OCS @ Newport Unofficial Gouge

There is a lot of gouge on here about OCS at Pensecola, which did things a little different than OCS, so I figured it might be nice for recent OCS grads from Newport to post some inside info on Newport OCS. As for me, here goes:

*Disclaimer* Take all gouge with a grain of salt. Every DI is different and every class is different. Just because it was a certain way for me, doesn't mean it was set in stone. Try to keep it as general as possible.

1. LEARN CHOW HALL PROCEDURES! This is hard to do until you actually get to OCS, but go over it as a class ASAP. Get with the H-ers and get it nailed down. Practice in the p-way. The better you are at chow hall, the easier your pre-chow hall beatings are going to be. You'll still get beat before every meal for quite a bit, but it shouldn't be as long.

2. Memorize: "Discipline. D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E. Discipline is the instant willing obediance to orders, respect for authority and self reliance. Freeze candidate, freeze."

3. Practice saying, "Indoctrination Candidate", "Officer Candidate" and "Class Drill Instructor, Gunnery (or staff) Sergeant Whoever, United States Marine Corps".

4. DO NOT call a your Class CPO, "Chief". He/She is a sir/ma'am until the day of your commission. I'm talking to all you priors!!

5. Only ever respond with "Yes, sir." "No, Sir" or "Aye, Sir". DIs don't care about an explaination. It will just get you into a deeper hole.

6. Aye vs Yes. Yes is a response to a question! Aye is confirmation of an order. For example, DI says, "Do you want me to put you on your face?" "Yes, Sir." DI says, "Get on your face!" "Aye, Sir."

7. You should always be at a position of attention when talking to DI, CPO or Class Officer, unless being specifically told you don't have to, or when you're getting beat.

8. Learn door entry proceedures. Do them flawlessly or you're just BEGGING to get dropped.

9. Learn and PRACTICE "Attention on deck stand-by, good morning (Sir, ma'am, ladies, gentlemen)" and "Attention on deck, good morning (Sir, ma'am, ladies, gentlemen)". You call attention on deck stand-by for DIs and CPOs and you are as loud as possible. You use Attention on deck for the class officer and you are NOT ballistic (screaming), but you are loud and firm. There are also a million different variations of this. Whoever has a room closest to the door at the end of the p-way better get good at this QUICK!
Officer and DIs entering together = attention on deck
female with male = good morning ma'am, good morning sir. You do NOT squish them together into "goodmorning ma'am and sir".
females with males = good morning ladies, good morning gentlemen.

10. Being loud can make up for a lot. If you are getting "special attention", scream and be as intense as you can. The closer you sound to being on fire, the better off you are going to be.

11. NEVER LEAVE GEAR ADRIFT!!!! Always lock your locker.

12. Write your name on everything and any thing. In the event of a hurricane, its the only way to get it back. Remember, you all have the same stuff which looks exactly the same.

13. ALWAYS WEAR PT SHORTS UNDER YOU SWEATS TO PT. If they tell you to take them off, you don't want to be the one guy hanging out on the PT field in your tighty whities!

14. Be uniform. Uniformity in some cases makes up for incorrectness. You're not wrong if you're all wrong together...well, not all the time any way.

15. PUT OUT AT PT. As a class, kick ass at PT. Learn the stretches. Be loud, be squared away. DIs love having bragging rights with PT. The whole regiment is watching.

Thats about all that comes to mind now, if any one's got some other suggestions...let's hear it!

It's Marine Corps. NOT "Corp". Slay yourself, NOW.

Good gouge, overall. +1 on each class/DI being different.

For example, some classes were allowed to pile whatever food on their tray they could get. Our class was restricted to 1 starch, the rest veggies, extra fruit and extra protein.

We also called our chief "Chief" probably starting around week 7-8. Sometime right before we became candios.

Fixed it for you!

In all seriousness, thanks for posting. Keep it coming everyone! I'll be reporting there in less than 2 months and could use all the help I can get!

