated OCS. 

Your son spent 7 months preparing for the physical challenges.  He's got the commitment to see it through.

[Quilter]

ITgal, you are so right!! It truly hit closer to home watching this after my son failed RLP. Yes he is committed that's for sure. He ran 7 miles a day with weights and he worked out with a retired Navy Seal 3 days a week.  I will keep you posted, in a few weeks he will have RLP again. The new class started today, so hopefully I will have great news come the 2nd week of April :) 

[M's mom]

freckles:  If your son is "a very intense, focused young man," I'm sure he will do fine.  He has to keep focused on the prize at the end, and put up with what seems like a lot of silly harassment at the beginning.  I was so worried about my son getting through OCS also, because he is messy and disorganized, he has never really been a "team player," and he has a very low tolerance for BS, such as being punished unfairly for something he didn't do.  But he really wanted it badly enough that he rose to the occasion, and surprised even us, his parents. 

If your son doesn't want to read guides about what to expect, he absolutely MUST read and memorize all of the regulations and Navy knowledge that his recruiter provides him.  He must know all of that stuff absolutely from memory before he reports, or he will have a tough time. 

As far as the Room, Locker, Personnel (RLP) inspection at week 3-4, yes, they tell them everything that will be expected of their uniforms and room, knowing that none of them will get it all correct.  Not only the shoelaces, but the DI's use their rulers to check that their shorts and t shirts are folded into tightly creased 6 in.squares, all the hangers in their closets are exactly 4 inches apart, the pillows on their beds are exactly three inches from the head of the bed, and other too-nitpicky-to-believe rules, but they are trying to get them to PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS.  This is a skill that the Navy wants in officers who will one day be running nuclear reactors on ships or flying airplanes, etc.   My son got through it even though I was so anxious also, and I'm sure yours will too. 

I know how hard it is to "tell him anything" at this age.  You might tell him that you read that ALL of the candidates get discouraged and feel like quitting at some point so he knows that's normal when it happens to him.   Tell him to just put up with whatever they dish out, even rolling back, and JUST. DON'T. QUIT.  My son said that what kept him going was the knowledge that on the day of his commissioning as an officer, the Drill Instructor would then have to salute HIM, and he did!!!

We are not a military family either, and I also didn't know anything about OCS, but I had many of my questions answered by the Moms here, so I am trying to pay it forward!  We're here for you!

[Quilter]

M's mom, you are GREAT!!! You are so full of information, I do hope someday I will be able to give such great advice to a new comer!! Being a neebie myself, I'm learning everyday from wonderful Mom's like yourself and ITgal! Thank you both for everything!!