• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Insider Scoop on Navy OCS

BACONATOR

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
... at OCS I most certainly did have my moments of "WTF am I doing here?" ...


EVERYONE does. That's the whole point of OCS. If it was so easy, you'd see everyone walking around with gold bars.

The trick is: can you answer your own question? If you can, you belong there and will probably make it through (all things being equal). If you can't, you won't or will DOR. It's as simple as that.

:icon_wink
 

puck_11

Growler LSO
pilot
a lot of the DOR's made me sick to my stomach.

We had a guy in my API class DOR in the first week on Wed, the day where you tread water forever with each rep adding gear. He struggled with it, and made it, after some extra instruction. But he decided to DOR anyways...wtf?!?! He was a ROTC guy who thought that aviation would be the "path of least resistance."
 

Mumbles

Registered User
pilot
Contributor
We had a guy in my API class DOR in the first week on Wed, the day where you tread water forever with each rep adding gear. He struggled with it, and made it, after some extra instruction. But he decided to DOR anyways...wtf?!?! He was a ROTC guy who thought that aviation would be the "path of least resistance."

we had a guy in my class request to go to sick call because he had run out of his medicine. When queried by our DI what kind of meds...he replied..."PROPECIA sir"
 

DSL1990

VMI Cadet 4/c, MIDN 4/c
Since my first post appears to be a success (thread on Joboy's "OCS stories/experiences") I've decided to open a new thread on AW to provide some realistic insight to Navy OCS. As for my OCS experience, I am an OCS graduate (class 07-00 commissioned Dec 1999) and now serve as a class officer at OCS. The information I'm posting here can generally be accepted as true until OCS moves to Newport, RI in the fall of '07. After the move, this information should be considered speculation or hearsay only.

First, I want to address the issue of the OCS environment. Some have complained that OCS does not prepare them for the fleet, it is not realistic, etc. My response: you are correct, OCS IS NOT LIKE THE FLEET!!!! That is absolutely true, and for a reason. OCS is an assessions program, which means that for the majority of those who undergo training here this is their first experience with the military. Since OCS is only 12 weeks, there is not enough time to teach all the information that you can get later anyway. OCS is designed to teach critical SKILLS that are applicable across the wide range of responsibilities encountered as a naval officer. Skills become a part of who you are by changing the way you think about situations, so OCS creates scenarios that, although they may be "unrealistic", help you view situations through the lens of those skills. OCS-specific inspections, certain military protocol and procedures all work together to provide an environment which aids you in adopting new skills such as attention to detail, time management, teamwork, honor-courage-commitment, working through discomfort, etc. For students who already have certain skills, those aspects of OCS tend to be less challenging simply because they don't have to work as hard to meet the required standard. For individuals who may be lacking in certain areas, that doesn't mean you are a bad person, it simply means you need to work harder to reach the standard.

Now, what is the best way to prepare for OCS? As with any mission, you need to determine what the objective is that you are trying to achieve, and then plan your preparation accordingly. Per OCS's mission statement, OCS trains men and women "morally, mentally and physically". It is my PERSONAL opinion (not an official command statement) that 12 weeks with adults does not do much to "train" morals. By this stage of life, you must already have moral character within you, and OCS provides an opportunity for you to test your character and hopefully refine/direct what you already have. I would challenge you (once again, PERSONAL opinion) to examine your own morals/ethics/belief system and decide if military service is in line with your own beliefs. I'm not a chaplain so I won't get into all that, suffice it to say that OCS is not the proper place or time to begin wrestling with these issues. There are chaplains here who are available for counseling if needed, but you would do yourself a favor to work through this beforehand. Enough on the "moral" issue.