First off, all of what was posted above was the same at Pensacola. Second, don't sweat any of it prior to going to OCS. You'll only stress yourself out unnecessarily. Aside from PT'ing your a** off and maybe learning the big three, anything else is unnecessary. Everything you need to know about OCS, you'll learn at OCS. Enjoy the time you have off before going. BTW, here's a little secret, no matter how well you know the discipline ditty or chow hall procedures, you'll still get beat the same. That's the joy of OCS.

Very true...most of what I said has more to do with what to do/work on in the first few weeks, not before you go. Know your big 3 and PT your ass off...then get a massage, eat a piece of chocolate cake, go for a drive...do whatever it is that floats your boat cause you're not gonna be doing it at OCS.
Personally, I think beatings REALLY depend on the DI. We had three types beatings, extra PT beatings that were randomly stuck in with no cause and could never be avoided, teaching beatings that happened when we didn't do something well enough (i.e. chow hall procedures or drill) and the "Oh, REALLY?!?!" you've-fvcked-up-now-you're-gonna-pay beatings, usually in the rose garden.
As for calling a chief sir, it depends on the chief. Our chief let all the priors call him Senior Chief when we made candio. But, that was also probably because he found out he made Senior that week too! Like hearing it!

Also, a good general overview of OCS is:

http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/ocs/

GySgt Center was my DI. This gives you a good idea of what to expect. Just remember, there is no such thing as "being prepaired" for OCS. No matter how much gouge you have, there is no substitute for the experience. And there shouldn't be! If it isn't a total shock to your system, they are doing something wrong.

Here's another piece of gouge that was sort of touched on above: Don't think that you're getting beat "because OC XXX fucked up". That is horseshit. That is a test to see if your team starts to break down and cast OC XXX out. You WILL GET BEAT NO MATTER WHAT. If EVERYONE's back is straight, they'll just say someone's isn't, or wait long enough for someone to flinch and blame it on him.

Just like RLP. If your shit is perfect, the class team likes you and wants you to pass, do you think you're going to get a 100?? Hell no. They'll just find a couple bullshit hits and let you move on your way with a 96 or something. They will ALWAYS find something.

That whole "Oh shit! OC XXX just touched his knees to the deck! Get sandy!" is a TEST. They want to see if you get pissed off at OC XXX or just take it and move on.

Even if someone fucks up and "causes" you to get PTed more, they would have done it ANYWAY, so it's not his/her fault. If you can get over that fact and learn to be a team even if someone causes you more pain, the class team will be very impressed.

I was only at USMC PLC Jr.'s for like 4 weeks, but this is very true.

I'm now waiting to hear from USN OCS, pro-rec'd SNA, but no final select yet.

This advice sounds reasonable before hand, but when your in that environment, it is hard to remember.

This was our class. My roomate was the only guy to get through without getting rolled from the original group they followed. It doesn't go very in depth in terms of what to expect (except for the screaming at RLP maybe. And that funny looking guy holding out his khaki trousers for the DI with the pissed off look . 80 pays the rent ). I remember our DI talking about "the newpaper is coming today" and then they wouldn't show (she wasn't amused). Also, when things were really "good" the newspaper was never around to see that (everybodies gear hurricaned into one room anybody? Took a few days to get everything back from that). They only got to see what OCS wanted them to see. Like she said, if it isn't a shock.....

Stretch

HAHAH! Our class got that too. We had to wagon wheel everything around the p-way, which means everyone touched eachother's "intimates"! We all got crazy sick for the next few days...wonder why??

Along with what Otto said, I offer three pieces of advice besides the typical be in shape and know your big 3 (and rank structure, too):

1. Remember that 95% of what goes on at OCS is scripted. Your DI is just the main executioner of that script. Oftentimes your DI will put you through some shit that your class officer or class CPO actually designed.

