sTUPID qUESTIONS aBOUT ocs

[AllYourBass]

I realize many of these questions may be answered in bits and pieces throughout this thread, but to avoid having to look through 178 pages and in hopes of getting the most updated information I have a few questions. I'm a Supply applicant waiting for the January board. I have no prior experience.

What's the deal with the silver dollars? Is this a tradition? Gesture of gratitude?

Tradition. Some people give something else to their DIs/Chiefs...I think we had an EOD guy give some expended bullet casings. You can go with the silver dollar (most do), or with something that means something personal to you.

SUYA... I'm assuming this is the sandpit? Sand Under Your Arms?

Haha, that's a new one. Cute. Sand Up Your Ass, but the way the PC military seems to be going, I wouldn't be surprised if your version gets picked up.

What are the different jobs that one gets assigned during candio phase? Are these assigned my the class, the class leadership, or something you volunteer for?

Generally assigned by your class leadership (i.e., your president, etc.). The DI/Chief might make certain people fulfill certain roles based on their aptitude (or lack thereof), but I haven't seen that happen too much. One example was our class adjutant, who hated being the adjutant but just kicked the SHIT out of being adjutant. Despite wanting a different position, there was no way the class team was going to allow him to fulfill a different role.

There are a grip of jobs...people who run PT, people who run the class, people who run the incoming class, people who manage the paperwork/scheduling for candidates' events/graduations/orders/etc., people who manage medical appointments, people who take pictures of all the events at OCS, people who oversee all of the aforementioned.

If one gets rolled and has to wait 3 weeks for the next class, what do you do during those 3 weeks other than work on whatever it is you failed? Who do you answer to during this time?

You roll into H (Holding) class. I can't speak from experience, but it looked like the H'ers all did the same stuff the rest of us were doing. They just got an extra three weeks of it. The exception is that if you are in H, you aren't moving forward with the various milestones (academic classes, drill competition, etc.). You're basically just getting better at being a candidate at OCS until you can roll into the next class.

 

[mrdrown]

How is it decided who is president? Is that a good role to have, or more work than it's worth?

 

[AllYourBass]

How is it decided who is president? Is that a good role to have, or more work than it's worth?

People volunteer for the pre-Candio leadership positions at the end of Week 1 (I think), and the class takes a vote. Those positions include president, VP, adjutant, med body, etc. The OCS experience is what you make of it, so in my opinion, being president at OCS doesn't do anything for you once you're done there. I wouldn't have wanted to do it. That said, if you want to exercise your leadership abilities, go for it. I probably would've volunteered to do something if the vote came later in the process, but at the time, I was just glad to have my voice mostly back. By the time I got to Week 6 or so, I was doing everything I could to not be dead weight in the class, and a bunch of others were, too. Positions got created for various aspects of life, including "Uniform Body," "Academic Body," "Religious Body," "IT Body" and so on.

You'll learn that there are people at OCS who help their peers get through and others who suck on the tit of somebody else's hard work. There are ways to contribute aside from those initial leadership positions. And really, when all said and done, it's just a 12-week microcosm. But if you're a douche bag who doesn't contribute and can hardly take care of yourself, people will remember you that way. Speaking as a student naval aviator, I'm here with ~40 or so of my OCS peers. So it was probably a good thing I wasn't a prick

But now I'm rambling.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

You roll into H (Holding) class. I can't speak from experience, but it looked like the H'ers all did the same stuff the rest of us were doing. They just got an extra three weeks of it. The exception is that if you are in H, you aren't moving forward with the various milestones (academic classes, drill competition, etc.). You're basically just getting better at being a candidate at OCS until you can roll into the next class.

I can speak from experience, but it isn't recent, especially since the Lead RDC has changed (Master Chief left a few days before my class graduated, and was replaced with my class RDC, coincidentally enough). You spend most of your time doing one of several things: practicing procedures (door body, office entry, chow hall, PT, etc.); RLP prep (shining boots/shoes, clipping strings, working on knowledge); working out (either with the regiment or right in the p-way on exercise mats); or doing some odd jobs with student pool and med hold people. I was in H during the Nimitz switch, so we were basically H-Class Moving Company, Inc.
Also, while you're in H-Class, your class team is essentially composed of the most senior enlisted and officer on the instructor staff, namely the Lead Class Officer, Lead RDC, and Chief Drill Instructor (the latter are both typically E-8 or E-9).

 

[BackOrdered]

Positions got created for various aspects of life, including "Uniform Body," "Academic Body," "Religious Body," "IT Body" and so on.

Fruit Body = Best position ever made. No joke, we were dead serious.

 

[AllYourBass]

Fruit Body = Best position ever made. No joke, we were dead serious.

Go on...

 

[BackOrdered]

Go on...

Losing fruit privileges is about the most contentious issue a class can have at OCS. So much so, we created a position out of making sure no one goofed up and lost fruit privileges for the class. It only sounds silly now, but then, it probably saved lives.

Ex:
Candidate 1: Chow was pretty uneventful for once.
Candidate 2: Yeah, I almost picked up the wrong saucer in the chow line, but the Fruit Body caught me before the DI. Thank God! I'd miss bananas.

 

[Spekkio]

The story of the "Black Ninja" is striking my curiosity. I'd love to hear more about it and more stories, specifically the story about the class where only a few people graduated. I'm glad to read he's not there anymore.

I went to OCS in Newport, which kinda neutered his rep for PTing candidates during black flags since that happens maybe 3 days out of the year now (the base flies a black flag when there is too high of a risk of heat stroke to PT).