Preparing MENTALLY. Some have said that OCS is just a big mind game, and while there may be some truth in the statement, there is also a purpose to it. It has been proven over and over again that the human body (including the brain & its ability to think/make decisions) can overcome much more than most people believe, and as long as the body doesn't physically break (i.e. get injured) the sole factor that determines success or failure is the decision of the mind. A career as a naval officer has the potential to include situations where you will be responsible for making life-and-death decisions, most likely when you yourself are under extreme duress. To use an analogy, if you knew you would eventally be in a life and death situation where you would need higher-than-average levels of strength (say, be able to push 500lbs), you would be completely foolish to not challenge those muscles ahead of time, engaging some sort of strength building regimen to prepare yourself for that moment. In the same way, the mind needs to be trained for those moments down the road when it must function perfectly under extreme circumstances, so you prepare it by putting it in practice situations where the stress level is raised and allow it to respond in the simulated environment. In case you haven't recognized it yet, part of that "simulated environment" is OCS. OCS is designed to create stress in certain situations in order to develop your "mental muscles" and prepare you for greater challenges down the road. So, anyone who tries give you a shortcut, or "gouge" on how to beat the system is shortchanging you and stealing your chance to improve yourself. Just as mentioned in the "moral" statement above, if you are already used to dealing with stressful situations then OCS won't seem too difficult. What does that mean in specifics? OCS will expect you to "toe the line" on every regulation written in the Officer Candidate Regulations (OCR), so familiarize yourself with the OCR as soon as you get here. On memorized items, don't settle for "the general idea". The big three (Code of Conduct, Chain of Command and General Orders of a Sentry) must be memorized VERBATIM. WORD FOR WORD! All other items are "key elements", but even those must include ALL key elements. Another good preparation is to begin analyzing why you make your decisions; even when you make a bad decision (and you will), if you have a rational thought process behind your decision (as opposed to a random choice) you will A) stand up better under the tongue-lashing to come, and B) have a starting point to adjust your thought process and avoid the bad decision in the future.

Preparing PHYSICALLY. Physical training has several uses at OCS, some of which go beyond the "pass the PFA" minimum. Since the mind dwells inside the body, one way to create a stressful environment for the mind (see "mental" portion above) is to stress the body. YOU WILL GET TIRED AT OCS. Plan on it. But, as mentioned before, the more you push yourself and prepare ahead of time, the less ground you will have to cover to meet the Navy's standard. The maximum standards for the Navy PFA are 105 curl-ups and 87 pushups (male)/48 pushups (female). Running: as fast as you can for 1.5 miles. These are the MAXIMUM scores; I won't be divulging the minimums, since the tendency would be to simply do enough to pass instead of challenging yourself to do your best (ref. my previous statements on challenging yourself now to prepare for future requirements). Form is important on curl-ups and pushups. If an instructor sees you using incorrect form, your count can be nullified and you will have to start over regardless of the time remaining. Running: the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) consists of a 1.5 mile run, but the normal morning runs are usually longer, so don't stop all your workouts at 1.5 miles. Run on a road or hard surface to work the muscles in your legs properly; a treadmill isn't the same, since all you do on a treadmill is hold yourself up while the "ground" goes by beneath you. Your legs need the practice of pushing your body forward. Additionally, don't wait until a few weeks before your report date to start running. Yes, the muscles and cardiovascular system may adjust fast enough to be ready for the minimum standards, but the vast majority of injuries seen at OCS is a result of bones/tendons/ligaments not being strong enough. These parts will thicken & strengthen over time, but they need more than just a couple weeks. Start running a few months ahead of time so that you have time for your WHOLE body to adjust, as well as to give yourself time to improve on your run time.

While this post doesn't cover everything about OCS, I hope it provides a good starting point for individual preparation. OCS is challenging, but so is the life of a naval officer, so see it as a chance to maximize your potential in your future career.

I have some questions about OCS and NROTC.

Why is there so much more academic content in NROTC than in OCS if both are ascension programs to become an Naval Officer?

Why is there so much more "mental testing" in OCS than in NROTC? I have some friends with older brothers that have done NROTC at traditional colleges, and I understand that all 4 years are pretty easy :sleep_125, but I haven't come across anyone saying that OCS was easy. :eek:

Doesn't this mean that the Naval Officers that come out of OCS are "different" than the Naval Officers coming out of NROTC?
 

tiger84

LT
pilot
I have some questions about OCS and NROTC.

Why is there so much more academic content in NROTC than in OCS if both are ascension programs to become an Naval Officer?

Why is there so much more "mental testing" in OCS than in NROTC? I have some friends with older brothers that have done NROTC at traditional colleges, and I understand that all 4 years are pretty easy :sleep_125, but I haven't come across anyone saying that OCS was easy. :eek:

Doesn't this mean that the Naval Officers that come out of OCS are "different" than the Naval Officers coming out of NROTC?

I can't speak for NROTC but I can give my opinions of OCS. OCS is all about weeding out people that don't really want to be there and those that just can't hack it. As far as shaping civilians into officers there's really only so much that can be accomplished in 12 weeks. You'll get your ass handed to you everyday and will have to learn to work through pain as well as becoming a team player. You'll learn all the basics of military discipline and courtesy and just enough to get you by wherever you may end up after OCS. After that it's pretty much on the job training, although I can't say I was by any means unprepared for my current job, which includes no responsibility besides showing up at my scheduled brief time.

