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Heads up...AOCS All Hands Reunion 27-28SEP19.

zipmartin

Never been better
pilot
Contributor
My class, 04-76, was sweating through rifle drill along the seawall. SSgt. Wieckowski got so pissed at candidate J**k that he ripped the rifle out of his hands and threatened to beat him with it. We all thought he'd lost it and was actually going to induce physical harm on our classmate. He then turned and threw the rifle into the bay and told J**k he'd better go after it and either come back with it or drown trying. J**k obediently jumped into the bay and after being totally submerged for what seemed like forever, surfaced, gasping for air, with the rifle. The DI then screamed that he'd better get back in formation ASAP or he'd find himself as shark bait. We went from total horror and disbelief to almost hysterical laughter....until Wieckowski started threatening us with the same action.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
The 600 ship Navy and a 200,000 plus strong Marine Corps of the 80's produced an insatiable demand for pilots and NFO's. Recruiters needed to feed 50+ applicants to ultimately get 1 qualified human to wings of gold - AOCS, NAVCAD, Flying LDO, all in addition to NROTC/USNA. I bet we were winging 2000 pilots per year and probably another 1000 NFO'S per year at the height of the 80's

AOCS seemed to have the most attrition , given the it was accessible to folks of all backgrounds with a diploma. Huge classes. But it really was the first filter. Even then there were dozens of post commission AOCS attrites awaiting separation in Pensacola at any one time...so the DI's didn't sort them all. You often saw these guys delivering pizza on side as they were processing be out of Navy service...
 

kunks

Member
None
In the 1980s, there was a OCS at Newport that had extremely large classes (100+) and 90-95% of them commissioned, most with there original class.

AOCS started with 30-50 in a class and commissioned about 33% with a good 33% of those rolled from an earlier class.

It was a different time. The normal things the AOCS DIs did to us and said to us would get the in serious trouble today.

Thanks, this is what I was looking for. Were the Newport instructors Marine Corps DIs too? Not sure if anyone would know the answer to this but why were they more tame then AOCS? I guess what I'm asking is why one school was so much more different then the other. Because... aviation?
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
Not sure if anyone would know the answer to this but why were they more tame then AOCS? I guess what I'm asking is why one school was so much more different then the other. Because... aviation?
The Newport instructors were CPOs when the two schools were separate. Keep in mind that a lot of what shaped the AOCS program and made it as crazy as it was were the Korean War and the Vietnam War, especially Vietnam.

Having both a CPO and a DI was something they started when AOCS and OCS were combined after 1994. Having both turned out to be a very good improvement because the two styles really complimented each other.
 

kunks

Member
None
The Newport instructors were CPOs when the two schools were separate. Keep in mind that a lot of what shaped the AOCS program and made it as crazy as it was were the Korean War and the Vietnam War, especially Vietnam.

Having both a CPO and a DI was something they started when AOCS and OCS were combined after 1994. Having both turned out to be a very good improvement because the two styles really complimented each other.

So AOCS and OCS were long separated? I did not know that. I thought they separated around the time Zip posted his picture mid 70s or so and were together before that.

So the AOCS shenanigans went back a long ways? I also didn't know that either. I thought it was the 80s when they peaked but now that I think about it I have never really talked to anyone who did AOCS in the 70s so I have no frame of reference.
 

CAMike

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
In the 1980s, there was a OCS at Newport that had extremely large classes (100+) and 90-95% of them commissioned, most with there original class.

AOCS started with 30-50 in a class and commissioned about 33% with a good 33% of those rolled from an earlier class.

It was a different time. The normal things the AOCS DIs did to us and said to us would get the in serious trouble today.