As said, he was very quiet and calm, but had a habit of being exceptionally tough on candidates. He seemingly would pop out of nowhere and catch people doing something wrong. He had no qualms about pushing the boundaries/rules to do it, either, and couldn't care less if he got 'talked to' for it. It took a miracle to pass RLP if he was inspecting you (which is one of the times he did NOT PT candidates to death, at least while I was there, just made them stand there at attention).

His class when I was there graduated something like 12 or 13 candidates. From like week 3 to candio phase they had to man an extra overnight watch to stand in the p-way at attention because someone was disrespectful to the class CPO by not standing and giving the formal greeting when seeing him.

What's the deal with the silver dollars? Is this a tradition? Gesture of gratitude?

Main reason I'm replying. It is customary to give silver dollars to your first salute. So you need at least two, one for the DI and one for the class CPO, and maybe 3-5 more for any OCs who give you a salute on the day you commission.

What are the different jobs that one gets assigned during candio phase? Are these assigned my the class, the class leadership, or something you volunteer for?

Honestly, the best jobs are the ones that don't require you to still lose sleep and still get beat by the DIs for stupid stuff. So basically, anything that isn't indoc, regimental commander, or regimental PT body.

They get assigned by the class DI/CPO/Officer, and each does it a little differently. Ours just stuck with the class press/vp, but others did it by class rank which is computed by how you did on your written tests, inspections, and out PRT.

 

[croakerfish]

The legendary Black Ninja sounds a lot like one of the DI's when I was there, but I'm not sure the timeline checks out. Can anyone confirm when the actual/original Black Ninja left?

 

[BackOrdered]

The legendary Black Ninja sounds a lot like one of the DI's when I was there, but I'm not sure the timeline checks out. Can anyone confirm when the actual/original Black Ninja left?

FY08 was his last class and he stuck around a bit for the FY09 year.

 

[PrudasJiest]

I've got a bunch of stupid questions, some of which might have been answered in the last 179 pages, but I figured I'd ask again seeing as a ton of folks around here are commenting about how much OCS has changed in recent times

• When asked the x person in our chain of command, should we give the full first & last name?
• When reciting the CoC, are civilian names preceded by "the honorable", or is it just as is?
• The OCR on the ocs.navy.mil site still lists chow hall procedures. Are these still current given all the changes?
• I realize it's a different service but is this at all similar for the procedures for making a rack? (
  )
• Do they still issue BCG's at OCS, or should I show up with new glasses?
• When describing rank insignia, should way say it exactly how it appears in the OCR? (One gold 2-inch stripe below two gold 1/2-inch stripes below a gold five pointed star.) I've seen conflicting advice about it lately.
• I already use a federal credit union. Is there any benefit specific to being in the Navy and opening a Navy fed account?

 

[Kyler Boeck]

Do we really need to bring all medical/dental records with us to OCS?

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

When asked the x person in our chain of command, should we give the full first & last name?

Only for the civilians. I didn't even know the first names of most of our CoC.

When reciting the CoC, are civilian names preceded by "the honorable", or is it just as is?

The former. So it'd be, "SIR, THE FOURTEENTH PERSON IN THIS OFFICER CANDIDATE'S CHAIN OF COMMAND IS: PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA!"

The OCR on the ocs.navy.mil site still lists chow hall procedures. Are these still current given all the changes?

As far as I know, chow hall procedures are more or less the same, minus the eating-by-the-numbers. Some words might be a bit different, but it's no big deal.

I realize it's a different service but is this at all similar for the procedures for making a rack? (

)

Ahhhh, hospital corners. You're gonna have fun with those in the new beds. Other than the pillow and the dust cover, the tutorial is right on. Although their hospital corners are trash. For the pillow, it lays on top of the bed instead of being tucked in, and there's a certain way of preparing the pillow, known as the "Admiral's smile," which your candio's will show you how to make.

When describing rank insignia, should way say it exactly how it appears in the OCR? (One gold 2-inch stripe below two gold 1/2-inch stripes below a gold five pointed star.) I've seen conflicting advice about it lately.

Unless your candio's or class team tell you otherwise when you get there, go by the OCR. It's your bible. Although I'm pretty sure there's a newer edition than the one that's online. But it's out of your hands, so don't sweat it. Plus the changes aren't all that big.

I already use a federal credit union. Is there any benefit specific to being in the Navy and opening a Navy fed account?

Other people can tell you about NFCU, I don't use it. I have USAA, which is pretty sweet. You can use any ATM, like other banks' ATM's, and they'll refund the fees (up to a point). Commissioned officers are offered the platinum Mastercard, which is pretty sweet, as well as the Career Starter Loan, which is $25 grand at 3% over five years, also a pretty nice deal. Just don't use it to buy a car, because auto loans usually have even lower rates than that (especially auto loans through - wait for it - USAA). Plus, the obvious, car insurance. So it's convenient to have one source for all those things, AND with people that specifically cater to the military. Most people I knew at OCS had either NFCU or USAA (or some of both). But like I said, I don't know much about Navy Fed.
Are you not allowed to use more than one federal credit union? I know very little about them.

 

[LFCFan]

Do we really need to bring all medical/dental records with us to OCS?

No one does. If you were going aviation I'd bring the stuff relevant to a flight physical (so that's more for others reading), but other than that don't worry about it.

 

[PrudasJiest]

words

THANK YOU!