2. Remember that OCS is like high school, and like high school, it doesn't matter in the long run if you graduate at the top of the class because ultimately no one will give a shit, not even the big Navy. Work hard, of course, but remember to keep it all in perspective. The moment you start taking things too seriously is the moment you start to make life more miserable for your classmates than the most sadistic DI ever could.

3. Mark all your gear ASAP. In week 1, write your name in permanent marker on all the 01 tags on your clothes and stuff. You will end up cutting them off anyway, but you have a way to identify your gear before it's stamped in case it gets mixed up somehow.

quite possibly the best gouge ever! After our hurricane, one of my 6'2" 200lb classmates ended up with someone's SMALL sweatpants. While this was extremely amusing to me at the time, it was not so amuzing to him. Let's just say he looked uncomfortable!

Don't scratch yer face...ever. Pinkeye/OCS grunge/Ebola sucks, and you will get it if you aren't a little hygenic. (Speaking from experience here)

Purell is yer friend, as is foot powder, antibacterial soap, and a little hot water.

Also, change yer sox/underwear more than once a aday, it will stop the foot/crotch rot you get from being in yer sweat all day.

And last of all, try to see the big picture...when life sucks, you are sick of being there, remember: it is only about 1/4 a deployment for our enlisted bro's over in the sandbox, and they get paid way worse than us...plus the Hadji's shooting at them. I actually found myself enjoying OCS after RLP...especially when 19-06 found themselves back in the squad bays!!!

Being a fan of the Band of Brothers series, anytime I was tempted to think that life sucked in OCS, I thought of the men in Bastogne circa winter, 1944.

Compared to getting shot at while getting a healthy dose of frostbite with little to no food and barely any ammo to shoot back, life at OCS is just a LIIIITTLE better.

Yeah, Like for instance don't be the class president that Hurricane's his fellow classmates War Lockers or rips their racks. I heard that when I was there and could not believe what a douche it would take to do that to your team. Can we say Blue Falcon?

GREAT gouge. Pinkeye was like the PLAGUE. I never got it (and I did rub my eyes/scratch a lot). Don't know why, but I was lucky.

Changing underwear OFTEN is essential to good hygiene at OCS. You will be sweating profusely OFTEN. The second you get your khakis on, your balls will be sweating again. Powder is KEY. USE THE DAMN POWDER. If I had been more prudent and used the powder we had, I'd have avoided a lot of discomfort wrt to athlete's foot and swampnuts. I am being grotesque? Maybe. But I tell you this now to save you a lot of pain later.

Very good advice. Our DI told us to NEVER ever express how we had a bad day, because our boys overseas get paid less than us, haven't showered for a month, eat MREs, and haven't slept in 24 hours a lot of times, so STFU!

Maybe you don't like this particular logic, but it's true: "You think you have it bad? Someone has is a WHOLE hell of a lot worse".

Or how about the guy who squares his corners in the head and then executes a perfect about face in order to use the shitter.

I would promptly shit myself laughing.

Johnny Quest's boy-servant would never do that.

Also, NEVER SAY NO TO A HEAD BREAK!! For us, especially during indoc week, it was the only time we ever got to relax and sit down. Even if it was just for 3 minutes, it was WELL worth it!!

I did search for this and only found answers for Marine OCS, so I'm not sure if it applies to Newport as well.

I've found that if I get anything more than a minor cut it's bound to get infected if I don't clean, disinfect, and cover it properly. I've also read numerous times to avoid going to medical at all costs. Has anyone brought things like alcohol wipes, neosporin, and/or band-aids with them to OCS? (I was thinking the Band-Aid Liquid Bandage might be best.) Or is this the simple kind of thing for which I should just go to medical? Thanks.

There's a first aid kit at the BOOD. You won't be able to bring any medical supplies in with you. You can see if KH medical has neosporin or something that you can pickup and have handy on your own.

:icon_smil

That goes along with the logic found in the Bucket list:

"As you get older, never pass up a bathroom,
never waste a hard-on, and never trust a fart."

Try it and let us know how it works out.......