As for the programs producing "different" types of officers, I really have no idea. For the most part you can't tell where one person commissioned vice another unless you flat out ask.
 

BackOrdered

Well-Known Member
Contributor
I have some questions about OCS and NROTC.

Why is there so much more academic content in NROTC than in OCS if both are ascension programs to become an Naval Officer?

Why is there so much more "mental testing" in OCS than in NROTC? I have some friends with older brothers that have done NROTC at traditional colleges, and I understand that all 4 years are pretty easy :sleep_125, but I haven't come across anyone saying that OCS was easy. :eek:

Doesn't this mean that the Naval Officers that come out of OCS are "different" than the Naval Officers coming out of NROTC?

The way it was told to me was NROTC is designed so in 4 years any 17-18 year old will have real world experience, credentials, and maturity beyond high school level. With OCS, it is assumed you have gained some life experience, credentials, and maturity by the time you are 23-24, you just need to be "caught up" in the ways of the military. Hence, less training.

As far as NROTC and OCS guys being "different", the guys who are in will chime in. Personally, it seems like a matter of the individual in question, not the commissioning source.
 

Air Squire

Live Free or Die
I think the reasoning behind OCS moving to RI is because it's a central area for a lot of the military education. Acadamy and such, you see. I did a little looking when I'd heard the news, and I imagine that has something to do with it. but like always, just not sure.
 

Hozer

Jobu needs a refill!
None
Contributor
I think the Navy needs as much on that base to justify it's existence. War College not withstanding, that is some primo real estate up there and not a whole helluva lot going on.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my time up there and would go back for a stint.
 

Fog

Old RIOs never die: They just can't fast-erect
None
Contributor
Why does Navy now have only 1 OCS program? Think about it, Dudes: Does any other service have 2 OCS sites? No, because in the long run it makes no sense to have more than one program. Should there also be a separate OCS program for submariners? SEALs? I'm amazed the program in Pensacola lasted as long as it did (60yrs+).
 

DSL1990

VMI Cadet 4/c, MIDN 4/c
Why does Navy now have only 1 OCS program? Think about it, Dudes: Does any other service have 2 OCS sites? No, because in the long run it makes no sense to have more than one program. Should there also be a separate OCS program for submariners? SEALs? I'm amazed the program in Pensacola lasted as long as it did (60yrs+).

Well, in the movie, "An Officer and a Gentleman", it's because the Navy combined both OCS and API together! ;) <---- j/k :icon_lol:
 

SteveG75

Retired and starting that second career
None
Well, in the movie, "An Officer and a Gentleman", it's because the Navy combined both OCS and API together! ;) <---- j/k :icon_lol:

Well, in real life, we called that AOCS (Aviation Officer Candidate School). No API, straight to TRACOM for AOCS graduates.

In the old days (circa 1990), the Navy did have two versions of OCS.
- AOCS in Pensacola for Naval Avaiators, NFO's and AI's. 14 week course with API incorporated, just USMC DI's.
- OCS in Newport RI for all the other communities. Navy chiefs in charge.

Then, they combined the two down at Pensacola and OCS graduates went to API with ROTC and Academy types. Now, they have moved the program back to Newport.

Just another small bit of trivia. In 1990, the static display outside Schools Command at NASP was an F-4 Phantom. When I visited back in '95/96, it was an A-6E Intruder. Now it is an F/A-18.:(
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom

Fog

Old RIOs never die: They just can't fast-erect
None
Contributor
SteveG75: Thanks - I didn't realize the Navy had shuttered NAVOCS in Newport for some period of time & that (I assume) Pensacola-minted Ensigns then went to 11XX assigments aboard fleet ships & that aviation-bound Ensigns then went into the TRACOM. While I believe that if there were to be only one NAVOCS site that it should be 11XX oriented & located in Newport, only our government could decide to close down Newport, move it all to P-cola & then shutdown P-cola & move it back to Newport again. Oh well, it's OtherPeoplesMoney as we used to say.
 

Logico

Registered User
Everybody has the "I'm not sure I can do this" moment at OCS. That's the whole point. But in the end, only those who push through that will become officers.

I had one hardcore night of doubt, but then woke up and pushed through. Those moments of doubt are what make finally graduating so precious.

Top notch post! Good on you for making it.
 

Turkleton

New Member
ditto that. Just graduated from OCS on friday. Definitely had a day during the first week that I wanted to drop. I had an anxiety attack and had to lock myself in the bathroom of the uniform shop for 15 minutes to calm down. Thank God I was talked out of DORing by a Candio.
 
Top