No joke. In 21-84 we had a gal that was about 5'0" tall and she kind of resembled Theadore Cleaver from a distance. Her DI pet name was of course "Beaver". DI's screaming BEAVER on the way to the Chow hall were epic strolls. Right up until a female Navy LCDR that was on the AirCrew side of the street took notice one morning. Aye yai yai. Our other class female candidate was a former Miss Mississippi contestant was an Embry-Riddle grad and her nickname was "Frankenstein", among other names. If video cameras were as prevalent as they are today, 21-84 would have probably been one of the last AOCS's classes in history. There was this one time at band camp, a GYSGT Crenshaw DI removed Beavers chrome dome and then placed it about 2/3 of the way up a tree in front of the chow hall. (GYSGT was babysitting for GYSGT Washington that morning.) The Beaver had to beg Mr. Squirrel for about 15 or 20 minutes to please get Candidate Beavers chrome dome down out of the tree. Periferal vision showed that multiple smalls groups of people (Civs and MILs) came out fo their offices just to watch the spectacle. I believe that was the last day she was referred to as "The Beaver". ;) What about Frankenstein? 5'10" slender red head with an attitude. Not so much mercy for her, she kept her nick name ;)~
 

mad dog

the 🪨 🗒️ ✂️ champion
pilot
Contributor
The 600 ship Navy and a 200,000 plus strong Marine Corps of the 80's produced an insatiable demand for pilots and NFO's...

AOCS seemed to have the most attrition, given the it was accessible to folks of all backgrounds with a diploma. Huge classes...
I agree. Even though I was was near the end of the big aviation push (I applied to AOCS JUN86 and began AOCS AUG86), the recruiters seemed to be taking almost everybody with a 2.0 or better college GPA and a BA or BS degree.

I noticed that the first week of INDOC at AOCS had the most DORs in our class...BUT...I got to know many of these guys during that first week of INDOC and the ones who DORed were basically “seeing what AOCS is like”...many had shared that they had already been accepted to grad school, law school, med school etc. That “seeing what AOCS is like” attitude became very apparent from minute one at AOCS...many showed up in ridiculous physical condition...unable to do one pull up, unable to do 10 push ups, unable to complete a 1.5 mile run etc...unbelievable.
 

mad dog

the 🪨 🗒️ ✂️ champion
pilot
Contributor
ChuckMK23 said:
AOCS seemed to have the most attrition...
The other thing that killed me at AOCS was the fact that many dudes DORed due to the interactions with the DIs...for example, a DI would state [exclaim] that your mom is a whore. Some dudes just couldn’t handle this. Maybe I’m lucky in that I’ve been verbally pooped on since 1964 and I’m used to it...but really? Do you really think that the DI knows who your mom is? And why would you care [if your mom is a whore] anyway? Gee whiz.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
The other thing that killed me at AOCS was the fact that many dudes DORed due to the interactions with the DIs...for example, a DI would state [exclaim] that your mom is whore. Some dudes just couldn’t handle this. Maybe I’m lucky in that I’ve been verbally pooped on since 1964 and I’m used to it...but really? Do you really think that the DI knows who your mom is? And why would you care [if your mom is a whore] anyway? Gee whiz.
Yeah, regular OCS had a couple of prior SEALs going through when I was there. One of them was particularly, ahem, charismatic helping out with the poopie class behind us. He didn't directly encourage anyone to DOR, he didn't really get in anyone's face even, he was just good at raising his voice at length. Well a few more people than usual DOR'ed from that class. I say good! Later on during the candio phase our class DI mentioned that he'd been counseled for being too hard on that new class. We were like really? WTF?!?

You guys did have it harder than us though.
 

johnboyA6E

Well-Known Member
None
I was in 12-89, and I was a bit of a sleep walker. One time at band camp, in the first few weeks after indoc, my three space mates all went to the head a the same time in the middle of the night.

I happened to wake up, and saw that they were all gone and (half asleep) freaked out thinking that I somehow missed reveille (since nobody is allowed to have a watch, and there is no way to know what time it is). So I put on my go-fasters and ran outside (north end of Batt II), and all the way down to the other end where we formed up for the pre-run PT, all the while cursing by buddies for leaving me behind. I got there and there was nobody there, so I figured that the entire Regiment had already started the run.

I figured that I was fucked, and that there was no way I could catch up and join the run without getting caught. I decided to hide out in one of the rooms on the south end of Batt II, and jump back into ranks when the regiment came back from the run and went to breakfast.

I ducked into the first room I found, and of course, there were four guys sleeping there, and I finally figured out that is was the middle of the night and I had to get back to my space. Since it was only week 3 or so, I was convinced that there must be DI's lurking around every corner. I must have looked like a complete jackass as I snuck back to my room, hiding behind every tree, bush and corner along the way.
 
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