Birthday while at OCS

[myvampress]

I have a question, my son will be at OCS during his birthday (he will be about 2 weeks in), is he allowed to receive gifts or Edible Arrangements or what can I do?  I don't want him to think I forgot about him for his birthday. Thanks

[Quilter]

Dear M's Mom

You have a lot of traveling ahead of you!!! That's awesome!! We also live in the Midwest and you can never rely on the forecast here!! Smart to travel and have Thanksgiving and Christmas all at once!

You will enjoy CA and your time together!!  I know we will as well!  We will travel to Pensacola for Thanksgiving and soon after that, we will be flying there again to make the move to Corpus Christi!! My LO is very excited!! He will be there for a few years I believe.

I hope you can talk your Hubby into the long flight over to Japan. A friend of mine had her daughter there for a few years and she traveled there twice. Her husband on the other hand DID NOT!! LOL LOL I'm sure your husband will go!! I'm 100% sure if Grandbabies come along....he will be there!!! LOL

Have a Happy Thanksgiving with your Family!!!

Sending prayers for safe travels...and Happy Veterans Day!!!

[anniebananie55]

It is tough to not be able to communicate with your son, especially for a special occasion like his BD. But the other moms are absolutely right, he wants to stay under the radar and anything special coming from home will shine a spotlight on him and the drill sergeants will have a field day. They are not punitive or mean or abusive, but they have a purpose and they are tough. He could end up doing lots of extra PT, etc.and it will be a BD he never forgets for all of the wrong reasons. Keep sending him your letters and support in plain white envelopes, no stickers or anything. If he is in week 2, I believe they start getting their mail, so write every day. He will appreciate your support and love across the miles. Then when you see him, you can finally deliver his BD wishes in person. Do find the Facebook page for your son's class, it is an invaluable resource and do ask questions along the way. There is lots of support out there for you too! My son graduated from OCS a year ago this past Friday and I can tell you that it was the highlight of his young life and ours. It is an amazing program and wonderful launching point for his next chapter. All the best to you as his mom as you share this journey with him!

[M's mom]

myvampress:

I agree with the other posts here.  Do not send anything to your son except letters in plain white envelopes until he reaches the Candidate Officer (Candio) phase at week ten.  Then he can receive a box loaded with goodies, but not before.   Do not send any musical cards, or birthday cards in oversized, colored envelopes that would draw the DI's attention. 

Make sure everyone to whom you have given your son's mailing address knows the rules!   In my son's OCS class, someone's dear Auntie sent cookies to a candidate at week three, and the poor fellow had to do 800 (that's Eight Hundred) pushups as punishment, even though he didn't request them!!!!!      Just send your son a birthday letter expressing your love and pride.

[navymom1304]

Hi myvampress - My son also had his birthday during OCS but during candio phase. I asked the class facebook group what I could do and they advised me to not do anything as he would negatively stand out. If your LO is still in indoc phase then it is probably even more true. Because he was able to have his phone at that time, I texted him several times - and he could receive packages, But unfortunately indocs are pretty isolated from their families. Check with your class facebook page and see what they say. 

[Anna]

Myvampress, 

Yes all these posts are true. I was going to add, don't even send a birthday card!  Instead, if you have an idea of a card you would send, draw it on a plain sheet of paper,  write out your birthday getting and words of encouragement and mail if in a plain white envelope. 

[myvampress]

Thanks everyone for the information.  Last thing I want to do is get him in any trouble or attention brought to him.  I am enjoying this last week with him and I told him I couldn't send him anything for his birthday and his response was that's ok mom, you can make up for it at Christmas... lol... I am so not ready to say good bye but I know this is what he wants and I support him.  I have been able to study his handbook with him for a little while today and that was a good thing.  Thanks again for the help.

[M's mom]

[Anna]

Myvampress,

I also want to add to topdog and M's mom comments regarding the OTC Newport Facebook page - this is the official Facebook page for OCS. Posts and pictures are put up by OCS Class officers. Be careful what you comment on that page since anyone at OCS can read it.  Again you don't want to unknowingly bring attention to your candidate.

[topdog1p]

hi again myvampress is your LO in class 06-16? if he is they have pictures up on the OTC fb page and you will also find a link to the class FB page.  How are you holding up?  The next 3 wks are rough on us mom's as all we can do is pray and write encouraging letters.  I think for our LO's the weeks go by fast as it is a whirlwind of things that they will be doing. My LO is now getting ready to move across the US to GC for nuke power school. What is your son's job designation? 

[myvampress]

Thanks for all the great info everyone... My son called me last night to tell me he was sent to "H Class"... he passed his physical part of the test (running, sit ups, push ups, etc) but he did not pass the body fat index which was a shock to me since the kid is full of muscles due to working out everyday although he does have a little pooch he has been working on for years to get rid of from when he was way overweight as a child up through his 1st year of junior high.  He was in good spirits and told me that now he is excited that since they will be working with him more, he may be able to have the abs he has been working on for years.

[M's mom]

myvampress:  Just a minor setback for your son. Many of the H-class candidates become the leaders in the new class they join, because they have been there 3 weeks longer and have much more knowledge of how things go at OCS.  If your son is very muscular, that may be why he failed the Body Mass Index score.  That only takes into account weight for height, and muscular people are going to weigh more for their size than a slender person, so it's really not an accurate indicator of "fat."  

Just wait until you see your fit & trim son at graduation!  They get relatively little to eat the first few weeks and no sweets or snacks, and work out constantly.  My son dropped 20 pounds in twelve weeks at OCS!  He looked so skinny at graduation!